CRNA Schools in Missouri: Four Programs, Costs & Requirements

Missouri has four nurse anesthesia programs in this comparison: Missouri State University in Springfield, University Health Truman Medical Center in Kansas City with a DNP awarded through UMKC, Webster University in Webster Groves, and Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College in St. Louis. All four run a 36-month entry pathway. But their prerequisite rules, application calendars and clinical expenses differ enough to reshape your shortlist.

So start with the practical questions. Will your organic chemistry course count? Does your certification meet that program's requirement? And who pays for housing when clinical rotations take you away from home? Answer those before you treat four schools as four equally workable applications.

Every date, rate and outcome below carries the year the school published it, so confirm the annual deadline for the class you actually plan to enter.

Which Missouri nurse anesthesia programs can you compare?

Program and campus	Entry degree and training	GPA and critical care	GRE and CCRN	Published tuition scope	Application cycle	COA status
Missouri State, Springfield	RN-to-DNAP, 36 months, with clinical rotations outside Springfield	Its FAQ points applicants who need to raise their last-60-credit-hours GPA toward optional science courses. Get the current minimums from its application requirements	GRE dropped as a general requirement in March 2022. CCRN required, with the GRE accepted as an equivalent if you don't have enough hours for CCRN yet	$84,000 for 120 hours and program fees, the same in state or out of state. Student and college fees and living costs are separate	The deadline for summer 2027 entry was June 15, 2026	Continued. Directory lists October 2026 next review
University Health Truman Medical Center / UMKC, Kansas City	DNP, 36 months. 12-month foundation, then 24 months of integrated clinical training	3.2. One full-time critical care year or equivalent, defined as 1,800 hours over 12 months	GRE not required. Active CCRN or CCRN-K	Published 2027 tuition/fee totals $93,966 resident/qualifying KC Metro and $154,310 nonresident	2027 cycle runs March 1 to August 1, 2027, with interviews September 7-10, 2027	Continued. May 2025 two-year action requires a progress report
Webster, Webster Groves	DNAP with health administration emphasis. The 2026-27 catalog lists 132 credits	Undergraduate 3.0 or outstanding later academic achievement. One critical care year, two adult ICU years preferred	GRE not required. Application checklist requires a CCRN score sheet	Approximate $118,950 tuition and fees across 15 terms at 2026-27 rates	May 1 annually, with interviews in the summer	Continued. Next review May 2030
Goldfarb / Barnes-Jewish, St. Louis	DNP, 92.5 credits, 36 months. In-person anesthesia instruction with some online coursework	Cumulative and science 3.0. One full-time critical care year/equivalent by the deadline	GRE not required. CCRN and official score report required	2026-27 tuition $834/credit, plus track, term and applicable course charges	Current cycle July 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027. Interviews May 6-7, 2027	Continued. October 2025 action schedules fall 2035 consideration

Sources: Missouri State, University Health, Webster's current catalog, Goldfarb and COA's directory.

That's four educational programs. UMKC's degree partnership with University Health counts as one pathway on this list, and a hospital that provides clinical training isn't automatically another school. Missouri State's shorter CRNA-to-DNAP completion options are for people who are already CRNAs, so they sit apart from its entry pathway.

Which prerequisite and credential rules change your eligibility?

Missouri State: a specific GRE substitution and a firm coursework deadline

Missouri State's current FAQ says the GRE stopped being a general admission requirement in March 2022. It does let you use the GRE as an equivalent if you don't have enough hours yet for CCRN. That's a conditional alternative. It doesn't mean you can skip certification across the board.

The FAQ also requires prerequisites and final transcripts by the application deadline, so a course you're still taking can't count toward that application. The page lists optional preparation separately, including advanced physiology, pharmacology, statistics, additional organic chemistry/biochemistry and its PASS course. It describes those optional classes as a way to raise your last-60-credit-hours GPA or strengthen your foundation, so keep them off your required-prerequisite list.

