CRNA Schools in Maryland: Programs, Requirements & Costs

CRNA schools in Maryland come down to three nurse anesthesia programs in the current COA directory: the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University and the Uniformed Services University. They don't share admissions pathways, experience deadlines or funding arrangements. Two are university options based in Baltimore. USU, in Bethesda, requires its own uniformed-service sponsorship and commissioning pathway.

Use the program-specific differences below to decide which applications deserve a closer look. A school being in your state doesn't make you eligible, doesn't mean its application window is open and doesn't mean you can do your clinical training near home.

Which CRNA schools in Maryland should you compare?

Compare all three, because each one awards a Doctor of Nursing Practice and describes approximately three years of full-time nurse anesthesia education. Where they part ways is the admissions process and what attendance you're signing up for. The hospitals where students rotate belong to these programs. They aren't extra independent schools.

Program	Base and degree	First distinction to investigate	Official information
University of Maryland, Baltimore	Baltimore, three-year DNP	Two continuous full-time ICU years are required when you apply. Resident tuition requires residency classification	Program and requirements
Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, 36-month DNP	Two full-time ICU/critical care years are required by matriculation. On-campus attendance is still necessary	Program and requirements
Uniformed Services University	Bethesda, 36-month DNP	Academic admission and sponsoring-service selection are separate requirements	Nurse anesthesia program

The COA directory identifies the educational programs. When you check accreditation, match both the university and the program name. A familiar hospital name, or a different nursing specialty's accreditation, won't tell you the status of a nurse anesthesia pathway.

How do GPA and experience requirements differ?

They differ in which GPA counts and the date your qualifying experience has to be complete, so write both down for every school. Maryland's two-year requirement applies at application and Hopkins' two-year requirement applies at matriculation. Both say two years. They still land on different eligibility dates.

Program	Academic checkpoint	Critical care checkpoint	GRE and CCRN
Maryland	Undergraduate cumulative GPA at least 3.0, with overall and science GPAs of 3.25 preferred. Its science GPA covers chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and microbiology	Two continuous full-time ICU years at application	GRE not required. CCRN required
Johns Hopkins	Scholastic GPA at least 3.0	Two full-time RN ICU/critical care years at matriculation	GRE accepted but not required. CCRN at application
USU	Overall and science GPAs each at least 3.0	At least one full-time RN critical care year	Conditional GRE policy. CCRN preferred, not required

USU's 2026-2027 admissions requirements, linked from its admissions page, require GRE scores within five years unless both your overall and science GPAs are at least 3.5. The stated scores are at least 297 combined Verbal/Quantitative and 3.5 Analytical Writing. One qualifying GPA on its own won't trigger the exemption. You need both.

Illustrative experience check: picture an RN who expects to hit two ICU years somewhere between the application deadline and enrollment. That future experience won't satisfy Maryland's application-stage rule. Hopkins uses a different milestone, so this RN should compare the intended entering date and remaining requirements there. This made-up example explains timing. It doesn't predict admission.

Maryland excludes ER, OR, PACU, step-down and telemetry experience from its qualifying acute-care requirement. Hopkins prefers trauma, cardiovascular and surgical ICU experience, and it also accepts neuro, burn, pediatric, neonatal, medical and cardiac ICUs. USU's document names pediatric and neonatal ICU among its examples and lets certain other experience be assessed against explicit critical-care competencies. So ask about your actual patient care duties instead of treating any statewide unit list as universal.

Which courses and shadowing records need attention?

Give course level, grade and recency their own checklist, along with your shadowing log. A course that counted for your BSN doesn't automatically meet a graduate program's prerequisites.

Hopkins requires undergraduate statistics and undergraduate organic chemistry or biochemistry, with a B or better. The chemistry has to be complete at application and within the preceding five years. Its statistics description includes experimental-design content, so send the syllabus if your course title leaves that unclear. Hopkins also wants its completed CRNA shadow log at application.

USU requires a B or better in qualifying biochemistry, physiology or pathophysiology within five years of its application deadline. Physiology and pathophysiology built into undergraduate nursing curricula don't count toward that requirement. Its statistics course also requires a B or better, but the current document says that course stays valid indefinitely (a nice break if your stats class was a while ago). USU requires at least 20 CRNA shadowing hours within the last three years, recorded on its specified form.

Maryland describes recent organic chemistry or biochemistry as preferred coursework in its competitive-applicant profile. That's different from Hopkins' required course. Keep the distinction when you build your schedule, and don't add a mandatory chemistry retake to every Maryland application.

Use our prerequisite guide to keep track of course names, credits, grades, completion dates and any written equivalency decision. Keep each school's science GPA calculation right beside that record.

Is USU an option for civilian nurses?

Yes, but only through a uniformed-service pathway. The school's current FAQ says civilians may apply but must be selected for direct accession by the start of the program. Current requirements call for commissioning, or being in that process, plus service sponsorship.

