CRNA Schools in Massachusetts: BC and Northeastern

Boston College and Northeastern University are the two CRNA schools in Massachusetts with entry nurse anesthesia programs in this comparison. Both offer three-year, full-time DNP pathways, but their admissions rules split in a few important places. Pay close attention to Northeastern's conditional GRE waiver, the different GPA definitions and the exact statistics-course requirement.

Which CRNA schools in Massachusetts offer entry training?

Two do. Boston College's William F. Connell School of Nursing is in Chestnut Hill, and Northeastern's Bouvé College of Health Sciences program is in Boston. Clinical affiliations stay with their educational program, so they aren't extra independent schools.

Program	Entry curriculum	Published format	Accreditation
Boston College	DNP, 97 credits, 29 courses, 36 months	Full-time, on-campus/in person, May start	COA continued accreditation
Northeastern University	DNP-Nurse Anesthesia, 77 semester credits, 36 months	Full-time, hybrid Boston program, May start	COA continued accreditation

Sources: Boston College program, Northeastern program and the COA directory.

The different credit totals don't mean different degree lengths. Each school describes 36 months. Read the sequence, clinical teaching and attendance expectations before you decide which plan fits your life, and keep in mind that a hybrid format still includes in-person clinical education.

What GPA does each program require?

Boston College asks for an undergraduate average of B or better, with 3.5 or greater preferred, and its FAQ separately says accepted applicants tend to average 3.6. Northeastern requires undergraduate and science GPAs of 3.2. Northeastern's 3.6 number belongs to its GRE waiver. It isn't the minimum admission GPA.

Keep these facts in separate columns:

Academic question	Boston College	Northeastern
Minimum or eligibility wording	Undergraduate average B or better	Undergraduate GPA 3.2 and science GPA 3.2
Preferred or class-profile information	3.5 preferred. The FAQ describes an accepted-applicant average of 3.6	Two or more critical care years preferred
GRE relationship	Official GRE scores required	Waived when undergraduate cumulative GPA is at least 3.6
Statistics requirement	Completed statistics course, AP credit not accepted	Graduate statistics, B or better, completed before matriculation. A prior course must be within two years of applying

A class average doesn't create a new cutoff, and a test exemption doesn't replace the science GPA requirement. For example, if you have a 3.4 undergraduate GPA and a qualifying science GPA, don't cross Northeastern off because you've heard 3.6 is its minimum. That's the GRE-waiver line, and you'd still need to follow the GRE rule and every other current requirement.

Use the GPA requirements guide to keep eligibility, calculation method and evidence of academic preparation apart. And if your calculation is borderline, ask the school to clarify before you lean on a rounded transcript number.

Are the GRE and CCRN required?

CCRN is required at both, and the GRE is required at Boston College and conditionally at Northeastern. Boston College wants official GRE scores that are current within five years of its application deadline. Its discussion of scores around the 50th percentile describes accepted applicants, and it isn't a guaranteed admission threshold. All required application information, GRE scores included, has to arrive by the deadline.

Northeastern requires the GRE unless your undergraduate cumulative GPA is at least 3.6. Its page lists Verbal 153, Quantitative 153 and Analytical Writing 4.0, accepts scores from within five years and gives its NursingCAS reporting code. Read those details alongside the actual application instructions. A high science GPA on its own doesn't meet the undergraduate-cumulative waiver condition.

Boston College also lists ACLS and PALS, and Northeastern requires the CCRN score report. Treat certification completion, score reporting and application submission as three separate tasks, so a submitted form doesn't hide a missing document.

Already have a graduate degree? Don't count on it changing a GRE rule automatically. Northeastern's waiver specifically names undergraduate cumulative GPA. If your situation isn't covered by the wording, ask for a direct answer.

Which ICU settings and experience dates qualify?

Boston College requires at least one full-time critical care RN year, not counting orientation or residency, with two years preferred. It explicitly lists PICU and NICU among acceptable settings and strongly prefers high-acuity surgical ICU experience at a tertiary medical center.

Northeastern requires one current critical care year, with two or more preferred. Its page explicitly accepts neonatal ICU at Level III or IV. That's a school-specific statement, so don't stretch it into a claim that all CRNA programs require Level IV neonatal experience.

Northeastern also requires at least 20 CRNA shadowing hours, with documentation uploaded to NursingCAS. Its personal-goal statement asks you to reflect on shadowing and on why you picked the program. Schedule that shadowing early enough that you can write from what you actually saw.

For either program, describe an unusual role using your real patient population, monitoring responsibilities, ventilator experience and dates. If your background is ER, transport or a mixed unit, ask the program how it views your role before you apply. A precise description of your independent practice will do a lot more for you than a general "critical care" label.

Which courses should you complete before applying?

Start with statistics, because Northeastern's rule needs an early audit. It requires a graduate-level course with a B or better before matriculation and says a prior course has to be within two years of applying. The content list includes descriptive statistics, distributions, hypothesis testing, inferential methods, basic data analysis and use of statistical software.

If your course is older, undergraduate or missing major content, get a written assessment before you count it as done. Ask how the recency rule applies to your intended cycle. The school says extra graduate anatomy/physiology, chemistry or physics coursework is an option for strengthening science preparation (an option, so those courses aren't all mandatory prerequisites).

