CRNA Schools in Nebraska: Bryan, Clarkson & Creighton Status

If you're comparing CRNA schools in Nebraska, two programs in this comparison have awarded COA accreditation: Bryan College of Health Sciences in Lincoln and Clarkson College in Omaha. Bryan awards a DNAP, and Clarkson awards a DNP. Both offer 36-month entry preparation, but their academic schedules and clinical placement setups are different.

Creighton is building a separate Omaha DNP-Nurse Anesthesia program for a proposed August 2027 cohort. Its official page says initial COA review is underway and that students can't enroll until initial accreditation is granted. So the anticipated May 2027 accreditation decision is a future milestone. It hasn't been awarded.

Costs, outcomes and application dates below keep the year each school attached to them, so you can tell a current figure from an older one.

Which Nebraska programs can you compare?

You can compare Bryan and Clarkson as accredited options and track Creighton on its own line while it waits on initial accreditation.

Program and city	Degree and attendance	GPA and critical care	GRE / CCRN	Published cost scope	Application timing	COA status
Bryan, Lincoln	DNAP, 36 months. Current catalog curriculum totals 83 credits. Clinical home hospitals in Lincoln, Omaha or Kearney	Overall collegiate GPA 3.0, science GPA 3.2 preferred. One full-time-equivalent critical care year, two RN years preferred at entry	GRE scores required. CCRN isn't among the listed admission requirements	Get the current cohort tuition quote, including clinical and other fees	August 31 in the year before May entry	Continued, next consideration spring 2031
Clarkson, Omaha	DNP, nine semesters. Eight months online, twelve months campus academics, sixteen months clinical	Cumulative 3.0 and prerequisite-group GPA 3.0. One recent full-time critical care year/equivalent before application	Neither the GRE nor the CCRN is among the listed admission requirements	2026-27 nurse anesthesia rate $1,212/credit plus enrollment, semester and other charges	December 1, 2026 for the following spring semester, with February 16 to 18, 2027 interviews	Continued. June 2026 ten-year award, next consideration spring 2036
Creighton (developing, excluded from the accredited count)	Proposed Omaha DNP-NA, full-time 36 months. Residence near campus required	Cumulative 3.0, one full-time direct critical care year, named course grades and shadowing	Neither the GRE nor the CCRN is among the listed admission requirements	Anticipated 2027-28 academic-year tuition/fees of $62,398, not a whole-program total	August 2027 proposed cohort: applications June 1 to November 1, 2026, January 2027 Omaha interviews	Initial review underway. Enrollment requires approval

Sources: Bryan 2026-27 graduate catalog, Clarkson, Creighton and COA decisions.

Bryan's clinical assignments in Omaha or Kearney belong to its Lincoln-based program, so don't count them as extra schools. And Creighton's Omaha program doesn't join the accredited count until the COA actually grants initial accreditation.

What changes your eligibility at Bryan?

Your overall GPA, your science courses and your experience timing. Bryan's current catalog requires an overall GPA of at least 3.0 across collegiate work and prefers a 3.2 basic-science GPA. That preferred science GPA isn't a separate hard 3.2 eligibility floor.

Its prerequisite list includes statistics, chemistry, microbiology, anatomy and physiology. Chemistry, microbiology, anatomy and physiology are listed as three-semester-hour courses, and physiology needs a B or better. If you're using combined anatomy and physiology in place of separate courses, Bryan requires two sequential semesters totaling six hours, with a B or better in both.

The catalog requires transferable coursework from an accredited institution and official transcripts showing completion before admission. It strongly recommends finishing the degree, required coursework and nursing experience before the interview. If a course is still in progress, get a timing decision from admissions. The interview recommendation might not be the final documentation deadline.

Bryan accepts a nursing bachelor's degree or an appropriate related discipline. It requires at least one full-time-equivalent critical care year and prefers two years of RN experience at entrance. Its examples include adult, pediatric and neonatal ICUs, and other settings may be considered when the nurse shows competence with invasive monitoring, ventilators and critical care pharmacology.

The current catalog requires GRE scores. The CCRN isn't on its list of admission requirements. Multistate RN privileges and AHA BLS, ACLS and PALS are required at matriculation. Admission is restricted to 25 students a year, and only applicants who attend the interview are considered, with a maximum of three interview attempts. Bryan admissions.

What changes your eligibility at Clarkson?

Two GPA floors, your experience by the application date, and a graduate statistics course after you're accepted. Clarkson sets a cumulative college GPA minimum of 3.0 and a 3.0 GPA for its prerequisite group: college mathematics, pharmacology, microbiology, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry and physical assessment. A group GPA requirement doesn't automatically translate into a B or better in each course.

You need one recent full-time critical care year, or its part-time equivalent, before you apply. The current list includes NICU and PICU as well as adult settings, plus other experiences that show the required unstable-patient, monitoring, ventilator and pharmacology competencies. RN critical care after an associate nursing degree can count, but the BSN has to be finished before the program starts.

The application runs through Clarkson's portal and includes a critical care skills assessment, core performance standards, a personal statement, a CV, credential copies and specific supervisory recommendation forms. The GRE and CCRN aren't on that list, but confirm with Clarkson before you skip either one.

A separate after-acceptance requirement can eat into your time and budget. Before enrollment, Clarkson requires one credit of GRD 798 scholarly writing and three credits of graduate-level statistics equivalent to GRD 847. Undergraduate statistics doesn't satisfy the rule. A course listed at both undergraduate and graduate levels qualifies only if your transcript shows graduate-level enrollment. These courses don't have to be finished by the application deadline. Clarkson admissions.

