CRNA Schools in Florida: Programs, Costs and Requirements

Florida has nine established CRNA programs in the comparison below, and they don't agree on much. Each one uses its own GPA calculation, GRE policy and ICU-experience rule. So a school that's a perfect fit for your coworker might leave you with a prerequisite gap or a timing problem. Your shortlist should start with each program's current admission rules, its application cycle and where its students actually do clinicals.

All nine appear on the Council on Accreditation's list of accredited programs. A program that's only announced or still pending accreditation isn't an accredited option yet, so it isn't counted here. And a hospital that hosts clinical rotations isn't the same thing as a separate program that grants the degree.

Which CRNA programs are in Florida?

The nine are AdventHealth, Barry, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, Florida State, Keiser, Miami, North Florida and South Florida. The table links to each program's official page and its CRNA Club profile. Treat it as a starting list for comparing programs. It isn't a ranking of which ones are hardest to get into.

Program	Official program information	CRNA Club comparison profile
AdventHealth University	DNAP admissions	AdventHealth
Barry University	Nurse anesthesiology admissions	Barry
Florida Gulf Coast University	BSN-to-DNP nurse anesthesiology	Florida Gulf Coast
Florida International University	DNP nurse anesthesia	Florida International
Florida State University	Panama City DNAP	Florida State
Keiser University	Nurse anesthesia degree information	Keiser
University of Miami	BSN-to-DNP nurse anesthesia	Miami
University of North Florida	DNP nurse anesthesiology	North Florida
University of South Florida	DNP nurse anesthesiology	South Florida

Before a school goes on your final list, open the actual nurse anesthesia track. A university's generic DNP page, post-master's DNP page or nurse practitioner admissions page might be describing a completely different route (and it's an easy page to land on by accident).

How do Florida CRNA school requirements differ?

Compare four things before you decide whether you meet a program's minimums: how it defines GPA, when your experience has to be complete, the course details and its testing policy. A 3.2 minimum based on one set of courses doesn't mean the same thing as a 3.0 nursing GPA. And an experience requirement due at matriculation gives you a very different timeline than one due when you apply.

The table below shows the differences that change your application plan. Keep the official rule attached to each school on your shortlist, because a GPA number by itself doesn't tell you whether you're eligible.

Program	Published difference that changes your planning	What to do with it
AdventHealth	Requires two years of current critical-care experience before the program begins, doesn't count orientation time, and requires continued full-time ICU employment from application through the start date. Its 3.2 cumulative GPA is calculated on your last 60 credit hours, and it also sets a 3.0 natural science GPA.	Count your eligible time using its definition, not your ICU hire date, and run the last-60 math before you decide what to retake.
Barry	Lists a 3.2 GPA minimum, considers the last 60 undergraduate hours and includes graduate GPA for applicants with a graduate degree.	Look at the actual GPA categories before you decide which course to retake.
Florida Gulf Coast	Requires a full year of ICU experience by the interview, not counting orientation. Its FAQ accepts neonatal experience with some adult experience.	Count your completed qualifying time as of the interview date, and document the adult part if you're applying from the NICU.
Florida International	Requires at least a 3.0 GPA in the last 60 undergraduate credits and one year of current full-time critical-care RN experience by the application deadline. PICU and NICU are accepted.	Calculate the recent-credit GPA it describes and check your experience as of the application deadline.
Florida State	Requires an upper-division GPA of at least 3.0 and at least one year of current critical-care RN experience. Its examples include pediatric and neonatal ICUs.	Use the upper-division calculation, and describe what you actually do for unstable patients on your unit.
Keiser	Its entry-into-practice admission requirements list an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and one year of full-time critical-care experience not counting orientation. The listed ICUs include medical, trauma, neuro and CVRU, and neonatal ICU isn't accepted without adult critical care.	If pediatric ICU is your only experience, confirm with Keiser admissions in writing before you apply.
Miami	Lists a minimum 3.0 overall and cumulative basic-science GPA, plus two years of ICU experience within the last five years.	Check both GPA categories and the five-year window.
North Florida	Lists a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA and two years of critical-care RN experience by matriculation.	Check your undergraduate calculation and how much experience you'll have by the start date.
South Florida	Lists a 3.0 nursing-specific GPA and one year of full-time ICU experience by the time the program begins. Its experience policy excludes ER, stepdown and neonatal-only experience.	A NICU-only background needs its own eligibility check before you apply.

