CRNA Schools in Texas: Programs, Costs and Requirements

Texas has nine nurse anesthesia programs listed in the COA's current accreditation directory, including the U.S. Army pathway. CRNA schools in Texas differ in GPA calculations, GRE and CCRN policies, prerequisites and clinical locations. So before you decide where to apply, compare the programs you actually qualify for, the full training footprint of each one and a clearly defined cost estimate.

This guide covers programs based in Texas. A clinical rotation in Texas doesn't turn an out-of-state university into another Texas program. You'll see the application cycle or tuition year right beside each figure it describes.

Which nurse anesthesia programs are located in Texas?

The nine programs are spread across Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Galveston and Tyler. Seven award a DNP and two award a DNAP. The Army program adds a military application and service pathway on top of academic admission.

Program	Texas base	Degree	COA directory decision displayed
Baylor College of Medicine	Houston	DNP	Continued accreditation
Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston	Houston	DNP	Continued accreditation
Texas Christian University	Fort Worth	DNAP	Continued accreditation
Texas Wesleyan University	Fort Worth	DNAP	Continued accreditation
U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing, Baylor University	San Antonio training base	DNP	Continued accreditation
UT Health San Antonio / UT San Antonio Health Science Center	San Antonio	DNP	Initial accreditation
University of the Incarnate Word	San Antonio	DNP	Initial accreditation
University of Texas Medical Branch	Galveston	DNP	Initial accreditation
University of Texas at Tyler	Tyler	DNP	Initial accreditation

Accreditation source: COA's program and decision directory. Initial accreditation is an accreditation decision. That's different from a program that's still seeking its first approval. And a next-review date isn't an application deadline or an automatic expiration date.

Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the Army-Baylor program are separate programs. Give each one its own row when you compare requirements and costs.

How do Texas programs compare on admissions requirements?

Use each school's exact GPA calculation and credential wording. A 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.0 last-60-credit GPA are two different criteria. And a CCRN that's "strongly encouraged" means something different from a required certificate and score sheet.

The table summarizes selected requirements from the linked official pages, so it won't replace the complete instructions. "Not listed" means the item isn't among that program's published admission requirements. If you're counting on skipping it, confirm with the program for your entry term.

Program and official requirements	GPA checkpoint	Critical care minimum	GRE / CCRN
Baylor College of Medicine	Undergraduate cumulative 3.0	One year after NCLEX-RN, two preferred	GRE within the past four years / CCRN strongly encouraged
Cizik, UTHealth Houston	3.0	One year, two preferred. Minimum must be documented before enrollment	GRE within five years, competitive scores at least 151 verbal, 144 quantitative and 3.5 writing / CCRN not listed
TCU	No published numerical minimum. The class that started in January 2026 averaged 3.66 overall and 3.71 in the last 60 hours	One year, two recommended	GRE required / CCRN certificate and score sheet required
Texas Wesleyan	Overall or last 60 hours: 3.0. Science 3.0 strongly preferred	One full-time year within three years of planned start	GRE required / CCRN required
Army-Baylor, 2028 cohort	BSN/MSN 3.0 and Basic Health Sciences 3.0	At least one year, completed within five years of application deadline	GRE optional / CCRN or CEN optional
UT Health San Antonio	Last 60 credits 3.0 and science 3.0	One RN critical care year	GRE required, analytical writing minimum 3.5 / CCRN not listed
Incarnate Word	Cumulative 3.2	One full-time year within the last three years, two to three preferred	GRE not listed / CCRN required
UTMB	Last 60 bachelor's-or-higher credits 3.0 and all-science 3.0	One recent full-time-equivalent year, two preferred	GRE not listed / CCRN verification required
UT Tyler	Last 60 BSN-or-higher credits 3.0 and all-science 3.0	One current full-time ICU year, excluding precepting time	GRE not required / CCRN complete before application

A program's admitted-class averages are a separate data point. Don't turn an average into a cutoff the school never published, and don't read the minimum as a forecast of your chances. For the full application checklist, use our requirements guide.

