CRNA Schools in Alabama: UAB, Samford & Mobile Compared

CRNA schools in Alabama come down to three accredited nurse anesthesia programs: the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Samford University and the University of Mobile. UAB and Samford award a DNP, and Mobile awards a DNAP. All three describe 36-month entry programs. But once you get into credential requirements, campus schedules and clinical arrangements, they look pretty different.

There's also a fourth name you might see. The University of South Alabama is developing a nurse anesthesia specialty, and its official page says it's undergoing initial accreditation review and is not currently COA accredited. Keep it in its own column while you follow its progress.

Annual dates and academic-year rates below keep the scope each school gave them, so you can see which cycle or year a number belongs to.

Which Alabama programs should go on your shortlist?

Program and location	Degree and attendance	GPA and ICU requirement	GRE / CCRN	Published cost basis	Application timing	COA status
UAB, Birmingham	DNP, 114-credit sample plan; online and substantial in-person instruction plus clinical training	Undergraduate 3.0; prerequisite GPA 3.0 and B or better in named courses; 11 months critical care by July interview with continued ICU employment through May entry	GRE required without waiver; active CCRN and exam score sheet at application	2026-27 per-credit rates depend on format and residency; ask for a term-by-term quote	May 1 annually; summer entry the following year	Continued; next review spring 2031
Samford, Birmingham/Homewood	DNP, nine semesters; first summer and fall online, campus classes begin January	Cumulative 3.0; one full-time critical care year or part-time equivalent	GRE within five years required for all applicants; CCRN encouraged, not required	2026-27 tuition $11,984 per term plus university, program and applicable course charges	December 1 to May 1 annual window; on-campus interview and decisions in July	Continued; May 2025 action schedules spring 2035 review
University of Mobile, Mobile	DNAP, nine consecutive semesters; first two semesters include online courses and required campus meetings	Overall GPA 3.0; more than one full year of critical care, with vasoactive titration and ventilation	Competitive GRE score requested; CCRN not listed	2026-27 rates: $11,200 tuition plus $1,000 mandatory term fee per term	April 15 to October 1 annually; following fall entry, December interviews	Initial accreditation granted in 2021; directory lists October 2026 next review

Sources: UAB, Samford, University of Mobile and COA directory.

Initial accreditation is an awarded status, so Mobile belongs in this comparison. South Alabama's application for initial accreditation is a different situation. And a scheduled review month doesn't mean an existing program has closed or lost accreditation.

How do UAB's requirements affect an application?

UAB requires an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 and a 3.0 prerequisite GPA, with a B or better in its named prerequisite courses. Those courses are human anatomy, microbiology, human physiology, qualifying mathematics and chemistry. Anatomy, physiology and chemistry require labs. For math, the options include precalculus or finite math or higher, so a generic statistics class can't automatically stand in for that application prerequisite.

Statistics has its own rule. Admitted students have to finish an acceptable descriptive statistics course with a C or better before starting. That's a different deadline and a different grade than the B-or-better application prerequisite group. Before you sign up for a retake, match each course to UAB's stated equivalent.

UAB now requires an active CCRN and the CCRN exam score sheet when you submit the application. It also requires all GRE sections, accepts scores within five years and explicitly offers no waiver for nurse anesthesia. UAB says there's no minimum score, so the exam is required but no single number gets you in or keeps you out.

The experience timing is unusually specific. You need at least 11 months of RN critical care experience by the July interview, and you have to keep working in critical care until you matriculate the following May. The page recommends experience within the past four years. Its examples include pediatric and neonatal ICU care as well as adult units, and whether other experience qualifies comes down to your competence in advanced monitoring and managing unstable patients.

BLS and ACLS documentation goes in with the application, and PALS is required at matriculation. You need an appropriate RN license to apply and a multistate compact license before entry. If you'll complete any part of the program outside Alabama, verify state authorization too. UAB admission requirements.

How is Samford different?

Samford requires a nursing baccalaureate or graduate degree from the specified accredited program and institution. According to its FAQ, an associate nursing degree plus an unrelated bachelor's degree won't satisfy that. Your nursing degree has to be conferred by the application deadline.

The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.0, and general chemistry and research prerequisites need a B or better. If your research content shows up under a different course title, you can send a course description or a faculty/advisor letter documenting it. Samford says some older courses may have a time limit, so ask graduate student services to approve your actual courses.

GRE scores have to be within five years. The listed scores of 153 verbal, 144 quantitative and 4 writing are preferred scores. Samford doesn't state them as hard minimums. If you already have a nursing master's degree, you still take the GRE, and the MAT can't replace it. CCRN is encouraged, but the school says outright that it isn't necessary for admission.

Samford includes NICU and PICU among its acceptable critical care settings. It calculates cumulative, science/math, graduate and last-60-credit GPAs, and it counts both attempts when you've repeated a course. The published minimum is an eligibility threshold. It isn't an admitted-student average or a measure of your odds.

Applications go through Slate, with references, transcripts, a personal statement, a resume and a video response. The current materials ask for an academic reference, a supervisor and a professional colleague. If you've been out of school long enough that a meaningful academic reference is hard to get, an additional professional reference is acceptable. Samford criteria and FAQ.

What does the University of Mobile look for in applicants?

