CRNA Schools in Mississippi: Southern Miss and UMMC Compared

There are two CRNA schools in Mississippi right now, and both are accredited entry-to-practice nurse anesthesia programs: the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg and the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Southern Miss has continued COA accreditation. UMMC received initial accreditation in July 2026 and welcomed its first class of 16 nurses in August. COA directory, UMMC first-cohort announcement

Both programs award a DNP over 36 months. That's about where the overlap ends, though, because their GPA definitions, prerequisites, shadowing expectations and tuition all differ. Check your eligibility and your intended start year before you let a published price decide where you apply.

Which nurse anesthesia programs are in Mississippi?

Southern Miss and UMMC are the two accredited entry programs, and UMMC's initial accreditation counts. Clinical hospitals don't count as extra schools. And a first-year program doesn't have graduate board results yet, so there's nothing to line up against an established program on that front.

Program and location	Degree and attendance	Academic and ICU requirements	Testing and certifications	Costs and application timing	Accreditation and official sources
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg	DNP, 36 consecutive months, full-time, face-to-face integrated program with some online core courses	Cumulative undergraduate GPA at least 3.0, 3.2 encouraged. Current full-time ICU employment and at least one ICU year at application	GRE within five years. CCRN before application. BLS, ACLS and PALS	2026-2027 tuition $10,028 per semester plus $2,000 nonresident charge where it applies, before other fees. May 15 of the year before intended January admission	Continued. admissions, FAQ
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson	Post-baccalaureate DNP Nurse Anesthesia, 36 months full time, nine semesters	Undergraduate and graduate nursing cumulative GPA at least 3.2. Current full-time ICU employment for at least one year at application	CCRN active through the application deadline. At least 20 anesthesia shadowing hours and an interview	2026-2027 CRNA semester tuition approximately $9,956.67 resident or $24,891.67 nonresident, before professional and other fees. July 1 to October 1 published window, fall admission	Initial. admissions, current tuition

Use the Southern Miss profile and UMMC profile to organize your questions, alongside the national CRNA directory.

How do GPA, prerequisites and GRE requirements differ?

Southern Miss uses a cumulative undergraduate GPA and requires the GRE, while UMMC uses a nursing GPA and doesn't list the GRE among its admission requirements. At Southern Miss, a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 is the minimum, and the school strongly encourages 3.2 for competitiveness. Your nursing degree has to be finished at application, and the didactic nursing program can't use only pass/fail grading. You'll need the GRE verbal, quantitative and analytical writing sections done within five years. The current application checklist sets a minimum analytical writing score of 3.0. Its FAQ describes a combined 300 and analytical writing 4.0 as competitive targets, and those higher numbers don't replace the published minimum. Southern Miss requirements, application checklist

Southern Miss also requires an approved graduate statistics course at the 600/6000 level or higher, with a B or better, completed within five years. You can take it in the fall after acceptance, before January enrollment. A course you've already finished needs a transcript and syllabus review. Chemistry with a B or higher is encouraged but not required. And don't swap in an undergraduate statistics class for the graduate prerequisite unless the program approves it. Southern Miss prerequisite details

UMMC specifies a 3.2 cumulative GPA in undergraduate and graduate nursing coursework, plus a BSN or MSN. It requires at least one research course and one statistics course at the undergraduate or graduate level, which is a different bar from Southern Miss's graduate statistics requirement. The GRE isn't on UMMC's list of admission requirements, which also asks for three recommendation forms (a former professor, an advanced practice provider and your ICU nurse manager) and an interview. UMMC admissions

Say you've got undergraduate statistics and research courses on your transcript. If Southern Miss is on your list, you'd still need to arrange the graduate statistics review. Meeting UMMC's course-level requirement doesn't mean Southern Miss will accept the same preparation. The CRNA prerequisite guide can help you track the different requirements and the written decisions you get back.

Which ICU experience and shadowing qualify?

Both schools want current full-time ICU employment and at least a year of experience at application. Neither policy lets you wait until enrollment to finish a year you're missing at application. Southern Miss prefers more experience and expects work with ECG and invasive monitoring, vasoactive medications and ventilators.

