Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice

The nurse anesthesia practice program develops registered nurses into Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) who can work in a variety of settings to administer anesthesia, provide pain management services and offer support in emergency settings. This program is offered in South Dakota's leading city for health care.
Nurse anesthetists work in a variety of settings where they administer anesthesia and provide care before, during and after surgical, therapeutic, diagnostic and obstetrical procedures. They also provide pain management and some emergency services.

USD's nursing anesthesia practice program is a three year program designed for registered nurses who are ready to advance their career and become Certified Registered Nursing Anesthetists (CRNAs). You'll learn in state-of-the-art facilities and gain invaluable practice using advanced technologies to improve patient outcomes. A unique part of your education is the collaborative learning you will experience, as a student in the USD School of Health Sciences, you'll study and practice alongside students from a variety of disciplines preparing you to be an effective and collaborative member of your future patients' care teams. Paired with our program's emphasis on compassion and humanity, you'll graduate prepared to be an expert, thoughtful leader in the health care setting.

In order to complete your Graduate School application to the University of South Dakota, you must submit a $35 application fee, in addition to the NursingCAS fee. The USD Graduate Application fee cannot be waived or deferred, and it is nonrefundable. The fee can be paid on the USD payment site website.
Official transcripts of all academic work (in English or with translation) at the undergraduate and graduate levels are required for all students. Official transcripts must verify the receipt of an undergraduate degree. Transcripts must be complete (e.g., if currently enrolled, work-in-progress coursework must be included, foreign transcripts must include a grading scale, and for countries that issue, copy of degree certificate/diploma i.e., India, Nepal, etc.). The USD Graduate School and/or academic units retain the right to require credential evaluations from organizations, such as Educational Credential Evaluators/World Education Services (ECE/WES), for a student if such an evaluation is deemed necessary. All transcripts must be verified by NursingCAS for your application to be considered complete. See NursingCAS for further details.
Completion of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (or equivalent) degree or an entry-level master's degree in nursing from institutions with institutional accreditation for those degrees. A minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 on conferred degree and/or graduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required for full admission. Each graduate program may admit students on provisional status per University policy.
A science GPA will also be calculated and considered for admission.
Applicants with degrees from countries other than the United States who have obtained a high school diploma, undergraduate, or graduate degree from an institutionally accredited American college or university or from an accredited institution in the approved list of English-speaking countries are not required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score. For all other applicants with degrees from other countries, a minimum score of 79 on the Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT), 550 on the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), 8.5 on the TOEFL Essentials, 6.0 on the IELTS Academic, 53 on the PTE, or 110 on Duolingo is required for graduate admission.
A written 500-1000 words statement to address advanced practice professional goals.