Sources: AdventHealth, Barry, UNF's anesthesiology admission section and USF. Additional program-specific sources: FGCU, FIU admissions, FSU requirements, Keiser entry-into-practice and Miami admissions.

AdventHealth shows why the GPA label matters. Its "cumulative" 3.2 is calculated on your last 60 credit hours, while its 3.0 science GPA counts every science course you've taken, undergraduate and graduate. So "cumulative" doesn't automatically mean the same calculation at every school, and the same transcript can clear one program's bar and miss another's.

For a broader course review, start with the CRNA prerequisite guide, then check each course against the specific Florida program's rule.

Which Florida programs require the GRE or CCRN?

Florida programs are all over the place on testing. Some require GRE scores, and some make the GRE optional but keep the right to ask for scores later. Keep "optional" in its own category, because optional isn't a promise that you'll never be asked to submit the exam.

Each program's published testing policy:

• UNF: its anesthesiology track requires GRE results within five years and says there are no waivers. The published component minimums are 153 verbal, 150 quantitative and 3.5 analytical writing.
• USF: lists a GRE within five years, with a 292 combined verbal/quantitative minimum and a 3.0 writing minimum. CCRN is listed as highly recommended.
• Barry: GRE submission is optional, but the committee reserves the right to request scores after interview and assessment. CCRN is required for acceptance.
• AdventHealth: you need your CCRN before you submit the application.
• FGCU: requires the GRE within five years of application. Its FAQ describes preferred scores and doesn't label them as absolute admission minimums.
• FSU: requires a GRE taken within five years of application, recommends a combined score above 300 and encourages CCRN certification.
• FIU: requires the CCRN, and you upload both the certificate and the score report. The GRE isn't among its program-specific admission requirements.
• Keiser: its entry-into-practice FAQ says neither the GRE nor CCRN is required, and it assesses comparable competency instead.
• Miami: its admission requirements (GPA, statistics, three letters, a statement of purpose, your resume, RN license and ICU experience) don't include the GRE or CCRN.

These are each school's own policies. They aren't targets every applicant should aim for. The official sources linked in the requirements section have the complete language and timing. And notice the difference between Keiser, which says outright that no GRE is required, and a school that simply leaves the exam off its list. If you're counting on skipping the GRE, confirm it on that program's application checklist for your entry term.

How much does CRNA school in Florida cost?

To compare cost fairly, put every program on the same basis: program credits, tuition, mandatory fees, living expenses and clinical travel. A per-credit rate isn't a program total. A university's annual cost-of-attendance budget isn't necessarily the cost of all the years added together. And residency doesn't affect tuition the same way at every program.

For example, UNF's published nurse anesthesiology rates for fall 2026 through summer 2027 list tuition and fees of $601.70 per credit for Florida residents and $1,261.56 for nonresidents. Additional charges are listed separately. Those figures don't promise the rate will stay the same for the rest of a future student's degree.

FSU's program page says its tuition is the same for in-state and out-of-state students. That's a good reminder to check each program's actual billing policy, because "public university" doesn't always come with the same residency discount.

Three more published estimates give you a sense of scale, even though each school quotes its costs differently:

Program	Published amount and basis	What the amount leaves unresolved
FIU	Its 110-credit program page estimates tuition plus fees at $83,844 resident / $142,273 nonresident. Tuition alone is a separate, lower row.	Housing and meals are excluded, and rates can change.
FSU	The posted schedule, effective August 2024, estimates $92,595.25 across the three-year program, including specified tuition, fees and materials. Tuition is listed separately as $85,500.	Ask whether a newer schedule applies to your cohort. Variable health insurance and your personal living costs still need their own budget.
Miami	Lists $162,750 as total program cost, effective Spring 2028, with block tuition billed each semester of the nine-semester program.	University fees and program expenses (equipment, two anesthesia conferences, books and a laptop) are separate. Confirm the figure for your entry term with the program before you budget.

