CRNA Programs in California: Schools, Requirements and Costs

CRNA programs in California come down to six schools in the COA's current accreditation directory, based everywhere from Oakland to Loma Linda. They differ on the ICU experience they accept, how they calculate GPA, when you apply and where you'd go for clinical training. So compare each program's complete requirements and attendance plan before you let location or one tuition figure narrow your list.

This guide covers programs based in California. A university that only uses a California clinical site isn't included. Recurring deadlines, specific cohorts and dated tuition schedules are labeled separately below, so you always know which year a number belongs to.

Which nurse anesthesia programs are located in California?

The six are Samuel Merritt University, Kaiser Permanente/California State University Fullerton, National University, USC, UC Davis and Loma Linda University. Keep in mind that a program's base doesn't necessarily tell you where you'll spend every clinical rotation.

Program	Base	Degree and training feature	COA decision displayed
Samuel Merritt University	Oakland	DNAP, 36 months, hybrid	Continued accreditation
Kaiser Permanente / CSU Fullerton	Pasadena	DNP through the joint KPSA/CSUF pathway	Continued accreditation
National University	Fresno	DNAP, 36 months, hybrid with required local attendance	Continued accreditation
University of Southern California	Los Angeles	DNAP, 36 months. First semester hybrid, later coursework in person	Continued accreditation
UC Davis	Sacramento	DNP, 36 months, hybrid with simulation and clinical attendance	Initial accreditation
Loma Linda University	Loma Linda	DNP, 39 months, classroom and hybrid delivery	Continued accreditation

Accreditation source: COA's current program and decision directory. Program features come from the official school sources below. UC Davis received initial accreditation on January 22, 2025, and initial accreditation means it's accredited. That's a different status from a pending application.

Samuel Merritt's current program is a DNAP, so check the degree awarded and the entry pathway on its official page when you compare it with the DNP programs.

How do California programs compare on admissions requirements?

Pull the exact GPA definition, experience milestone and certification wording for each school. National minimums won't give you one statewide application checklist.

Program and official source	GPA checkpoint	Experience checkpoint	Certification or test distinction
Samuel Merritt	At least 3.25 in cumulative, last 60 semester/90 quarter units and science coursework	Currently practicing ICU nurse, with 24 months and 4,160 qualifying hours within five years at application	CCRN (adult, pediatric, neonatal or critical care) required by matriculation, along with BLS, ACLS and PALS. The GRE isn't among its listed requirements
KPSA/CSUF	Last 60 semester units: 3.2	One full-time year of adult critical care within the past two years	Adult CCRN required, and you list it in the prospective student profile before you can apply. The GRE isn't among its listed requirements
National	Cumulative 3.0 or last 60 hours 3.25, plus science 3.0	One full ICU year within three years	CCRN, CEN or CFRN preferred. The GRE isn't among its listed requirements
USC	Undergraduate cumulative minimum 3.0	One completed critical care year at application, two completed years by program start	GRE neither required nor considered. CCRN isn't a program requirement, though USC says nearly every applicant holds it
UC Davis	Cumulative bachelor's GPA 3.0. Additional science prerequisites depend on your degree background	One full-time equivalent year, 2,080 hours, required by matriculation	Eight shadow hours with a CRNA or physician anesthesiologist before applying. The GRE and CCRN aren't among its listed requirements
Loma Linda	Cumulative, nursing and science GPAs each at least 3.0	One full-time U.S. critical care year at application, not counting orientation	CCRN preferred. BLS, ACLS and PALS required before clinical courses. The GRE isn't among its listed requirements

A test missing from a requirements list isn't the same thing as a written waiver. Check the current application checklist for your entry term before you pay for an exam or decide to leave a credential off.

The minimums also aren't where most admitted students land. USC lists a 2026 applicant mean GPA of 3.64, and it interviews about 60 qualified applicants for up to 28 seats. KPSA says hundreds of qualified applicants compete for 30 to 35 positions, and it describes well-qualified applicants as having a GPA above 3.5, A grades in science courses and two to three years of current adult ICU experience.

Shadowing rules differ too. Samuel Merritt requires at least eight hours with a CRNA (time with a physician anesthesiologist doesn't count), and UC Davis requires eight hours with either one. USC asks for one quality shadow experience with no minimum hours, and Loma Linda highly recommends eight hours of observation before the interview.

Which ICU and prerequisite differences change your shortlist?

If you come from pediatrics or neonatal, you need a school-by-school check. KPSA/CSUF requires adult ICU experience and explicitly excludes PICU, along with the ER, PACU, step-down and cath lab. Samuel Merritt's accepted unit list includes NICU and PICU (so the same background gets opposite answers inside one state). USC lists adult, pediatric and neonatal populations, but excludes step-down, PACU and emergency department settings. Loma Linda prefers adult critical care and evaluates experience individually.

The edges vary as well. National considers emergency department experience on an individual basis and doesn't accept OR, OB or PACU time. USC says flight nursing may qualify if most of your shift is direct critical-care-level patient care. Samuel Merritt doesn't count hours worked while you were in a nurse residency or new graduate program.

Illustrative applicant: you have two years in a pediatric ICU. KPSA's adult-ICU requirement means you'd need to close a setting gap before that application makes sense. Samuel Merritt and USC publish different population rules, so review their remaining requirements before you decide your experience is excluded everywhere. This is a made-up example comparing policies. It isn't an admission prediction.

Academic timing differs too. Samuel Merritt says coursework has to be finished before you apply. USC lets you complete prerequisites by March 31 of the enrollment year and requires two chemistry semesters plus physics, among its other courses. UC Davis describes prerequisite waivers for applicants with accredited BSN or MSN degrees, and a separate course checklist for certain other degree backgrounds. If you have an ADN plus another bachelor's degree, read the full degree eligibility section before you count on a waiver.