If you're counting on the FAQ's credential exception, get written confirmation that it fits your circumstances. Missouri State FAQ.

University Health: organic chemistry with lab and a 3.2 GPA

University Health requires a BSN or MSN, a 3.2 GPA and Organic Chemistry I with lab within the ten-year period before the application-cycle year, and the prerequisite has to be complete by the deadline. Its FAQ adds that the course must carry at least four credits including the lab. If your course is close to the ten-year mark, confirm with the program before you apply. The FAQ also considers cumulative, science and last-60-credit GPAs, and its science calculation includes both original and repeated science grades (so a retake doesn't wipe out the first grade).

Accepted critical care includes adult, pediatric and neonatal ICUs, as long as you routinely manage the specified advanced monitoring, ventilation, vasoactive drugs or assist devices. The FAQ leaves emergency department, cath lab and recovery-room experience out of its critical care definition. CCRN or CCRN-K can qualify, and the FAQ accepts adult, pediatric and neonatal certification.

You apply through the UHTMC NursingCAS application. The separate UMKC application comes later, after an admission offer and instructions from the program. University Health requirements and FAQ.

Webster: the catalog spells out the course rules

Webster's catalog, effective June 2026 through May 2027, requires three-credit, college-level organic chemistry and/or biochemistry and algebra-based physics, taken within five years. Labs are encouraged but not required. A combined organic/biochemistry course can qualify. A course that incorporates general chemistry content can't. And a nonscience-major survey or conceptual physics course doesn't meet its stated standard either.

Plan around that five-year limit, and ask admissions directly if your transcript is borderline. The checklist also calls for at least eight CRNA-shadowing hours and a CCRN score sheet, and Webster's FAQ says it prefers the adult CCRN. The catalog asks for a bachelor's degree in nursing or a related field.

Webster requires Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky nursing licenses after admission, which reflects where its clinical sites are. If you hold a qualifying compact license, ask how it satisfies those instructions. Webster catalog.

Goldfarb: use the current cycle's requirements

For the July 2026 to March 2027 cycle, Goldfarb requires CCRN and the official AACN score report.

Its course list includes statistics, at least six credits of anatomy/physiology, algebra-based physics and organic chemistry or biochemistry. Required courses generally need at least three credits and a B-minus or higher from a regionally accredited institution, and every one of them has to be complete by March 1. The FAQ sets no fixed age limit on prerequisites and doesn't require a lab for physics, organic chemistry or biochemistry. The GRE and GMAT are explicitly unnecessary. If you've taken StraighterLine courses, check the dates. The school rejects StraighterLine coursework after January 1, 2026 and directs applicants with earlier coursework to the program director.

Goldfarb prefers adult or pediatric high-acuity ICU preparation. ED or PACU experience may be considered only when your regular responsibilities meet the specified critical care competencies, so neither setting gets accepted automatically. Operating-room experience is excluded. BLS, ACLS, PALS and Missouri or qualifying compact licensure each have enrollment timing requirements, and those differ from what you need to submit the initial application. Goldfarb admissions and FAQ.

What does CRNA school in Missouri actually cost?

Missouri State's cost table lists $84,000 for the 120-hour RN-to-DNAP academic/program-fee line, the same for resident and nonresident students. It lists $3,700 in student fees and $3,600 in college fees separately, plus other expenses. Program-paid items are marked on their own, and the $1,000 confirmation deposit is credited toward first-semester tuition. So don't count it twice, or you'll inflate the bill.

Ask Missouri State for a quote for your entering cohort, and don't call $84,000 the entire cost of attendance. You're responsible for your own housing and transportation throughout clinical training.

University Health's 2027 estimate covers more: $93,966 for Missouri/qualifying KC Metro students and $154,310 for nonresidents, including its listed clinical fees. Certain Kansas counties qualify for KC Metro pricing, but living in Kansas alone isn't enough. The school provides individual student health insurance, plus housing for rotations more than 60 miles from UHTMC. Textbooks (estimated at $2,500), clinical travel and other expenses are still on you.