Mobile requires a 3.0 overall GPA in its School of Nurse Anesthesia catalog requirements, a competitive GRE score and more than one full year of critical care experience managing acutely ill patients, including titrating vasoactive medications and ventilation. If you're right around the one-year mark, ask the program director how your timing counts toward the December interview (worth a phone call).

The FAQ excludes operating room, cath lab and emergency department experience. Nurse practitioner work doesn't automatically count as RN critical care, though the school says bedside direct critical care responsibilities may qualify. Have the director look at what you actually do, because your job title alone won't settle it.

The application asks for a resume, RN license, personal statement and three reference forms: a current clinical supervisor or nurse manager, a professor or academic advisor, and a practicing nurse or APRN who has mentored you. Ask the program for its full prerequisite list and grade rules before you register for a class.

Mobile accepts applications April 15 through October 1, and that deadline is for the fall term of the following year, with every candidate interviewing in December. The 2026 deadline was October 1. Mobile admissions and FAQ.

How much does CRNA school in Alabama cost?

UAB: residency and course delivery both matter

UAB's nurse anesthesia page lists 2026-27 classroom DNP tuition at $646 per credit for residents and $1,596 for nonresidents. Distance-accessible DNP coursework is $744 per credit for either group. The page also lists a $235 educational support/technology fee per course and a $387 anatomy lab charge.

The 114-credit sample plan mixes delivery formats. If you multiply every credit by the resident classroom rate, you'll understate some of the tuition. If you multiply everything by the nonresident classroom rate, you'll misclassify the distance coursework. Ask for a term-by-term quote that uses the right course coding.

The page separately estimates books, uniforms, annual campus travel and lodging, background checks and health insurance (which can be waived if you have adequate other coverage). You'll still need your own budget for living costs and clinical travel.

Samford: one tuition rate, with fees beyond tuition

Samford's 2026-27 graduate tuition worksheet sets nurse anesthesia tuition at $11,984 per term, three terms per year. At that same rate across nine terms, tuition alone would be $107,856. Future academic-year increases can change that illustration.

The separate supplemental fee worksheet adds university fees of $520 for fall/spring and $315 for summer/May, plus $110 in nurse anesthesia program fees each term. Online/hybrid course fees, parking and other applicable charges are separate. Samford charges residents and nonresidents the same tuition. The $1,000 admission deposit is applied to first-term tuition, so don't count it twice.

Mobile: use the new term rate

Mobile's current graduate/doctoral fee page links a 2026-27 schedule and lists DNAP tuition at $11,200 per academic term plus a $1,000 mandatory term fee each term, including summer. If those rates held steady across nine semesters, you'd be looking at $100,800 in tuition plus $9,000 in mandatory term fees, or $109,800 before other expenses and future increases.

That's a planning calculation. It isn't a guaranteed cohort cost or a living-expense budget. Fall balances are due August 1 and spring balances January 2, and payment plans aren't available for summer, so plan your cash flow around those dates.

None of these figures tells you which program is Alabama's cheapest complete CRNA education. UAB's rates split by delivery format and residency, and the two private programs price by term, so put all three on the same cost categories before you compare. Our school cost guide can help you organize the rest of the expenses.

What attendance and clinical travel should you plan for?

At UAB, the first semester is online, and in-person classes follow in semesters two through four. The FAQ describes three to four days a week during that phase, plus multi-day intensives. In semesters five through nine you'll come back to campus for assessments, advisement, simulation and team meetings, and everyone attends an annual on-campus intensive. Ask for the cohort schedule before you pick housing far from Birmingham.

UAB applicants list two preferred clinical component sites and get an assignment if admitted. Listing a preference doesn't guarantee that placement. And the nursing school's broad affiliate count isn't a count of nurse anesthesia clinical sites.

Samford's first summer and fall semesters are online after orientation, and face-to-face classes start in January of semester three. The school says you may be able to keep working during the first two terms. That short window can't support a promise that you'll work all the way through the doctorate. Its linked Class of 2027 handbook, revised through May 2024, describes distant rural/specialty rotations with travel and housing paid by the student. Get the current cohort's site list and expense policy, since the handbook's cohort date matters here.

Mobile's first two semesters include online courses but still require campus exams and simulation. The program advertises training in the Mobile metro area. Confirm the full current affiliate list and any enrichment rotations before you assume every placement is local. Its FAQ also says full-time employment isn't compatible with the 36-month program.

What do the published outcomes establish?

For the Class of 2026, UAB reports 5.66% attrition.

Samford's current page labels 2026 attrition at 3.1%.

UAB outcomes, Samford outcomes and Mobile outcomes.

Where does South Alabama fit?

South Alabama's official specialty page states outright that initial COA review is in progress and the program isn't currently accredited. You can watch its developing pathway separately, but any anticipated start depends on approval. There won't be student outcomes before a graduating cohort, and general DNP admissions can't tell you every nurse anesthesia-specific requirement.

For the three accredited options, line up your GRE date, credential documentation, actual ICU responsibilities, transcript and campus plan. Track school-specific questions in the program finder, then use the prerequisite guide to keep your course approvals organized. If Alabama feels too narrow for your shortlist, look at Tennessee, Louisiana and Georgia with the same eye on residency, travel and application year.