Retakes don't work the same way everywhere either. Samuel Merritt currently lets up to three repeated science courses replace the original grades, and it won't accept repeat coursework at all starting with the 2028 admissions cycle. USC averages every attempt of a repeated course into your GPA. So check the school's repeat policy before you sign up for a retake to fix one grade.

Our CRNA prerequisite guide helps you organize your course review. When equivalency is unclear, get the approval in writing and save it. A chemistry course one California program accepts doesn't automatically meet another program's requirements.

How much does CRNA school in California cost?

It depends heavily on which cost you're looking at, so compare the same categories over the same time period. A fixed program price, one academic year's attendance budget and an average per-credit figure are three different measurements.

Program	Published cost basis	How to use it
Samuel Merritt	2026-2027 DNAP program price: $203,624 for 94 units	Covers tuition and fees, locked for the whole program if you progress on schedule. Books, graduation fees, healthcare and parking are left out
UC Davis	2026-2027 Year 1 tuition/fees $54,248, with a total attendance budget of $100,808	The same page gives Year 2 figures of $51,666 and $94,869. These are year-specific estimates, not a guaranteed three-year price
KPSA/CSUF	KPSA program fee $15,000, separate from CSUF tuition and fees	Get the current CSUF DNP tuition schedule and the residency rate that applies to you. The program fee isn't total tuition
National	Average cost of $887 per credit. The degree requires 92 semester credit hours	Ask for your cohort's full tuition and fee estimate before you compare it with a program price
Loma Linda	Program page links an expected cost-of-attendance estimate	Confirm the current 39-month plan, tuition year, fees and clinical travel exclusions before you compare a total

For USC, ask the program office for the tuition and fee schedule for your entering year, with every term included.

Worked comparison: UC Davis's Year 1 budget separates $54,248 in tuition and fees from $100,808 in total attendance costs. The difference, $46,560, covers its other listed budget categories. If you treated the tuition line as everything you need to attend, you'd leave those categories out. And putting that first-year amount next to Samuel Merritt's program price would mix two different time periods.

Ask each school for the full training budget, including any travel or temporary housing your placements require. Keep scholarship assumptions out of the math until you have an actual award.

Which application deadlines and start dates should you track?

Write down both the submission date and the entering cohort. Several dates you'll still see posted have already passed.

Program	Published timing	What it means for you
UC Davis	Summer 2027 applications opened August 6, 2026. The annual closing deadline is November 1 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern	Your NursingCAS status has to be complete or verified, as the school defines it. NursingCAS won't tell you if a document is missing, so watch it yourself
KPSA/CSUF	February 1 opening and July 31 deadline each year. Interview invitations go out in September, interviews run October and November, and decisions come in December	Every part of the application, including recommendations, has to be complete by July 31. Start with the prospective student portal, and don't file the CSUF university application until you're invited
Loma Linda	Recurring May 1 to July 1 application period, with an August 1 documents deadline	Two separate completion milestones. Interviews are by invitation
USC	Next window August 1 to 31, 2027. Interviews in November, and a new cohort starts each May	All materials are due by August 31. About 60 qualified applicants interview for up to 28 seats

For Samuel Merritt and National, get the current cycle dates directly from admissions. Samuel Merritt's admission team also sends a Pre-Application Guide with tools for checking your coursework against its prerequisites, and it's worth requesting early.

What does hybrid attendance mean in California?

In California, hybrid still includes required in-person education and clinical training. It doesn't mean you can stay in your current home for the whole program.

National requires you to live within a 45-minute commute of its Fresno campus during the 15-month onsite didactic phase. After that comes a 21-month clinical residency at affiliate sites across the country. UC Davis warns students not to expect every clinical rotation near home. USC describes a hybrid first semester followed by in-person coursework on its Health Sciences Campus.

Samuel Merritt lists clinical sites across Northern and Central California and makes students responsible for placement-related travel and housing. Loma Linda guarantees your clinical placements, with affiliations across Central, Northern and Southern California plus enrichment sites in Ohio and Idaho. It provides housing for rotations more than 90 miles from campus. Ask which other expenses stay yours.

Okay so, try a simple two-column worksheet: where I attend classes and where I complete clinical rotations. Add dates, who covers housing and how sites get assigned. That tells you a LOT more about the real relocation decision than a hybrid label ever will.

What do accreditation and student outcomes show?

They show different things, so compare completed cohorts and clearly defined measures. A scheduled accreditation review, a graduation rate and a first-attempt NCE result each answer a separate question.

Loma Linda's official table reports a first-time NCE pass rate of 88% for 2026.

Samuel Merritt reports a 92% first-attempt NCE rate for its 2025 DNAP class. USC's August 2026 performance report lists a 90.9% first-time pass rate and 0% attrition for the Class of 2026.

A statewide average built from different years would blur these differences, and undated percentages can't rank six programs. Ask each program for its latest completed cohort, the number taking the exam, the first-attempt result, its attrition definition and its student support information.

Which nearby states should you compare?

If the California options don't fit your experience or your logistics, look at Arizona and Oregon, then widen your search through the CRNA program directory. Check each program's actual base and clinical network before you decide an out-of-state option would be easier to attend.

For each school you keep, save three things side by side: your qualifying experience date, the confirmed cohort deadline and the full attendance plan. Get those settled before you spend money on another prerequisite or application fee. With six California programs this different, that bit of homework is how you find the programs that fit your actual life.