Webster publishes 2026-27 tuition of $6,980 plus $950 in fees per term. Over 15 terms, that's its approximate $118,950 tuition-and-fee estimate. Those fees cover out-of-town clinical housing, specified certification/testing expenses and other listed support. Health insurance, textbooks, parking and several other expenses fall outside the estimate, and future academic-year increases can change what you actually pay. Webster costs and benefits.

Goldfarb's 2026-27 fee schedule lists DNP tuition of $834 per credit, a one-time nurse anesthesia track fee of $850 and a $2,575 term charge. Its $116 course surcharge applies to named courses, not every credit. Ask for the full 92.5-credit cohort worksheet with those charges, insurance, parking and clinical travel built in. Multiplying tuition alone won't give you a comparable total.

For every school, budget tuition and mandatory charges separately from your living expenses, clinical transportation and the drop in your nursing income. The housing differences really show up when you compare Springfield with the Kansas City and Webster pathways. Our CRNA school cost guide walks through the broader planning categories.

Which application dates are still useful?

Missouri State's deadline for summer 2027 entry was June 15, 2026, with interviews in July 2026. That cycle opened March 1, 2026. Missouri State application requirements. Its year-round application policy belongs to the completion track, so it doesn't apply to new RN-to-DNAP applicants.

Goldfarb's current cycle closes March 1, 2027, with interviews May 6-7, 2027. The pathway normally starts in January. Before you resign from a job or move, confirm the exact entering class named in your application.

Webster publishes May 1 as an annual deadline. Interviews happen in the summer on the Webster Groves campus, and the admitted cohort starts the following summer term.

University Health's 2027 window runs March 1 to August 1, 2027, through NursingCAS, with in-person interviews by invitation September 7-10, 2027. Its program overview says courses start in May, following the application cycle. Confirm your exact start date with admissions before you plan a move or give notice at work.

Where will clinical training take you?

Missouri State specifies at least four clinical sites, with rotations lasting three to six months and required travel outside Springfield. Since you cover your own housing and transportation there, repeated placements turn into a real line in your budget.

University Health starts clinical integration after the initial 12-month foundation. The school advertises a regional network and provides housing for qualifying distant rotations. Ask which sites your cohort may use and how overnight call affects your travel plan.

Webster starts clinical rotations in the fifth term of the first year. Its current catalog names Missouri partners plus Illinois and Kentucky sites, including Baptist Health Paducah. Goldfarb describes a St. Louis-area BJC network that includes Barnes-Jewish, St. Louis Children's, Missouri Baptist, Progress West and other affiliates. A program's home address won't tell you what your clinical schedule looks like.

What do accreditation and student outcomes show?

The COA lists all four with continued accreditation. University Health's May 20, 2025 action granted two years and required a progress report on the Conducting Institution and Clinical Site standards, with its next consideration in spring 2027. That's real context to have. It doesn't mean the program is closing, and it doesn't predict how the next review will go. Missouri State's next review is listed for October 2026, so check the COA decisions page for the outcome. COA accreditation decisions.

Compare the same graduation year and the same measure. Goldfarb reports 93% first-attempt NCE passage for 2025.

Three programs have newer 2026 figures: Missouri State's first-attempt rate is 83%, University Health's is 81% and Webster's is 91%. None of these is an admission acceptance rate, and none is a complete measure of education quality. Missouri State outcomes University Health Webster

How should you build your Missouri shortlist?

Start with the programs where your current credentials and required courses already qualify. Then confirm the actual entering cycle, the clinical travel and a full cost worksheet for each one. Write your unanswered questions right next to each school, so a missing fact can't pass itself off as a friendly policy.

If your workable Missouri list turns out short, compare Kansas, Illinois and Tennessee. Looking across state lines widens your choices, but every program still needs its own transcript, experience and budget review. Use the school finder to keep that comparison organized.