CRNA Programs by First-Time NCE Pass Rate (2026)
Accredited nurse anesthesia programs ranked by their most recently published first-time National Certification Exam (NCE) pass rate — highest first. The average here is about 91%, and 20 programs posted a perfect 100%. A high first-time rate signals strong board preparation; remember every CRNA sits the same exam regardless of program.
| Program | State | Degree | GRE | First-time pass | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry University Hollywood | Florida | DNP | Required | 100% | $125k–$155k |
| Boston College – Connell School of Nursing Chestnut Hill | Massachusetts | DNP | Required | 100% | $135k–$165k |
| Georgetown University School of Nursing Washington | District of Columbia | DNAP | Required | 100% | $135k–$165k |
| Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College St. Louis | Missouri | DNP | Not required | 100% | $115k–$145k |
| Integrated Anesthesia Associates / CCSU Hartford | Connecticut | DNAP | Not required | 100% | $135k–$165k |
| Marquette University Milwaukee | Wisconsin | DNP | Not required | 100% | $125k–$155k |
| Millikin University / Decatur Memorial Hospital Decatur | Illinois | DNP | Not required | 100% | $125k–$155k |
| Minneapolis School of Anesthesia / Metropolitan State University Saint Paul | Minnesota | DNP | Not required | 100% | $85k–$100k |
| Northeastern University – Bouvé College Boston | Massachusetts | DNP | Required | 100% | $135k–$165k |
| Old Dominion University (ODU) – Ellmer School of Nursing Virginia Beach | Virginia | DNP | Required | 100% | $85k–$100k |
| St. Elizabeth Health Center School for Nurse Anesthetists Youngstown | Ohio | DNP | Not required | 100% | $115k–$145k |
| UNC Greensboro Greensboro | North Carolina | DNP | Required | 100% | $125k–$155k |
| Uniformed Services University (USU) – Daniel K. Inouye GSN Bethesda | Maryland | DNP | Required | 100% | $135k–$165k |
| University of Arizona College of Nursing Tucson | Arizona | DNP | Not required | 100% | $120k–$150k |
| University of Cincinnati Cincinnati | Ohio | DNP | Not required | 100% | $75k–$95k |
| University of Maryland School of Nursing Baltimore | Maryland | DNP | Not required | 100% | $90k–$110k |
| University of New England (UNE) Portland | Maine | DNP | Not required | 100% | $125k–$155k |
| University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 100% | $85k–$100k |
| Westminster University Salt Lake City | Utah | DNP | Not required | 100% | $125k–$155k |
| York College of Pennsylvania / WellSpan Health York | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 100% | $125k–$155k |
| Texas Christian University (TCU) Fort Worth | Texas | DNAP | Required | 98% | $125k–$155k |
| University of Akron Akron | Ohio | DNP | Required | 98% | $75k–$95k |
| Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Charleston | South Carolina | DNAP | Required | 97% | $85k–$100k |
| Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia (MTSA) Madison | Tennessee | DNAP | Required | 97% | $75k–$95k |
| US Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing San Antonio | Texas | DNP | Not required | 97% | $125k–$155k |
| Cedar Crest College Allentown | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 96% | $125k–$155k |
| Endeavor Health / DePaul University Evanston | Illinois | DNP | Not required | 96% | $125k–$155k |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) – Post-BSN to DNP Birmingham | Alabama | DNP | Required | 96% | $75k–$95k |
| University of Michigan-Flint Flint | Michigan | DNAP | Not required | 96% | $85k–$100k |
| University of Southern California (USC) – Keck School of Medicine Los Angeles | California | DNAP | Not required | 96% | $135k–$165k |
| Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Richmond | Virginia | DNAP | Not required | 96% | $125k–$155k |
| Oakland University / Corewell Health Beaumont Rochester | Michigan | DNP | Required | 95.7% | $125k–$155k |
| University of South Florida (USF) Tampa | Florida | DNP | Required | 95.5% | $85k–$100k |
| Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights | Kentucky | DNP | Not required | 95.2% | $75k–$95k |
