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Anesthetist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an anesthetist. Anesthetists usually study nursing, medical assisting services, or biology. 42% of anesthetists hold a bachelor's degree, and 33% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 51 real anesthetist resumes to see exactly what anesthetist education sections show.

The most common colleges for anesthetists are the South University and the South University.

There are also many online anesthetist courses to help get the education required to be an anesthetist.

What education do you need to become an anesthetist?

What degree do you need to be an anesthetist?

The most common degree for anesthetists is bachelor's degree, with 42% of anesthetists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 33% and master's degree degree at 14%.
  • Bachelor's, 42%
  • Master's, 33%
  • Associate, 14%
  • Diploma, 3%
  • Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become an anesthetist?

You should major in nursing to become an anesthetist. 34% of anesthetists major in nursing. Other common majors for an anesthetist include medical assisting services and biology.

Most common colleges for anesthetists

Anesthetists often get their degrees at South University, University of Kentucky, and New York University. Here are the most common colleges for anesthetists in the US based on their resumes.
Anesthetist common collegePercentages
South University10.00%
University of Kentucky5.00%
New York University5.00%
Ottawa University5.00%
Emory University5.00%

Best majors for anesthetists

Best colleges for anesthetists

The best colleges for anesthetists are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

An anesthetist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for anesthetists. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become anesthetists.

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

5. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

New Brunswick, NJ • Private

In-state tuition

$14,974

Enrollment

35,656

6. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

7. University of Missouri - Kansas City

Kansas City, MO • Private

In-state tuition

$8,178

Enrollment

7,681

8. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

20 best online courses for anesthetists

Advertising disclosure

1. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation

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In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...

2. Introduction to Cataract Surgery

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This comprehensive course will give you the fundamental knowledge needed to begin performing cataract surgery by phacoemulsification and extracapsular removal. Each step from preoperative evaluation to postoperative care will be covered to help prepare you for the operating room...

3. Personal Emergency Planning (Coronavirus - COVID-19 Edition)

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4.5
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Learn how to prepare for and respond to all the different kinds of emergencies that could befall you including COVID-19...

4. Introduction to Medical Imaging

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4.5
(827)

Your guide to the history, science, math, and economics of medical imaging systems (e.g., X-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound)...

5. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

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Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

6. Trauma Emergencies and Care

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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

7. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing

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Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...

8. EssentialSQL: Stored Procedures Unpacked - Code in TSQL

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Stored Procedures Database Programming, Write TSQL Server Stored Procs for Data Engineering, Data Analysis, and DBA's...

9. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness

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In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...

10. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

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Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

11. Master Procedural Maze & Dungeon Generation

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Enhance your game environment creation skills by learning to automate dungeon and maze generation with Unity & Blender...

12. ACLS & PALS

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Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support...

13. Health in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies

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The Center for Humanitarian Emergencies is a partnership between CDC's Emergency Response and Recovery Branch and the Rollins School of Public Health that drives global collaboration, research and evidence based training to improve the lives and well-being of populations impacted by humanitarian emergencies. - Center for Humanitarian Emergencies: http://www.che.emory.edu/ - CDC's Emergency Response and Recovery Branch: http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/healthprotection/errb/index.html This course...

14. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

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COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...

15. SAP MM Pricing Procedure

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16. How to Read Chest X-Ray - From Zero to Hero

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Master reading CXR entirely from the very basics until professionality with tens of examples & quizzes...

17. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

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The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

18. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation

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Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...

19. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

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This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

20. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

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Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...

Top 10 most affordable universities for anesthetists

The most affordable schools for anesthetists are University of Florida, california state university - long beach, and university of south florida.

If the best universities for anesthetists are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for anesthetists.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Cost of attendance

25,527

7. California State University - Fresno

Fresno, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,587

Cost of attendance

16,915

8. Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$4,831

Cost of attendance

19,559

9. California State University - Northridge

Northridge, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,893

Cost of attendance

18,870

10. University of Missouri - Kansas City

Kansas City, MO • Private

In-state tuition

$8,178

Cost of attendance

20,934

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for anesthetists

The hardest universities for anesthetists to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for anesthetists are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for anesthetists based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

8. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

9. Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,443

10. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,456

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for anesthetists

The easiest schools for anesthetists to get into are AdventHealth University, mount saint mary's university, and gwynedd mercy university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an anesthetist without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for anesthetists.

1. AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,016

2. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

3. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

6. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

7. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

8. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

9. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

10. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

Average anesthetist salary by education level

Anesthetist education levelAnesthetist salary
Doctorate Degree$68,101

Anesthetist education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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