Which prerequisite and ICU rules need a closer look?

Chemistry level, lab requirements and accepted ICU populations vary enough to change your plan. Get course approval before you pay for a replacement class, especially if you're applying to several Texas schools.

Chemistry example: Incarnate Word requires graduate chemistry plus a chemistry laboratory component. Its NURS 6301 satisfies the lecture requirement but doesn't include the lab. The lecture has a five-year recency rule, and the lab doesn't. Texas Wesleyan requires qualifying chemistry within three years of program start, plus a separate algebra course. Statistics won't substitute for that algebra requirement.

ICU example: UT Tyler considers adult, pediatric and Level III or IV neonatal ICU experience. UTMB lists adult, pediatric and Level IV neonatal critical care. These are school-specific policies, so a Level IV rule at one school doesn't set a statewide rule.

UTHealth Houston's requirements include the emergency room among applicable clinical areas, while Texas Wesleyan explicitly excludes ER, PACU and flight nursing for its experience requirement. If your eligibility is unclear, describe your actual responsibilities to the program. A unit's name alone won't settle a nuanced eligibility question.

Illustrative shortlist exercise: A Level III NICU nurse with a 3.3 cumulative GPA should check Tyler's full requirements before assuming every Texas program requires a transfer to adult ICU. That same nurse shouldn't assume UTMB accepts Level III experience. Confirm the patient population, duration and qualifying date one school at a time. This made-up example looks at a published policy difference only. It doesn't evaluate overall eligibility or admission odds.

How much does CRNA school in Texas cost?

You can't build a fair cheapest-to-most-expensive ranking from figures quoted on different bases. Some schools publish a cohort tuition total, and others publish a current per-credit rate or a semester fee schedule. Then living expenses and clinical travel add another layer.

The figures below are good starting points. Each one keeps its basis attached, so they don't get squashed into one misleading statewide range.

Program	Published basis	What the number covers
TCU	$115,000 tuition for the 2029 cohort	Separate $6,000 clinical fees. Housing and other listed expenses are additional
Incarnate Word	Initial CRNA cohort: $14,000 each semester, frozen for nine semesters	$126,000 calculated tuition, before program, annual and clinical fees
Baylor College of Medicine	2026-2027 BSN-DNP tuition row: $15,000 + $30,000 + $30,000 + $15,000 across the listed program stages	$90,000 at the displayed rates, before fees, insurance and living expenses. This combines current-stage rates and isn't a guaranteed future cohort price
UTMB	2026-2027 Texas-resident tuition line: $780 per credit	Semester and course-related fees are additional. This isn't a complete program price
UT Tyler	2026-2027 tuition and mandatory-fee schedule varies by semester credits and residency	Example: 15 fall/spring credits list $11,061 resident or $22,116 nonresident. One semester isn't the whole program
Texas Wesleyan	Posted 2025-2026 basic tuition and fees: $1,374 per credit for 92 credits	$126,408 calculated at those dated rates, excluding additional charges and living expenses. Request updated rates for your entering cohort
UT Health San Antonio	Separate Post BSN to DNP Nurse Anesthesia attendance budget, posted by award year (2026-2027 is up)	Use the budget for each year you'd be enrolled, not just the first
Army-Baylor	Military funding and service pathway	Review funding with the appropriate recruiter. Admission carries a service obligation, so a civilian tuition comparison alone is incomplete

The Army's 2028 instructions describe an active-duty obligation during training and five more years after graduation. Civilian applicants can enter the application process, but academic selection and the external Army agency process are separate requirements.

Worked budgeting example: TCU's displayed $115,000 tuition plus $6,000 clinical fees equals $121,000 before housing, insurance and other expenses. UIW's nine frozen $14,000 semesters equal $126,000 tuition before its additional fees. If you compared $115,000 and $126,000 as if both were complete attendance costs, you'd miss the different things each one leaves out. Ask each school for a written budget with the same categories before you decide which one is less expensive for you.

