FAQ

1. Baccalaureate degree in nursing or another discipline, e.g., BSN, BS, or BA (Master’s Degree is acceptable)
2. Registered nurse with active licensure (CA licensure necessary by program matriculation – begin the license process early!)
3. English comprehension or equivalent writing course. AP English is accepted, but evidence of an upper-division course with writing assignments should be submitted with the application. A graded, writing example may be requested.
4. Anatomy and physiology: (1 [ONE] semester each or 1 [ONE] year combined course)
5. Chemistry: 2 (TWO) semesters. One semester of general (inorganic) chemistry and one semester of either biochemistry (preferred) or organic chemistry. Combined courses are acceptable, but TWO semesters are required. No lab required
6. Physics: (introductory or general) ONE semester. No lab required
7. Biology or microbiology: ONE semester
8. Health assessment (likely integrated into the undergraduate nursing coursework)
9. Nursing research or statistics course (undergraduate level)
10. All prerequisite coursework must be completed by March 31^st of the enrollment year. Anatomy, physiology, general chemistry, and biochemistry or organic chemistry older than ten years must be retaken and completed by March 31st of the enrollment year.
11. Advanced standing in the Program of Nurse Anesthesia is not an option; however, up to 12 units of transfer credit may be applied to the applicant’s plan of study but is subject to program administration approval and university policy.

The graduate admissions office receives and reviews all official transcripts that are sent to etrans@usc.edu. Electronic transcripts are preferred over paper submission. The process may take two to four weeks, depending on the time of year and the number of transcripts the office receives.

After USC reviews your transcripts, they are indexed to your profile and then your supplemental application. The program cannot review transcripts until you submit your program supplemental application.

We strongly advise all applicants to request all official transcripts early in the application process.

You complete and submit BOTH the university and supplemental (program) applications BEFORE sending your undergraduate transcripts. USC needs to index your transcripts to an application profile. No profile exists until you create and submit both applications.

The program prefers electronic transcripts sent to etrans@usc.edu. Paper transcripts should only be used by university systems that do not have electronic submission processes.

If an electronic transcript has been requested and submitted, a paper duplicate is NOT required. The application may indicate both are needed; however, paper is only appropriate for universities without e-transcript capabilities.

**Do NOT send transcripts until a university and supplemental (program) application has been submitted.**

Both the university and (program) supplemental application must be submitted, preferably at the same time. The program cannot review or index letters of reference and university transcripts until both applications are submitted.

Incomplete applications will not be reviewed or considered for admission.

The program requires an applicant to be a licensed registered nurse with at least one year of critical care nursing experience at the time an application is submitted. Two years of critical care nursing experience are required at the start of the program, typically in May every year.

While it is not a program requirement, most applicants (>90%) have the CCRN credential. The CCRN is an important certification that demonstrates fundamental knowledge in critical care nursing, which is important to convey to the Admissions Committee. There are restrictions on when the certification can be obtained. Please visit the American Association of Critical Care Nurses for further information.

While ED and PACU nursing is complex and important, it does not meet the program’s definition of critical care. The program defines critical care nursing as the regular and consistent delivery of high-acuity professional registered nursing care to patients with complex pathology and unstable hemodynamic profiles who may require mechanical ventilation, vasoactive infusions, life-sustaining technology, and advanced monitoring. Critical care populations include neonate, pediatric, adult, and geriatric.

It depends. If the majority of your flight nursing shift involves providing direct patient care in a critical care setting, yes, you would qualify for admission. However, flight nursing would NOT qualify if you were providing critical care services in short durations or inconsistently.

Ask yourself: Am I providing critical care nursing consistently (the majority of my shift) and longitudinally (over several shifts)? If the answer is yes, you likely meet the admission criteria.

A letter from your employer attesting to the services you provide may be requested and helpful to support your application.

Because critical care is a dynamic, evolving specialty, the program requires all applicants to be currently practicing in a critical care setting.

The University of Southern California will calculate your undergraduate GPA. A GPA less than 3.0 does NOT meet the admission requirements – no conditional admissions are offered. Applicants with low GPAs are encouraged to retake courses to raise their GPA; however, this can be challenging if most of the undergraduate work is at or below the 3.0 threshold. USC will average repeated courses to calculate a mean grade and GPA.

For example, General Chemistry 1 (2015) course grade was a B-. General Chemistry I (2023) course grade was an A. The mean course grade would be ~B+.

**The university does not allow the program to calculate or estimate an applicant’s undergraduate (admission) GPA**

The most recently admitted doctoral class had a mean GPA of 3.61, which is consistent with previous cohorts.

