Program Director: COL Peter Attilio

The D.N.P. in Nurse Anesthesia is a U.S. Army affiliated program. The U.S. Army has prepared Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) for nearly 50 years and their students have earned graduate degrees through university-based affiliations since 1981. The U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN) produces virtually all active duty CRNAs and has averaged 28 graduates per year for the past ten years. The USAGPAN program is fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) and will be included in the LHSON D.N.P. program accreditation currently held by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The USAGPAN historically ranks among the nation’s top nursing anesthesia programs and is currently ranked 8th out of 113 accredited programs by U.S. News & World Report.

The USAGPAN is a rigorous 2-phase 36-month program, with phase 1 consisting of 52 weeks of didactic instruction at the U.S. Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE), Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Phase 2 consists of 97 weeks of didactic and clinical instruction conducted at select Medical Treatment Facilities affiliated with the Army, Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, and private sector. Among the current sites utilized for clinical instruction are Brooke Army Medical Center, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Womack Army Medical Center, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, and Memphis VA Medical Center. The overall program credit hours total 122 taught by a combined cadre of 37 highly qualified faculty.

The U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing matriculates Army and VA registered nurses. Graduates of the Baylor-USAGPAN will  serve as Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, CRNAs, in their respective agency. The U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing students are educated in a manner that encourages independent thought and critical decision-making skills during times of great stress, both physical and emotional. As the sole providers of anesthesia under many circumstances in the Army, CRNAs need to rely on their skills and training to save the lives of soldiers and beneficiaries.

(“NOTE: The 2026 Cohort Application closes 01 August 2025.  The next open application cycle is for the 2027 Cohort.  Please review the online Application Requirements for current information, including opening and closing dates for the 2027 Cohort application.”)  

Admission Requirements

The following represents a summary of the application and admission requirements for the U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN):

2026 Cohort Application Requirements 

1. Only BSN or MSN degree from a CCNE, ACEN or NLN CNEA accredited program will be accepted (U.S. programs only)
   1. Official transcripts must be submitted for all degrees and course work ¹
2. BSN or MSN minimum GPA of 3.0  
3. Basic Health Sciences minimum GPA of 3.0. Download and complete Basic Health Sciences form with additional directions:  Basic Health Sciences Form
4. Undergraduate or graduate statistics course
5. At least one year of critical care nursing experience as a Registered Nurse ²
6. A formal essay to the admissions board ³
7. Curriculum Vitae or Resume ⁴
8. Letters of recommendation: two required ⁵
9. Interview: Eligible applicants must complete a 2-to-3-day shadowing and interview visit. Civilian applicants and National Guard/Reserve applicants will coordinate through their Army Healthcare Recruiter. Active-Duty nurses will contact the USAGPAN Director of Recruiting for assistance. 
10. Optional: (Depending upon personal assessment of their competitiveness, applicants may opt to include this item and potentially strengthen their application.) CCRN or CEN 
11. Optional: (Depending upon personal assessment of their competitiveness, applicants may opt to include this item and potentially strengthen their application.) GRE within 5 years of application due date with a combined verbal/quantitative reasoning score ≥ 300 and/or analytical writing score ≥ 4.0 each being considered independently.  
12. Optional (Depending upon personal assessment of their competitiveness, applicants may opt to include this item and potentially strengthen their application.): Undergraduate or graduate course in Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry with a grade of B or higher completed within 5 years of application due date; online or in-residence programs are accepted (no lab required).  Download Course List (Courses external to this list must be submitted for review, see the Course List for more information): Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry. Course List 
13. REQUIRED, “External Agency” application: Review the chart below. It is highly encouraged to start the application as soon as it is available from your external agency. Please note each external agency’s deadline is well before the Baylor/USAGPAN application deadline. Selection by your External Agency is required to be eligible to compete for consideration by Baylor/USAGPAN, however, it is not a guarantee of admission to Baylor/USAGPAN; an offer of admission to Baylor/USAGPAN is the final step and is highly competitive.⁶  Please reference our Application Requirements webpage and review the chart associated with the above paragraph:  https://armydnp.nursing.baylor.edu/2026-cohort-application-requirements 