Please don't read those figures as a cheapest-to-priciest ranking, because a smaller number on a different cost basis isn't actually cheaper. For AdventHealth, Barry, FGCU, Keiser and USF, get the current entry-program tuition and fee schedule on the same basis before you compare final totals. A generic graduate rate, a completion-DNAP price and a full entry-to-practice estimate are three different purchases.

Use this worksheet when you ask schools for comparable estimates:

Cost item	Evidence to collect	Easy mistake to avoid
Tuition	Official rate, required credits, residency rule and applicable year	Comparing one school's annual figure with another school's full-program total
Mandatory fees	Program and university fee schedule	Assuming every required fee is baked into the headline tuition figure
Housing and ordinary living costs	Your own budget and the school's published COA allowances	Treating a financial-aid allowance as your exact bill
Clinical travel and housing	Published placement policy and the program's explanation of student-paid costs	Budgeting only for the campus address
Timing and reserve	Payment calendar, aid-disbursement schedule and your savings plan	Assuming tuition and living costs come due at the same time

Illustrative calculation: a personal living budget of $2,400 a month for a 36-month program adds up to $86,400 before tuition and other expenses. That's a budgeting example. It isn't a Florida cost estimate or any school's official COA. Swap in your actual program length and what your household really needs.

Which application deadlines should you track?

Track three things together: the entry cohort, the submission deadline and any separate supplemental deadline. "Applications open" on a webpage isn't enough. Check whether the deadline shown has already passed, and whether every material has to be received or verified by that date.

These dated examples show why the cohort matters so much:

Program	Published cohort and date	What it means for you
USF	Summer 2027 entry. Priority deadline August 15, 2026, NursingCAS closes December 1, 2026, and the application must reach "verified" status by December 15, 2026	Review is rolling after the priority date, and applicants invited to interview before August 15 get priority consideration.
FSU	Summer 2027 entry, January 15, 2027 application deadline	FSU admits one class a year, so this date is your one shot at the summer 2027 cohort.
Miami	Spring 2028 entry, applications opened September 1, 2026 and close February 1, 2027	Verified applications are processed after the deadline, and interviews run March through April.
UNF	Spring 2028 entry, March 1, 2027 NursingCAS deadline and March 15, 2027 supplemental deadline	Two separate completion steps for the same application. Put both on your calendar.
FGCU	May 2027 entry, July 31, 2026 deadline	The 2026 deadline was July 31.

Sources: USF, FSU, Miami, UNF and FGCU.

When you build your real calendar, work backward from each program deadline. Add transcript orders, prerequisite completion, exam score reporting and recommendation requests, and leave yourself time to chase down a missing document. A submitted application and a complete application are two different checkpoints (and the gap between them is where people get burned).

How should you compare clinical locations and outcomes?

Ask where students train, whether you'll need to travel or find temporary housing, and which of those costs you'll pay yourself. Your family's location, your support system and whether you can relocate belong in this decision right next to tuition. A familiar university name won't tell you what your day-to-day clinical life looks like.

UNF, for example, describes both in-state and out-of-state clinical experiences. Read each program's placement information before you assume every rotation will be a commute from one Florida apartment.

For outcomes, make sure you're comparing the same measure for the same cohort. First-time certification pass rates, eventual certification pass rates and attrition answer three different questions. Keep each school's definition and reporting year attached to its number. Accreditation review dates aren't a quality ranking either, so check the COA's actual status and any relevant decision.

If the Florida options don't fit your experience or timing, look at Georgia and Alabama alongside the national program directory. Compare the actual move and the clinical requirements, though. A neighboring state isn't automatically easier or cheaper.

Our Final Thoughts

Build a shortlist of programs you're actually eligible for. Then compare the training, the logistics and the total cost you'd be signing up for. You don't have to decide based on a school's name or one GPA number, and honestly, you shouldn't.

Start with the free CRNA Club School Database. Save the programs you want to look into, and keep a note of the official policy behind each decision. Once your shortlist is clear, the next application task gets SO much easier to pick.