| Michigan State University East Lansing | Michigan | DNP | Not required | 95% | $85k–$100k |
| Rutgers School of Nursing Newark | New Jersey | DNP | Not required | 95% | $90k–$110k |
| UTHealth Houston – Cizik School of Nursing Houston | Texas | DNP | Required | 95% | $85k–$100k |
| Newman University Wichita | Kansas | DNAP | Not required | 94.7% | $115k–$145k |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanooga / Erlanger Chattanooga | Tennessee | DNP | Not required | 94.7% | $75k–$95k |
| Drexel University Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 94.4% | $130k–$160k |
| Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University (FranU) Baton Rouge | Louisiana | DNP | Not required | 94.4% | $115k–$145k |
| Carolinas Medical Center (Atrium Health) / UNC Charlotte Charlotte | North Carolina | DNP | Required | 94% | $85k–$100k |
| East Carolina University (ECU) Greenville | North Carolina | DNP | Required | 94% | $85k–$100k |
| Keiser University Naples | Florida | DNAP | Not required | 94% | $125k–$155k |
| Midwestern University Glendale | Arizona | DNAP | Not required | 94% | $150k–$200k |
| Murray State University Murray | Kentucky | DNP | Not required | 94% | $75k–$95k |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Edwardsville | Illinois | DNP | Not required | 94% | $125k–$155k |
| University of Evansville Evansville | Indiana | DNAP | Not required | 94% | $75k–$95k |
| University of Miami Coral Gables | Florida | DNP | Not required | 94% | $125k–$155k |
| University of South Carolina Columbia | South Carolina | DNAP | Required | 94% | $85k–$100k |
| Wayne State University Detroit | Michigan | DNAP | Not required | 94% | $85k–$100k |
| University of Tennessee College of Nursing Knoxville | Tennessee | DNP | Required | 93.8% | $80k–$95k |
| Hofstra-Northwell Hempstead | New York | DNP | Not required | 93.5% | $135k–$165k |
| Florida International University (FIU) Miami | Florida | DNP | Not required | 93% | $85k–$100k |
| Florida State University Panama City | Florida | DNAP | Required | 93% | $85k–$100k |
| Texas Wesleyan University Fort Worth | Texas | DNAP | Required | 93% | $125k–$155k |
| University of Minnesota School of Nursing Minneapolis | Minnesota | DNP | Required | 93% | $85k–$100k |
| University of Tulsa Tulsa | Oklahoma | DNP | Not required | 93% | $75k–$95k |
| Villanova University – Fitzpatrick College of Nursing Villanova | Pennsylvania | DNP | Required | 93% | $125k–$155k |
| Thomas Jefferson University – Jefferson College of Nursing Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 92.7% | $125k–$155k |
| Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Portland | Oregon | DNP | Not required | 92.3% | $125k–$155k |
| Duke University Durham | North Carolina | DNP | Not required | 92% | $125k–$155k |
| Fairfield University – Egan School of Nursing Fairfield | Connecticut | DNP | Not required | 92% | $135k–$165k |
| Rush University Chicago | Illinois | DNP | Not required | 92% | $125k–$155k |
| Samuel Merritt University Oakland | California | DNAP | Not required | 92% | $135k–$165k |
| University of North Florida Jacksonville | Florida | DNP | Required | 92% | $85k–$100k |
| University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg | Mississippi | DNP | Required | 92% | $75k–$95k |
| Wake Forest University School of Medicine Winston-Salem | North Carolina | DNP | Required | 92% | $125k–$155k |
| Webster University St. Louis | Missouri | DNAP | Not required | 92% | $115k–$145k |
| Yale New Haven Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesia New Haven | Connecticut | DNAP | Not required | 92% | $135k–$165k |
| LSU Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) New Orleans | Louisiana | DNP | Required | 91.7% | $115k–$145k |
| University of Detroit Mercy Detroit | Michigan | DNP | Not required | 91.3% | $125k–$155k |
| Baylor College of Medicine Houston | Texas | DNP | Required | 91.2% | $125k–$155k |
| Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Minneapolis | Minnesota | DNP | Not required | 91% | $125k–$155k |
