Part of the CRNA Career Hub — browse every related guide in one place.
Barry University, a private university in Miami Shores, Florida, runs one of the longest-established nurse anesthesia programs in the Southeast. For ICU nurses in Florida and beyond who are mapping a path to CRNA, Barry is a name that comes up often — partly because of its history and clinical footprint in South Florida, and partly because it produces a large number of graduates each year. Here's a practical overview for prospective applicants in 2026.
Like all US nurse anesthesia programs, Barry's now culminates in a doctoral degree — the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice / DNP-level credential — in line with the national requirement that all new CRNAs graduate at the doctoral level. Programs of this type generally run about 36 months (three years) of full-time, front-loaded didactic study followed by intensive clinical residency across affiliated hospital and surgical sites. Barry has historically leveraged the dense concentration of hospitals in the Miami metro area for clinical placements.
Nurse anesthesia admissions requirements are fairly standardized across programs. For Barry, expect the core elements common to competitive CRNA schools:
CRNA admission is competitive everywhere, and Barry is no exception. The differentiators that move applications are consistent across programs: the quality and acuity of your ICU experience (a high-acuity unit — CVICU, medical/surgical ICU, or trauma — reads stronger than a step-down), CCRN certification, upward GPA trends, and a compelling interview. Because Barry's cohorts are relatively large, it accepts more students than some boutique programs, but the applicant pool is deep and the bar remains high.
Barry is a private university, and private CRNA program tuition typically lands in the six figures across the full program once fees, living costs, and the near-impossibility of working during school are accounted for. That reality is worth planning around: most nurse anesthesia students rely on a combination of federal graduate loans and savings. The upside is the payoff — CRNAs are among the highest-earning advanced practice nurses, which is why the return on the investment tends to be strong despite the sticker price. Model the numbers honestly with our CRNA cost breakdown before committing.
| Lever | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| High-acuity ICU experience | Titrating multiple pressors and managing vents signals readiness |
| CCRN certification | Baseline expectation for competitive applicants |
| Strong GPA / recent grad coursework | Proves you can handle a doctoral science load |
| CRNA shadowing hours | Shows you understand the actual role, not the idea of it |
| Interview preparation | Programs weight the interview heavily; clinical reasoning is tested |
Related: ICU nurse to CRNA path, GRE for CRNA school, and CRNA vs ACNP vs FNP.
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