2026 Cohort Application Requirements

QUESTIONS?  Please use the Inquiry Form

Key Facts For Future Applicants: 

• The application opens on February 1 and closes on August 1, annually
• All application requirements must be completed, and documentation received no later than August 1
• Open to civilians, National Guard / Reserve, and Army Active Duty
• Applicants must be a U.S. Citizen prior to starting the application
• Upon accepting an offer to the US Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN), you will be required to sign an active-duty service obligation for the entire length of the program, followed by an additional 5-year service commitment after graduation.

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 work¹
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 Nurse²
6. A formal essay to the admissions board³
7. Curriculum Vitae or Resume⁴
8. Letters of recommendation: two required⁵
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: 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  

Footnotes:

1. Transcripts - Official copies required from all schools attended as noted below:
   1. All degree-earned transcripts

   2. Transferred coursework applied to Nursing Degree(s) (submit transcript from original school)

      * Electronically sent to Baylor Graduate School at: Grad_Transcripts@baylor.edu  

      * Or send official copies by U.S. Mail to:  
         Baylor University
         Graduate Admissions
        One Bear Place #97264
        Waco, Texas 76798-7264

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:
   1. 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. 
   2. 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.
   1. Supervisor
   2. Peer / professional colleague
   3. 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.