Can you imagine spending months and months on your CRNA School application and only come to find out that you were rejected because you didn't read (or understand) the admissions requirements correctly?  Yeeeaaahhh. This has happened.

Before you lock down what CRNA programs you're going to be applying to, you first need to do this one thing.

Check the accreditation of the University that you received your Nursing degree from.

Let me explain.

There are two types of accreditation that a university as a whole can receive. And that's either Regional or National accreditation.  Some CRNA programs specifically say that they require the UNIVERSITY that you received your nursing degree from to have a Regional accreditation.

Regional accreditation is typically considered to be more prestigious. Yup, they set higher standards for accreditation.  And there are six Regional accrediting bodies in the United States that are recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (listed below).

National accreditation, on the other hand, is typically recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, but is considered to be less rigorous of a process than regional accreditation.

So what's your first step before you start applying to CRNA schools? Look up the type of accreditation that your University (not your nursing school) has received.  If your University is accredited by one of the six accrediting bodies as listed below, that means your Institution IS Regionally accredited and you can apply to any CRNA program in the country (granted you meet the other requirements, of course).

And if your University is NOT regionally accredited? Just make sure that the schools you are applying to don’t require regional accreditation like this one below:

What are some Regionally-accrediting bodies?

There are six regional accrediting bodies in the United States that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. They are:

1. Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)

Accredits colleges and universities in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

2. New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)

Accredits colleges and universities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont

3. North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA)

Accredits colleges and universities in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

4. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)

Accredits colleges and universities in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington

5. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

Accredits colleges and universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia

6. Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)

Accredits colleges and universities in California, Hawaii, and other Pacific islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Palau, and Federated States of Micronesia.

What about nursing school level accreditation?

The nursing school accreditation is a little more straightforward. Your nursing program is either accredited or not. There is no Regional or National differentiation, all the accredited bodies are considered National accrediting bodies. So as long as your nursing school is accredited you should be good to go with one caveat.

The caveat? Some CRNA programs explicitly state that your nursing program must be accredited by a specific accrediting body- most commonly it’s the ACEN or CCNE. Most of them don’t mention anything or say “preferred accreditation from…”. But, I would be remiss to not mention it.

Conclusion

So you might be wondering, “Well, how do I know which nursing programs require Regional accreditation?” You’re in luck!  That's where our CRNA School Database comes in.  Our most popular tool. With our Database, you'll be able to find your schools in a matter of clicks.  And yes we've checked every program and whether or not they require Regional accreditation or not.  The last thing we want is for you to spend all of that time, money and effort putting together an application for a school that you don't even meet the requirements for.

You can check out the School Database here!