Boston College requires a completed statistics course and doesn't accept AP credit for it. Its FAQ says no specific organic chemistry or physics course is required for admission, though it expects a foundation in health-sciences chemistry. A course in the doctoral curriculum doesn't automatically become an admissions prerequisite.

Use the prerequisite guide to record each course's level, credits, grade, content and age. Close a verified eligibility gap first, before you take an extra course only because another applicant recommended it.

When should you apply to each school?

Both schools use a summer deadline for a May start, so plan about a year ahead. Northeastern's summer 2027 cohort had a July 1, 2026 deadline, with NursingCAS opening April 1 and virtual faculty interviews held August 10 to 12, 2026, by invitation only. Watch the program page for the summer 2028 dates, and expect a similar spring-to-summer window.

Boston College lists a June 30 deadline, and its program begins in May. Confirm which May cohort the next June 30 deadline feeds before you set your timeline. Its FAQ is clear that every piece of the application, official GRE scores included, has to arrive before the deadline, and it suggests allowing two to four weeks for scores to be received.

Northeastern uses NursingCAS for official transcripts and recommendations, while Boston College describes its own online application and reference process. Follow each school's actual route. Massachusetts programs don't all share one portal.

Make a separate checklist for the current prompt, references, transcripts, tests, certification documents and shadowing records. The application guide helps you connect those tasks. Your final calendar still needs each school's intended entering year and what has to be complete by when.

How much does CRNA school in Massachusetts cost?

Both schools charge by the credit, at roughly $2,000 per credit for 2026-27, and neither publishes a fixed full-program price. Credit totals differ (97 at Boston College, 77 at Northeastern), so multiply carefully and ask each school for an entering-cohort estimate.

Program and official cost source	Published rate	Budget question to resolve
Boston College tuition and aid	Graduate nursing tuition $1,952 per credit, also shown in the university's 2026-2027 schedule. Tuition is the same for all graduate nursing students	Ask for the 97-credit cohort estimate, how future rates are handled, mandatory fees and clinical expenses
Northeastern tuition and fees	The program page points you to the Bouvé graduate rate, which is $1,995 per credit hour for 2026-27 for graduate programs that aren't listed separately	Confirm that rate applies to the 77-credit DNP-NA, plus fees and how rates change across the three years

Boston College separately lists program-related expenses like clinical liability coverage, document management, exam charges, additional state licenses and parking. Some are optional or depend on the student or the placement. So tuition math alone doesn't tell you the total cost of attending.

Boston College's clinical list includes New Hampshire and Maine facilities as well as Massachusetts sites. That means travel, temporary housing and extra licensure each get a line in your plan. Ask both programs which expenses apply to assigned rotations and whether any support is available.

Keep tuition, mandatory fees, living costs and clinical travel in separate lines. Neither Boston College's published rate nor a Boston mailing address means there's a resident discount or an all-inclusive price. These are private universities, so get the written terms before you assume state residency affects tuition.

How does the attendance plan affect where you live?

Quite a bit, so get each school's attendance plan before you sign anything. Boston College describes an on-campus, in-person learning experience. The program decides clinical assignments, and it doesn't promise you a spot at whichever hospital might be willing to host you. Its site list includes several Massachusetts locations plus out-of-state partners.

Northeastern describes its degree as hybrid in Boston, with a full-time nine-semester sequence. Ask for the current campus schedule, clinical assignment geography and mandatory attendance before you choose housing. Don't assume the online pieces let you live outside the Boston area.

Illustrative planning comparison (a made-up scenario): a nurse wants to keep a home outside Boston and commute only occasionally. Boston College's in-person description has to be squared with that plan right away. Northeastern's hybrid label also calls for a detailed calendar, because clinical education won't necessarily be close to the nurse's current home.

Ask when rotations are assigned and when you'll hear about location changes. Build your budget around those commitments before you decide whether outside work is realistic. Boston College discourages working during its demanding full-time program, and that statement tells you nothing about another school's schedule.

What do accreditation and exam results show?

Both programs have continued accreditation in the COA directory, with next reviews listed for 2036 at Boston College and 2034 at Northeastern. The universities' general nursing accreditation is a separate category, so check the actual nurse anesthesia listing when you verify a program's status.

Northeastern's 2025 class reports 100% first-time NCE passage and 0% attrition. Those numbers describe one graduating year. They don't guarantee anything for future students, and they don't mean the programs are identical.

Boston College reports 100% first-attempt passage for its 2026 class.

Ask each school for recent cohort sizes, multi-year results, clinical support and what happens when a student needs academic help (yes, it matters). First-time exam passage, eventual passage and graduation each measure a different part of the experience.

How should you choose your Massachusetts shortlist?

Start with the academics: each school's exact GPA definition, GRE rule and statistics requirement. Then check experience, shadowing, the application route and the actual entering cycle. Compare money and attendance only once you know which options are realistic for you.

Save your comparison with the School Database. If one of the two programs leaves you with a specific mismatch, compare Connecticut, Rhode Island and the national program directory. A nearby state still needs its own admissions and clinical-location review. With only two programs in Massachusetts, getting the statistics course and the GRE question settled early leaves you time to put real care into both applications.