¹

Transcripts - Official transcripts required from all schools attended as noted below:

• Transcripts for all degrees earned (both US and foreign earned degrees)
• Transcripts for all colleges/universities attended (both US and foreigh colleges/universities)

²

Critical care experience
"Critical care experience must be obtained in a critical care area within the United States, its territories or a US military hospital outside of the United States. During this experience, the registered professional nurse has developed critical decision making and psychomotor skills, competency in patient assessment, and the ability to use and interpret advanced monitoring techniques. A critical care area is defined as one where, on a routine basis, the registered professional nurse manages one or more of the following: invasive hemodynamic monitors (e.g., pulmonary artery, central venous pressure, and arterial catheters), cardiac assist devices, mechanical ventilation, and vasoactive infusions. Examples of critical care units may include but are not limited to: surgical intensive care, cardiothoracic intensive care, coronary intensive care, medical intensive care, pediatric intensive care, and neonatal intensive care. Those who have experiences in other areas may be considered provided they can demonstrate competence with managing unstable patients, invasive monitoring, ventilators, and critical care pharmacology."

—Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, January 2024, Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs – Practice Doctorate, revised January 2024, pgs.: 36-7, Council on Accreditation, https://www.coacrna.org.

³

Essay Directions:

• Your essay will discuss your goals and objectives answering this question:  Why do you want to become a CRNA, and why do you want to become a CRNA in the United States Army?  Your audience is the USAGPAN admissions board. 
• Requirements: 1 page, AMA formatting, no title page required.                                       

⁴

The applicant’s CV/Resume should highlight the items discussed in Requirement #5/Footnote #2 

⁵

Letters of Recommendation, two required – processed through the application portal.

• Supervisor
• Peer / professional colleague
• Note: If multiple letters are submitted for either category, only the first letter received from a supervisor and the first letter from a peer/professional will be reviewed.

⁶

Graduation from USAGPAN incurs a 5-year Active Duty service obligation.

Questions?  

For any issues with links, email addresses or phone numbers, or additional questions contact Jana Johns, Baylor/USAGPAN Program Coordinator, jana_johns@baylor.edu or 254-710-2995.  

Requirements for a Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree in Anesthesia Nursing

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MNUR 6132	Clinical Concepts of Nurse Anesthesia Practice I	1
MNUR 6136	Clinical Concepts for Nurse Anesthesia II	1
MNUR 6141	Professional Aspects of Nursing Anesthesia	1
MNUR 6142	Healthcare Management	1
MNUR 6143	Health Policy and Law	1
MNUR 6144	Leadership in Advanced Practice Nursing	1
MNUR 6233	Regional Anesthesia and Point of Care Ultrasound I	2
MNUR 6237	Regional Anesthesia and Ultrasound Science 2	2
MNUR 6321	Health Care Informatics	3
MNUR 6322	Research and Statistical Methods	3
MNUR 6323	Research Evidence into Practice	3
MNUR 6334	Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnosis	3
MNUR 6371	DNP Scholarly Project 1	3
MNUR 6372	DNP Scholarly Project 2	3
MNUR 6373	DNP Scholarly Project 3	3
MNUR 6411	Biochemistry for Nurse Anesthesia	4
MNUR 6415	Advanced Pharmacology for Nurse Anesthesia 2	4
MNUR 6513	Advanced Pharmacology for Nurse Anesthesia I	5
MNUR 6514	Advanced Anatomy and Physiology II for Nurse Anesthesia	5
MNUR 6612	Advanced Anatomy and Physiology I for Nurse Anesthesia	6
MNUR 6631	Introductory Concepts and Principles of Anesthesia Practice	6
MNUR 6735	Anesthesia for Surgical Procedures and Special Populations	7
MNUR 6V01	Clinical Practicum and Role Development 1	11
MNUR 6V02	Clinical Practicum and Role Development 2	11
MNUR 6V03	Clinical Practicum and Role Development 3	11
MNUR 6V04	Clinical Practicum and Role Development 4	11
Total Hours		112