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Biology

Biology - Nurse Anesthesia

Biology - Nurse Anesthesia (MS)

Admission requirements

Student applying for admission to the School of Anesthesia must meet the following requirements without regard to gender, age, race, creed, color, or national origin:

  1. Must be currently licensed as a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
  2. Be eligible for a Registered Nurse (RN) license by the Wisconsin Department of Nursing.
  3. Have 18 months (24 months preferred) of nursing experience in critical or intensive care setting (ICU, CCU, SICU, PICU, NICU).
  4. Be a graduate from an accredited school of nursing and have a minimum of 2 credits of microbiology, 4 credits of anatomy/physiology, and 4 credits of chemistry/physics, and 2 credits of statistics. An Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics Exam score of 3 or higher may be used to fulfill the statistics requirement. 
  5. Have an undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.00 on a 4.0 scale.

Note that the GRE is no longer required for admission to the program.

Information submitted as part of your application will be shared as appropriate with our educational partners at Mayo Clinic Health System- Franciscan Healthcare School of Anesthesia, and Viterbo University School of Nursing. 


Professional licensure disclosure

  • If you plan to apply for licensure in a state other than Wisconsin after completion of this program, you should contact that state's appropriate licensing board and refer to the Professional Licensure Disclosure to determine whether this UWL program meets licensure requirements in a specific state.
Application process

How to apply

We encourage you to make contact with our program director to introduce yourself and ask any questions you might have about the program.  This contact also helps to alert us to your interest in the program.

jessica peterson profile pic

Jessica Peterson, PhD, CRNA

School of Anesthesia Program Director
Mayo Clinic Health System Franciscan Healthcare
608-392-8565

 

  • Follow the link to the UW System application. Register as a new user, unless you already have an account. Select "Biology, Masters" as the program to which you are applying. 
  • The email you enter on this application will be used to send you important information related to completing your graduate school application. You should use an email address that you monitor on a regular basis. 
  • There is a $56 UW System application fee, which you can pay online at the time of application. Alternatively, you can send a check to the address below.  *Application fee assistance is available to McNair Scholars. 

Graduate Admissions Office
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601

Watch your email

Following UW System Application submission, you will receive two emails.

The first email is an invitation to your WINGS Student Center and includes information about your NETID/WINGS Username.  Access your WINGS Student Center to check the status of your application fee and transcripts.

The second email provides login information for your Applicant Dashboard. This email will be sent within 3 business days of submission of your UW system application; you may need to check your junk/spam email folders.  You will use your Applicant Dashboard to submit the supplemental application materials described below (including reference requests) for this program. If you have problems with the Applicant Dashboard, please contact gradstudies@uwlax.edu.

WINGS (example) 

Applicant Dashboard (example)

WINGS example App Dashboard example

Request that ALL previously attended institutions of higher education send official transcripts to the UWL Admissions Office. This includes college level courses taken while in high school. If you enrolled in fewer than 10 undergraduate semester credits at an institution, you do not have to send an official transcript unless the courses completed are prerequisites for the graduate program. Additional transcripts may be required at the university or graduate program's discretion. All graduate transcripts must be submitted. UWL accepts transcripts mailed directly from the issuing institution(s) or through an electronic secure document sending service. Transcripts should be sent to:

UWL Admissions Office
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
admissions@uwlax.edu

  • Applicants can check transcript status via their WINGS account.
  • Applicants who are current UWL undergraduate students/alumni do not need to request formal transcripts for UWL coursework. Admissions can access your UWL transcript.
  • It may take a week or more for transcripts to be received/uploaded to your application file. Please plan accordingly in order to meet application deadlines. 
  • You must arrange to have your official AP Statistics exam score report sent to UWL prior to the application deadline if the Statistics pre-requisite was fulfilled via AP exam. Please inform the program if this is the case.  

All supplemental application materials and information listed below will be submitted via your Applicant Dashboard. You will receive an email invitation to login to your Applicant Dashboard within 3 business days of UW System Application submission. Contact gradstudies@uwlax.edu with questions.

Please prepare a typed, double-spaced essay that is less than two pages in length. Your personal statement will need to address each of the following areas:

  1. Purpose of pursuing the DNP-CRNA track program
  2.  Areas of interest/professional plans as a CRNA
  3. Goals after you complete the DNP-CRNA track program
  4. Personal/professional qualities that will contribute to you success in our program
  5. Challenges and rewards that you anticipate in our program
  6. Rational for selecting our program

3 completed recommendation forms are required; recommenders will have the option to submit a letter along with their form if desired.

One must be from a current supervisor.  If you cannot obtain a reference from your current supervisor, please contact the Nurse Anesthesia program director. The other recommendations may be from colleagues, physicians, or a professor. 

You will submit your recommendation request(s) using the Applicant Dashboard by providing the name and email address for each reference. The system will automatically send the reference an email, including a link through which their recommendation should be uploaded to your application file. Your reference(s) should receive the emailed link within one business day of your request.

It is your responsibility to notify your reference(s) of the emailed request (they may need to check spam/junk folders) and provide information regarding deadlines for completion of the recommendation. 

You will be able to monitor the status of your recommendation requests, resend requests, and change reference information on Applicant Dashboard. Please contact gradstudies@uwlax.edu with questions.

Submit a copy of your current RN license.

In addition to the application requirements listed above, international applications will need to submit the following items:

  • Transcript information: As noted above, official, certified or attested transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended must be submitted. Additionally, documents issued in languages other than English must be accompanied by a certified English translation.
  • Proof of English language proficiency: Non-native English speakers must submit evidence of one the following language proficiency requirements for admission:
    • TOEFL score (within last 2 years) of at least 79 iBT or 550 pBT - Institution Code: 1914
    • IELTS score (within last 2 years) of at least 6.0
    • Duolingo English Test (DET) score of at least 110
    • 60 PTE score
    • A bachelor’s or higher degree from UWL or another approved institution where English is the sole language of instruction.
      • Degree must be earned within two years of expected enrollment in this UWL graduate program.
      • Applicant must have attended the institution for a minimum of two years.
  • Proof of funding: Submit a bank statement and completed Affidavit of Support form.
    • Applicants who require F-2 visas for dependents (spouse and/or children) must submit additional proof of funding and passport copies for each dependent.

  • Passport information: Submit a photocopy of the photo page of your passport. 

Please contact International Admissions at  intladmissions@uwlax.edu if you have questions.  Each of the items listed in this section "Additional requirements for international applicants" can be sent directly to the UWL Admissions Office.

UWL Admissions Office
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
USA

* Special note regarding the critical care experience requirement - Your critical care experience must be completed in the United States and within the 18 months prior to acceptance to this program.

Deadlines and interviews

Applications for the program are accepted from June 1st - August 1st for a program start date the following summer.

  • ALL application materials must be received by the deadline.
    • Please be aware that it may take a number of weeks to complete a graduate program application.  Specifically, you will want to allow additional time for the receipt of transcripts and recommendations. Please plan accordingly.
  • Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. 

Applicants will be screened and eligible candidates will be invited to appear for a personal interview before the Mayo Clinic - Franciscan Healthcare System School of Anesthesia (SOA) admissions committee in late October or early November. 

After acceptance into the SOA, students will complete the online application for Viterbo University, Doctorate in Nursing Practice CRNA-Track program.