Southern Miss lists Level III neonatal and pediatric ICU experience as accepted. Its admissions page encourages supplemental adult experience, though, and its FAQ says additional adult experience is typically needed. So have the program review your exact patient population and adult exposure. The FAQ lists CCU, PACU, operating room, stepdown and emergency department areas as not meeting its ICU requirement, with individual consideration for settings that operate as intensive-care overflow. Your unit's acronym alone won't settle whether your actual responsibilities qualify. Southern Miss experience policy

UMMC asks for full-time employment in an area of intensive care nursing. If you work in a PICU, NICU, emergency department or flight role, describe your unit to UMMC before you apply, because Southern Miss's accepted-unit list doesn't answer the question for UMMC. UMMC requires CCRN certification active through the application deadline. Southern Miss requires CCRN before application, along with current BLS, ACLS and PALS. UMMC checklist, Southern Miss certifications

Shadowing requirements differ, too. Southern Miss requires 16 hours and prefers 24 or more, backed by a log. Its FAQ allows a CRNA interview on the school's form when facility or medical restrictions prevent shadowing, so confirm that process first. It isn't an open-ended alternative. UMMC requires at least 20 anesthesia shadowing hours within two years and gives you a documentation form if you ask. Southern Miss shadowing guidance, UMMC shadowing requirement

What will you pay as a resident or nonresident?

Your semester tuition depends on the school and on your residency classification. Use each school's dated nurse anesthesia tuition table, not a general graduate rate.

2026-2027 published item	Southern Miss	UMMC
Semester tuition	$10,028 resident, $12,028 including the $2,000 additional nonresident tuition	Approximately $9,956.67 resident or $24,891.67 nonresident, with cents varying by term
Other listed charges	$35 capital improvement fee, $20 student activities fee in fall/spring. The program fee and other expenses need a cohort budget	$500 professional fee per semester, $850 JBI fee once in the first semester, plus additional related expenses
Full-program scope	36 months. One academic-year rate doesn't establish a fixed tuition-and-fee quote for the entering cohort	Nine semester tuition rows total $89,610 resident or $224,025 nonresident if the displayed rates hold constant. Fees, related costs and future increases are extra

Southern Miss's table shows $10,083 resident and $12,083 nonresident tuition-and-fee totals, with a note that the $20 activities fee applies only in fall and spring. Keep that summer difference in your math. Its FAQ also describes a program fee and says that fee doesn't cover travel and housing for distant clinical sites. Southern Miss current tuition, program expenses

UMMC's 2026-2027 student accounting table is the current source for its semester rates, so ask for a cohort estimate based on that schedule. The nine-semester tuition calculation is a projection from one rate schedule. It isn't a guaranteed future bill or your full cost of attendance. UMMC current accounting table

Moving to Mississippi doesn't, on its own, make you eligible for resident tuition. Ask each institution which classification applies to you, then add health insurance, educational supplies, board prep, clinical travel and living expenses. Until those budgets are complete, you can't fairly call either one the cheaper school.

What attendance and licensure planning will you need?

Plan for full-time, in-person training with travel. Southern Miss describes a full-time, face-to-face program with some online DNP core courses. It strongly recommends living in or near Hattiesburg and discourages working. Clinical sites are assigned, and you should expect distant travel and housing from the second year on. Once clinical rotations start, you won't just follow the university's regular classroom calendar. So ask about shift schedules, assigned time off and rotation housing before you count on semester breaks for paid work. Southern Miss attendance and clinical FAQ

UMMC describes a full-time 36-month program based in Jackson. Ask for the cohort's classroom, simulation and clinical schedule, and where its clinical sites are. The medical center's address may not cover every placement. UMMC overview

Both programs require you to be eligible to practice in Mississippi. If you're accepted at Southern Miss, you have to provide a Mississippi or acceptable compact-state license by December 1 of the application year. You don't need the Mississippi license to apply. UMMC requires a current unrestricted U.S. or territorial RN license at application, then Mississippi licensure or privilege once you're admitted, kept active throughout enrollment. Southern Miss licensure rules, UMMC licensure rules

Which deadlines and outcomes should you compare?

Compare Southern Miss's May deadline with UMMC's October one, and keep the cohort year attached to each. Southern Miss's deadline is May 15 of the year before your intended January admission, and that includes external supporting documents and fees. Interview invitations go out in early to mid June, interviews run in June or early July, and you'll hear back within about two weeks. Southern Miss accepts about 35 applicants a year. UMMC publishes July 1 opening and October 1 closing dates for fall nurse anesthesia admission, and accepts applications July 1 to October 1 each year. Southern Miss timeline, UMMC announcement

Southern Miss's 2025 outcome table reports 80% first-attempt NCE success. Southern Miss cohort data UMMC first class

If another program fits your eligibility or timing better, widen your shortlist with Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee. Then use the CRNA Club School Database to keep each school's answers, costs and required travel side by side. With two programs this different, a clear side-by-side is the fastest way to see where you fit.