2027 Cohort Application Requirements

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Key Facts For Future Applicants: 

• UPDATE: The 2027 Cohort application, and future Cohort applications will open on November 1 (each year) and close the following year on August 1.
  • July 1: Early due date for all official transcripts to be in the application
  • August 1: All application requirements must be completed, and all documentation must be received no later than August 1. (See the early transcript due date, above).
• Open to civilians, National Guard / Reserve, and Army Active Duty Registered Nurses.
• 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. (A service obligation is only required if you accept an offer of admission to the USAGPAN.)

The following represents a summary of the application and admission requirements for the U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN). Click on all associated links for detailed information.

2027 COHORT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

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

+Agency deadline dates may be subject to change, please verify dates with your Agency.
*Yearly mission requirements may dictate available seats for each applicant type.

2.  Only BSN, or MSN degree(s) from a CCNE, ACEN or NLN CNEA accredited nursing program will be accepted (U.S. programs only).  Degree transcripts must be from a regionally accredited college or university. 
     A. Official transcripts must be submitted for all degrees and course work (1)
     B. All official transcripts must be received no later than July 1.
3. BSN or MSN minimum GPA of 3.0
4.  Basic Health Sciences minimum GPA of 3.0. The educational history and level of coursework will be taken into consideration. Download and complete Basic Health Sciences additional directions and the form: Basic Health Sciences Form
5.  Undergraduate or graduate statistics course, minimum of 3 credits with a grade of C or higher
6.  At least one year of critical care nursing experience as a Registered Nurses (2) 
7.  A formal essay to the admissions board³
8.  Curriculum Vitae or Resume⁴ 
9.  Letters of recommendation: two required⁵
10.  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. The last availability to interview is -mid June. An interview slot is not guaranteed and may be capacity limited.
11.  Optional: (Depending upon personal assessment of their competitiveness, applicants may opt to include this item and potentially strengthen their application.) CCRN or CEN
12.  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.
13.  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 courses are accepted (no lab required). Required: Use this Course List; Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry Courses external to this list must be submitted for review (see the guidance in the Course List).
 

Footnotes:

1. Transcripts - Early due date of July 1 for all transcripts. Official transcripts required from all schools attended as noted below:
   1. All degree-earned transcripts 

   2. Transferred coursework applied to Nursing Degree(s) (submit transcript from theoriginal 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; however, programs are responsible for determining whether the applicants’ experiences are equivalent to those specified in the above examples.
   Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs Practice Doctorate, effective January 2026, 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 Footnote #2.
   Each position on the applicant’s CV (if the position being considered) must list:
       A. Month/year start date and Month/year end date
       B. Hours worked/week
       C. Clearly indicate the bedside care of unstable, critical care patients
       D. Clearly list all critical care skills utilized (as referenced by the COA in 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.

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.