| Cleveland Clinic / Case Western Reserve University Cleveland | Ohio | DNP | Required | 90% | $115k–$145k |
| Independence Health System / St. Vincent College Latrobe | Pennsylvania | DNAP | Not required | 90% | $125k–$155k |
| Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science North Chicago | Illinois | DNP | Not required | 89% | $125k–$155k |
| University of Kansas Kansas City | Kansas | DNAP | Not required | 89% | $75k–$95k |
| University of South Dakota Sioux Falls | South Dakota | DNAP | Not required | 89% | $75k–$95k |
| Western Carolina University Asheville | North Carolina | DNP | Required | 89% | $125k–$155k |
| Albany Medical College Albany | New York | DNP | Required | 88% | $135k–$165k |
| Lourdes University Sylvania | Ohio | DNP | Not required | 88% | $115k–$145k |
| Missouri State University Springfield | Missouri | DNAP | Required | 88% | $75k–$95k |
| University at Buffalo (SUNY) Buffalo | New York | DNP | Not required | 88% | $90k–$110k |
| Clarkson College Omaha | Nebraska | DNP | Not required | 87.5% | $115k–$145k |
| University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh | Wisconsin | DNAP | Not required | 87.5% | $85k–$100k |
| Emory University Decatur | Georgia | DNP | Not required | 87% | $125k–$155k |
| Samford University – Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing Birmingham | Alabama | DNP | Required | 87% | $115k–$145k |
| University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) Memphis | Tennessee | DNP | Not required | 87% | $75k–$95k |
| Augusta University Augusta | Georgia | DNP | Required | 86% | $85k–$100k |
| Kaiser Permanente School of Anesthesia / CSU Fullerton Pasadena | California | DNP | Not required | 86% | $135k–$165k |
| University of Iowa College of Nursing Iowa City | Iowa | DNP | Not required | 86% | $75k–$95k |
| University of North Dakota Grand Forks | North Dakota | DNP | Not required | 86% | $75k–$95k |
| University of Scranton Scranton | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 86% | $125k–$155k |
| Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing – Case Western Reserve Cleveland | Ohio | DNP | Required | 85% | $115k–$145k |
| Marian University – Leighton School of Nursing Indianapolis | Indiana | DNP | Not required | 85% | $115k–$145k |
| University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 85% | $85k–$100k |
| AdventHealth University Orlando | Florida | DNAP | Not required | 83% | $125k–$155k |
| University of Mobile Mobile | Alabama | DNAP | Required | 83% | $115k–$145k |
| Mary Baldwin University Fishersville | Virginia | DNP | Not required | 82.6% | $125k–$155k |
| South College Knoxville | Tennessee | DNP | Not required | 82.1% | $115k–$145k |
| Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) / University of Charleston Charleston | West Virginia | DNAP | Not required | 80% | $75k–$95k |
| Geisinger / Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania - Bloomsburg Danville | Pennsylvania | DNP | Not required | 80% | $85k–$100k |
| Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers | Florida | DNP | Not required | 79% | $85k–$100k |
| Northwestern State University Natchitoches | Louisiana | DNP | Required | 79% | $75k–$95k |
| La Roche University Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | DNAP | Not required | 77% | $125k–$155k |
| Union University College of Nursing Jackson | Tennessee | DNP | Not required | 77% | $115k–$145k |
| West Virginia University (WVU) Morgantown | West Virginia | DNP | Not required | 73% | $115k–$145k |
| Lincoln Memorial University – Caylor School of Nursing Harrogate | Tennessee | DNP | Required | 67% | $115k–$145k |
| University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Little Rock | Arkansas | DNP | Not required | 65% | $75k–$95k |
| Arkansas State University State University | Arkansas | DNP | Required | 57% | $75k–$95k |
Rates are the most recent first-time NCE pass rate published by each program (year shown on the program’s page). Newer programs without a graduating class are excluded. Last updated 2026.
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