The University of Southern California will only consider your cumulative undergraduate GPA for the purpose of admissions. If your undergraduate GPA is low, retaking science courses may increase your GPA above the minimum threshold. Graduate coursework does not supplant undergraduate coursework regardless of when the course was completed, e.g., two years ago vs. twenty years ago.

Yes, all letters of recommendation must be on institutional or personal letterhead and signed by the reference (electronic signatures are accepted). Unsigned letters will be returned to the applicant for reprocessing.

Effective January 1, 2024, the GRE is no longer required or considered.

No, this is a policy change effective in 2023. Applicants do NOT need BLS, ACLS, or PALS to apply or matriculate (if admitted) into the Program of Nurse Anesthesia. A two-day, in-person AHA certification class in BLS, ACLS, & PALS will be arranged for all first- and third-year learners during the program orientation. A separate, non-university fee will be assessed for first-year students. Regardless of the certification expiration date, ALL first- and third-year students are required to complete the certification class offered through the Program of Nurse Anesthesia.

Yes, however, you likely need to retake  anatomy/physiology and two chemistry courses (general and biochemistry or organic). These courses are dated from the time of program enrollment, not the application. Introductory or general physics may need to be completed since most undergraduate nursing programs do not require a physics course.

Yes, however, you may need to retake statistics through the Program of Nurse Anesthesia to remain aligned with the scholarly project deliverables and timeline.

Yes, provided you are enrolled or plan to enroll in the outstanding course(s). All outstanding prerequisites must be completed by March 31^st of the program enrollment year. Admission offers are contingent on the successful completion of all prerequisite coursework.

Two semesters of combined anatomy and physiology or one semester of each anatomy and physiology (standalone course) must be repeated if the coursework is older than ten years at the time of program enrollment.

All coursework must be completed through an accredited higher learning institution (e.g., a regionally accredited university or college). Refresher or survey courses or courses are taken as an audit or no credit and do not meet the program’s science prerequisites.

Yes, two semesters (two different courses) must be completed. One course should be general chemistry, and one course should be either biochemistry (preferred) or organic chemistry.

Provided the course was completed within ten years, it would meet one chemistry requirement. A second chemistry course in either general, biochemistry or organic chemistry would be required.

The coursework in anesthesia school builds upon the scientific foundations learned during the undergraduate years. Because science is dynamic and continuously evolving, it is important for all students to be familiar with foundational and emerging concepts before engaging in advanced graduate-level science work. 

Just like anatomy and physiology, physics has an important role in anesthesia. Applied physics is used in physiology, pathophysiology, anesthetic pharmacology, and equipment and monitoring. Foundational knowledge is expected of all students entering the program.

No, although many anatomy, chemistry, and physics courses have a lab component, it is not a requirement.

No, “Transition to Nurse Anesthesia” does not fulfill or supplant any prerequisite coursework.

No, combined courses, except in the same subject domain (e.g., Chemistry: Introductory General, Organic, and Biochemistry), do not meet the program’s prerequisites. Courses should be focused on the subject domain (e.g., introductory physics or anatomy and physiology I and II) and meet the conducting institution’s required semester hours.

No, the program requires prerequisite coursework to be completed at a regionally- accredited institution (undergraduate level), and for certain science coursework, within ten years of matriculation (every June).

The only exception is AP English; however, the applicant must cite an upper-division undergraduate course with significant writing assignments. A course syllabus and description may be requested.

No, the program requires applicants to complete undergraduate science coursework. Furthermore, a graduate pathophysiology course may not cover all organ systems or the depth that is needed to be successful in advanced anatomy and physiology.

No, the university and the Program of Nurse Anesthesia do not recommend a specific college or university. The university, college and course may be in-person, hybrid, remote, or non-contemporaneous. The course must be administered through an institution that is regionally accredited.

Yes, all science and outstanding courses may be taken online through a regionally-accredited university or college. An institution will list its regional accreditation on its website.

Regional accreditationis the educational accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities in the United States by one of seven regional accrediting agencies. Most non-profit institutions are regionally accredited, while most for-profit colleges and universities are nationally accredited.

A college, university, or higher learning institution typically declares its accreditation status on its website under the “about” or “accreditation” heading. If you cannot locate the accreditation status, please contact the institution directly, not USC or the Program of Nurse Anesthesia.

Unfortunately, the program is unable to determine if a course meets the prerequisites without the course description or content. For past coursework, sometimes an old syllabus is available.

Applicants should review the sample course descriptions below. The content between the sample and the proposed course should generally match. Most undergraduate courses have similar content from institution to institution. Please review the sample course descriptions below. If the courses generally have the same content, the prerequisite is likely met – there is no need to obtain program approval beforehand.