So start with whether you're eligible for sponsorship. The tuition comparison comes later. USU's academic admission and the service's selection process are separate, and getting accepted by one doesn't automatically secure the other. The current FAQ also says reservists would need to transition to active duty and use the relevant service education pathway.

Ask the appropriate medical recruiter and sponsoring organization about current eligibility, selection dates and service obligations. Get the actual terms in hand before you choose this route. And don't borrow the civilian federal-employment eligibility that USU describes for its PhD program. It doesn't apply to the nurse anesthesia DNP.

Keep a decision record with the service contact, the academic contact, the required approvals and the document describing your obligations. That keeps your education decision tied to the career commitment that comes with it.

How much does CRNA school in Maryland cost?

The answer changes with each school, because Maryland's published program estimate, Hopkins' first-year attendance budget and USU's sponsored funding arrangement measure different things. Compare the full training period, mandatory fees and living costs separately before you call any option cheaper.

Program/source	Published figure or funding scope	What the figure excludes or requires
Maryland tuition overview	On the 2026-2027 basis, three-year tuition and fees are estimated at $111,905 resident or $181,190 nonresident	Living expenses are additional, and future rates are subject to change. In-state classification requires an application and approval
Hopkins 2026-2027 budget for new Summer 2026 entrants	Tuition is $67,635 across the first three listed terms, at $2,505 per credit. Total attendance allowance is $117,490	This is one budget year, not a guaranteed three-year total. Other entering cohorts need the plan that applies to them
USU tuition FAQ	No tuition or fees for DoD employees under its stated policy	Other federal employees should contact the program. Sponsored education carries obligations set by the sponsoring organization

On that published basis, Maryland's resident and nonresident estimates are $69,285 apart. That's a big enough gap to settle your residency classification before you build a financing plan. And moving to Maryland doesn't, by itself, get you approved for the resident rate.

Hopkins' listed attendance allowance is $49,855 more than its first three terms' tuition. Those other budget categories count, but a financial-aid allowance isn't a promise about what you'll actually spend on living. Ask for the itemized estimate covering your intended start and every year of training.

Add clinical travel and temporary housing where they're required. Keep scholarships out of the plan until they're awarded, and read any employment or service commitment before you treat support as unrestricted aid.

Which deadlines correspond to the next entering classes?

Each program's deadline only makes sense next to its application year and entry year, so record all three together. A recurring month and day on a webpage doesn't tell you applications are open right now.

Maryland's nurse anesthesia Summer 2027 cycle opened January 5, 2026, and every application material was due July 1. Interviews ran August through September, with decisions in late September through early October. The program recommends submitting the online application by June 1 so you have a month to get the supporting documents in.

Hopkins lists September 1 for summer entry. Ask its admissions office which summer cohort the next September 1 deadline feeds, and work from the current application instructions for that cohort.

USU's application and all supporting documents are due August 1. You'll also need to check the service selection deadlines. A general annual window or an academic deadline won't stand in for a sponsoring service's own process.

Build your own submission buffer around the documents you need: transcripts, recommendation forms, course completion and shadowing verification. A due date means the whole file is due. A missing document can't show up whenever it's convenient.

Where will classes and clinical training take place?

Clinicals can take you well past the campus city, because a Baltimore campus doesn't keep every placement in Baltimore. Maryland lists regional clinical partners and identifies some sites more than 50 miles from campus, and students pay the related housing and travel costs. Its anesthesia coursework is face to face, although some non-anesthesia DNP work is online.

Hopkins describes a three-year in-person program with some online courses and says students must be on campus throughout the plan of study. Its clinical licensing instructions name Maryland and Virginia and point to additional states you may need before clinical coursework. Ask about assignment geography and licensing costs for your cohort.

For USU, ask directly for the current nurse anesthesia clinical assignment and travel guidance. A Bethesda base doesn't guarantee three years of Bethesda-only attendance.

Before you sign a lease, make two columns: required classroom attendance and possible clinical locations. Then mark which costs are yours. That list will tell you more than the word "hybrid" ever will.

What do the published student outcomes tell you?

They're useful once you match the graduation year and the measure. Maryland's table reports 100% first-time NCE passage for 2025. Hopkins reports 91% first-time NCE passage for 2025. USU reports 100% first-time NCE passage for 2026, with 8.3% attrition.

These are different cohorts, so they don't add up to a statewide ranking. Hopkins also reports 0% attrition for its Class of 2025.

For each finalist, ask for recent multi-year outcomes, cohort sizes and the definition behind each measure. Employment, eventual exam passage and passing on the first attempt answer different questions. And ask about academic support and clinical preparation alongside the percentages.

What should you do with your Maryland shortlist?

Start with pathway eligibility (USU's sponsorship question first, if the military route interests you), then the exact experience milestone and course requirements. Compare costs only after you know which programs fit. Use the school database to organize your list and keep each school's official confirmations with it.

If Maryland's three options leave you with a specific mismatch, look at Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.. Check their eligibility rules and clinical geography on their own terms, because a neighboring program isn't automatically easier to get into or attend.