For both schools, have the program evaluate the course title, credits, level, grade and completion date together. A generic "statistics complete" checkbox misses Clarkson's graduate-level rule entirely. Our prerequisite guide helps you organize those details when you ask for written course approval.

Which deadlines and entering classes should you track?

Track each school's published deadline right next to the entering class it actually feeds, because the two don't line up neatly here. Bryan's current catalog publishes August 31 in the year before May enrollment, and classes begin in May each year. Applications are due August 31 in the year before the May class you're aiming for.

Clarkson publishes December 1, 2026 as its application deadline "for the following spring semester," with mandatory on-campus interviews February 16 to 18, 2027. Invitations go to top applicants, and you have to be on campus for one of those dates. Keep the deadline and interview window on your calendar, and get your cohort's start date in writing from Clarkson before you plan a move or give notice at work.

Creighton's proposed August 2027 cohort has a June 1 to November 1, 2026 application window, with interview invitations in mid-December and in-person interviews on the Omaha campus in January 2027. The start still depends on initial accreditation. Finishing an application isn't proof you're approved to enroll. Bryan, Clarkson and Creighton.

What should you budget for tuition and training?

Budget for tuition, mandatory fees, clinical extras and your own living costs, and get each number on the same basis before you compare.

Bryan: get a current numerical quote

Bryan's 2026-27 graduate catalog links to a separate tuition schedule without printing a numeric DNAP rate. Get a current cohort quote before you compare its total with other Nebraska programs.

Ask for the tuition rate, the number of credits it applies to, how the enrollment payment is handled, lab and clinical charges, expected annual increases and a full mandatory-fee schedule. The current 83-credit curriculum is a handy cross-check if a quote uses a different credit total.

The catalog separately estimates $3,500 for a group of costs including books, a computer, dues, life-support expenses, professional membership, meeting attendance and an earpiece. It leaves transportation and miscellaneous clinical expenses to students. That estimate has no named entering-cohort date, and it isn't tuition or a complete living budget. Bryan tuition reference and additional costs.

Clarkson: use the current rate, then price the extra requirements

Clarkson's current main page and 2026-27 catalog fee table both list nurse anesthesia tuition at $1,212 per credit, a $2,000 anesthesia enrollment fee, a $300 program fee per semester and a $175 graduate technology fee per semester. The main curriculum lists 28 core and 61 specialty credits, or 89 before optional coursework.

At $1,212 for all 89 credits, the tuition-only illustration comes to $107,868. Confirm how that rate applies to core courses and to the separately required pre-enrollment writing and statistics. Semester fees, other charges and later academic-year increases mean that calculation isn't a cohort invoice. The catalog also lists a $150 graduation application fee and an estimated $1,310 national certification exam expense.

Both the current main page and the catalog list $1,212 per credit and the $2,000 enrollment fee, so once you're admitted, confirm the rates and fees for your entry cohort. Clarkson 2026-27 fees.

Clarkson's financial-aid cost-of-attendance model uses an assumed annual credit load. That model can't stand in for a nine-semester anesthesia cohort bill. A complete comparison shows tuition and mandatory fees separately from rent, food, transportation, insurance, exam costs and the income you'll give up.

How far from Lincoln or Omaha could clinical training take you?

Potentially to small-community rotations well outside either city. Bryan assigns each student a clinical home hospital in Lincoln, Omaha or Kearney. Its current student-information page describes continuing clinical training plus small-community rotations, including one- and two-month placements. It says housing at distant affiliates is provided for those rotations, while you stay responsible for your regular living costs and transportation.

Bryan says most affiliate clinical sites sit within a 150-mile radius of Lincoln, so build travel time into your plan. In-house call runs through the last 18 months of the program, and students should expect 50 to 60 hours a week across didactic, clinical and call responsibilities. Ask for your cohort's actual clinical schedule before you settle on housing. Bryan student information and curriculum.

Clarkson starts with eight months fully online, followed by twelve months of campus academics and sixteen months of clinical practicum. Its Nebraska Medicine relationship provides shared resources, but the clinical network also includes urban and rural facilities and specialty experiences. Starting online doesn't remove later campus attendance or travel (so hold off on signing that long lease). Ask for placement locations and housing responsibilities before you settle on a permanent commute. Clarkson training structure.

What do accreditation and outcomes show?

Both accredited programs hold continued accreditation, and their outcome reports come from different years. The COA granted Clarkson ten years of continued accreditation effective June 3, 2026, with next consideration in spring 2036. Bryan's continued accreditation, granted for 10 years effective May 19, 2021, schedules its next consideration for spring 2031. COA decisions.

Clarkson's 2024-25 outcomes report first-attempt board passage of 87.5% and zero attrition. Clarkson outcomes

Bryan consumer information

How should you evaluate Creighton separately?

Treat it as a developing program with its own rules and its own accreditation timeline. Creighton's pathway requires you to live within commuting distance of Omaha. Many early courses are online, but its admissions section calls for campus presence across the program. The current page lists a 3.0 cumulative GPA, named B-minus science prerequisites, a C or higher in physical assessment, critical care experience and CRNA shadowing. Graduate statistics with a B or higher is due before you start, and it isn't required at initial application.

Its anticipated 2027-28 academic-year tuition and fees total $62,398. That covers one academic year and isn't the full three-year program, and a complete cost-of-attendance budget is expected in spring 2027. Its requirements list doesn't include the GRE or CCRN. As a brand-new program, it has no graduating-cohort outcomes yet. Creighton proposed pathway.

With only two accredited programs in the state, every detail about each one counts. Choose between them based on your transcript, the entering cycle you'd actually join, housing and the clinical plan, and keep an eye on Creighton's accreditation decision. If two options leave you with too few good applications, compare Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota. The program finder keeps each program's requirements side by side while you decide.