Which application deadlines and start dates should you track?

Track the entering cohort and the application cycle separately. Texas deadlines for the next cycle run from November 2026 through August 2027, and TCU, Cizik and the Army program have already posted windows for a 2028 start.

Program	Published timing	What it means for you
TCU	January 2028 entry: opens December 2026, deadline May 2027. Linked requirements specify May 15	Every material, including GRE scores and letters, must reach NursingCAS by May 15. Admission decisions go out by August 31
UT Tyler	Opens July 1, 2026, closes January 15, 2027	Every required form, including 40 documented shadowing hours, has to be in before you're considered for an interview
Cizik	Summer 2028 entry: July 1, 2027 deadline, listed open	Applications are reviewed after the deadline, and interview dates are posted later
Baylor College of Medicine	Recurring application deadline June 1, supporting documents June 15 in the year before entry	Both dates matter. Verify the intended entering cohort
Texas Wesleyan	Applications open April, due November 1 for the following year's cohort	Interviews run January to February, and decisions go out January 30 to February 15
Incarnate Word	Annual August 1 to January 15 window	Page gives recurring dates. Confirm the intended cohort year
Army-Baylor	2028 cohort academic application: November 1, 2026 to August 1, 2027. Transcripts due July 1	External agency deadlines are earlier and depend on applicant route
UTMB	One admission a year, each fall. The deadline is the date shown in NursingCAS	Your application has to reach Verified status by the status deadline, then you'll get UTMB's supplemental application
UT Health San Antonio	Fall 2027 entry: January 2 deadline	The earliest January deadline in the state, so plan around the holidays

Interview weeks, bridge-course dates and supplemental steps change from cycle to cycle. Confirm them in the cycle-specific portal before you build your calendar.

What does the training footprint look like?

Where you'll do clinicals matters as much as the city in the program's name. Ask where you'll need to live during classroom work, where clinical placements happen and who pays for temporary housing or travel.

Texas Wesleyan describes the first 12 months at its Fort Worth campus, an option to stay there or move to your assigned site for the next four months, and a final 20-month clinical phase. Its clinical network stretches across multiple states, and picking a preference doesn't guarantee you'll get that site.

UT Tyler describes in-person education, three to five campus days a week in the first year and then full-time clinical work with approximately one campus day a week. The program also prepares students for adult-gerontology acute care NP certification. UTMB includes some online content but describes mandatory campus learning almost weekly. So online coursework doesn't mean you can skip planning for attendance.

Before you accept a seat, ask for a sample schedule and the current clinical-location policy. If the official placement plan requires it, build a second housing or travel line into your budget.

What do accreditation and student outcomes show?

Accreditation tells you the program's reviewed status. Outcomes describe particular student cohorts. Keep first-attempt NCE results, eventual pass rates and attrition separate, and compare the same year and definition whenever you can.

New programs need time to graduate a cohort. UTMB, Tyler and Incarnate Word are all on initial accreditation, and Tyler says it'll post its outcomes once its first cohort graduates. Until a program has graduates, its pass rate is not yet available. That isn't zero, and it isn't a number you should guess at.

A statewide average pieced together from different years would hide these gaps. Ask each school for its latest completed cohort, the number of graduates taking the NCE, first-attempt results and how it defines attrition. Look at those alongside clinical access and the support students get. An undated percentage isn't a good reason to call any school "best."

Which nearby states should you compare?

If your Texas shortlist feels too narrow after you've checked eligibility and logistics, look at programs in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Check each state's current program options on their own, since neighboring states don't automatically share Texas policies.

Start with the CRNA program directory. Then keep three facts next to every program you save: the date you'll become eligible, the cost basis and where you'll have to attend. Those three details are what turn a list of Texas schools into an application plan you can really work from.