CRNA Schools in Oklahoma: Tulsa & OU Accreditation Update

Of the CRNA schools in Oklahoma, the University of Tulsa is the program in this comparison with awarded COA accreditation. Its DNP is a 36-month, full-time entry pathway. The University of Oklahoma is developing a separate 36-month DNP-Nurse Anesthesia track in Oklahoma City, but its official page says initial accreditation review is still underway and students cannot enroll until approval is granted.

So you're really comparing two very different things. Tulsa has graduating-cohort outcomes and established admission policies you can evaluate. OU has published a curriculum, proposed training arrangements and application information, but every one of those details is still subject to its initial approval process.

OU says it anticipates an accreditation decision at the COA's October 2026 meeting. An anticipated meeting isn't an accreditation award, though, so check the COA's decisions page before you plan around OU.

What can you compare today?

Program	Location and degree	Academic and ICU requirements	GRE / CCRN	Published tuition scope	Application cycle	Accreditation
University of Tulsa	Tulsa; 36-month DNP; FAQ describes 89 course credits	Most qualified applicants have a GPA above 3.5 and two years of critical care. Minimum of one year/2,080 ICU hours within two years before application, excluding orientation	GRE unnecessary; Adult CCRN required for admission	2026-27 anesthesia tuition $1,537/credit; fees additional; $136,793 tuition-only illustration at 89 credits	May 1 to July 31 in year before entry; late-May start	Continued; May 2025 two-year decision requires a progress report, next consideration spring 2027
University of Oklahoma (developing, excluded from accredited count)	Oklahoma City; proposed 115-credit DNP, 36 months	Published cumulative GPA 3.0; one year full-time RN critical care before application; shadowing required	Neither appears in its published admission requirements	June 24, 2026 estimate: approximately $95,000 resident/$195,000 nonresident tuition and mandatory fees, additional expenses excluded	The published 2026 application window ran April 15 to July 15; proposed summer 2027 curriculum depends on approval	Initial review underway; enrollment prohibited until initial accreditation granted

Sources: Tulsa program, Tulsa FAQ, Tulsa 2026-27 tuition, OU program and COA decisions.

What should a Tulsa applicant check first?

Start with the experience rule. Tulsa's current FAQ separates one year required from two years preferred. The required experience is 2,080 hours of full-time ICU work within two years before application, and equivalent part-time hours are considered. Orientation and managerial/education work don't count. Its examples include adult ICUs and PICU, while the certification rule specifically names Adult CCRN.

If you work in pediatrics or neonatology, that word "Adult" matters SO much. You're facing two separate eligibility questions. Does your clinical work qualify? And does the certification you hold satisfy the Adult CCRN instruction? Get a written decision on that combination before you pay application fees.

Tulsa waives the GRE. Its FAQ accepts a BSN or a related-field BS, requires an unencumbered U.S. RN license at application, and doesn't require an Oklahoma license just to apply. Its FAQ says the most qualified applicants have a GPA above 3.5 and at least two years of critical care, and it calls leadership (charge, precepting, unit governance) highly desirable. That describes strong applicants, not a cutoff, so confirm the minimum GPA and prerequisite courses with Tulsa's Graduate School before you apply. Tulsa FAQ.

As you prepare, pull your transcript, ICU employment dates and hours, credential reports and any required course syllabi together in one place. A school can judge an individual science course more accurately when it can see the credit count, lab component, final grade and completion date. Our prerequisite guide can help you organize that review, but each program's own decision is the one that counts.

When can you apply to Tulsa?

Tulsa publishes an annual May 1 to July 31 application window in the year before you'd start, with cohorts beginning in late May (typically Memorial Day week). The Graduate School has to receive the complete application, with every supporting document, by July 31. Interview invitations go out in late August, and interviews run from late September to early October. About 50 applicants interview for a cohort capped at 20. The 2026 deadline was July 31. For a future application, check the class year shown in the Graduate School portal and the supporting-document requirements before you treat an annual date as an open cycle.

Work backward from the deadline in three stages. First confirm eligibility. Then order records and recommendations. Then leave yourself time to finish the application. Calculate your actual ICU hours and double-check that you hold the right certification, instead of counting from the anniversary of your ICU start date (a month spent in orientation can change whether your documented hours meet the minimum).

Save interview prep for after your application is complete. Then use our CRNA interview questions guide to build a study plan around your clinical experience and the program's expectations.

What will Tulsa tuition and clinical travel cost?

Tulsa's 2026-27 graduate fee page lists a separate nurse anesthesia tuition rate of $1,537 per credit. Multiply that by the FAQ's 89 credits and you get $136,793 in tuition only, assuming every credit stays at that rate. That's a calculation from two published figures. It isn't a guaranteed cohort invoice, and rates may rise over the three years.

University fees come on top: the same page lists $658 per semester for nine or more credits and $112 for eight or fewer, plus a $112 first-enrollment student-services fee and other applicable charges. Program-specific fees, insurance, transportation and personal living expenses need a complete cohort worksheet. And the general DNP rate doesn't cover nurse anesthesia, so you can't swap it in to lower the estimate. Tulsa graduate costs.

Tulsa's training network includes trauma, cardiothoracic, transplant, pediatric, obstetric, dental, community and surgery-center experiences. The school describes more than 30 affiliations and opportunities for multiple rotations, but an affiliation count can't tell you which sites your class will actually use. Tulsa training overview.

Heads up: its FAQ requires at least one rotation that needs overnight accommodation, and it says many distant sites offer housing at no charge. "Many" isn't "every," so don't build a budget that assumes free housing at each distant placement. Ask for your anticipated assignments, any housing eligibility rules, transportation costs and a backup plan if housing isn't available.

What does Tulsa's accreditation record say?

The COA's May 20, 2025 action granted Tulsa continued accreditation for two years. It required a progress report documenting work toward full compliance relating to Conducting Institution, Standard A, and Graduate Standards, Standard D. The next consideration is scheduled for spring 2027.

An onsite visit and the COA's next accreditation decision can be separate events, so ask the program about its current review schedule and check the COA decisions page for any later action.

Keep this context right beside the accredited status. It doesn't mean the program is closing, and it doesn't predict what the next decision will be. COA accreditation decisions and May 2025 report.

What do Tulsa's student outcomes show?

For the Class of 2025, Tulsa reports 93% first-attempt NCE and 12.5% attrition.

First-attempt and eventual pass rates answer different questions. Attrition describes students who leave before finishing, and it uses a different denominator again. Reading both together tells you more than the exam result on its own. None of them is an admission acceptance rate, and none guarantees any one student's outcome. Tulsa's cohort results.

With only one awarded-status program in this state comparison, calling Tulsa Oklahoma's "highest-ranked" option wouldn't help you decide anything. Compare its requirements, clinical travel, budget and disclosed accreditation action with your real alternatives instead.

How should you evaluate OU while approval is pending?

Treat it as a program you can research but can't enroll in yet. OU's official specialty page is explicit: initial accreditation review is underway, and no one enrolls before approval. Its published 2026 application window ran April 15 to July 15. A summer 2027 plan of study shows a proposed curriculum. It isn't proof that the first cohort can start regardless of the COA decision.

The developing pathway is based in Oklahoma City and describes 115 credits across 36 months. Its current admission section requires a nursing bachelor's degree, a cumulative GPA of 3.0, an appropriate unencumbered RN/APRN license and at least one full-time year of RN critical care before you apply. The linked 2027 program handbook requires documented shadowing and completed prerequisites. Like Tulsa, OU describes its most qualified applicants as having a GPA above 3.5 and at least two years of critical care, and it expects to interview about 50 people on campus.

The handbook also describes NursingCAS plus a supplemental OU Health Campus application, transcript and reference submission, followed by competitive in-person interviews. Check that process against your intended cohort as the program develops. A general application link doesn't mean a cycle is open or that enrollment is authorized. OU specialty and linked handbook.

OU's June 24, 2026 estimate is approximately $95,000 for Oklahoma residents and $195,000 for nonresidents in tuition and mandatory fees, not counting additional out-of-pocket expenses. Appendix B of the linked handbook dates its approximate supplies, exams, meeting and equipment expenses to February 8, 2026, and warns that distant clinical training may add housing and travel costs. Those estimates cover a different scope than Tulsa's tuition-only calculation, so don't line them up as if they matched.

OU describes clinical partners across Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, Enid, Tulsa, Lawton, Ada and Duncan. It says housing is currently provided at non-Oklahoma City sites but is not guaranteed. Once the program's status and entering cohort are settled, ask for confirmation of approved placements and housing arrangements.

OU hasn't graduated a nurse anesthesia cohort yet, so its outcomes will start with its own first class. Don't stand in national averages or another nursing specialty's numbers for them.

What nearby options could broaden your plan?

Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas are worth comparing if one accredited Oklahoma option leaves you with too few workable applications. Build a separate eligibility, cost and relocation record for each school, and don't assume a neighboring state's policy matches.

Use the program finder to track that shortlist. At the top of Tulsa's record, keep its required Adult CCRN, recent direct ICU hours, actual fee worksheet and distant clinical housing. For OU, the next thing to watch for is a published initial accreditation decision, followed by confirmed cohort instructions.