How Long to Become an Anesthesiologist?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says medical school "takes an additional 4 years to complete" after college, and the AMA's list of residency lengths puts anesthesiology under "Four years." The AMA adds that programs differ, and that research time during residency would add to the total. MD and DO graduates follow the same path, so the general timeline to becoming a doctor applies up to the start of residency.

Anesthesiology residency splits into an intern year and 3 years of anesthesia. Baylor Scott & White's program in Temple, Texas, describes the standard layout: "four years of training as recommended by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)," made of a 12-month clinical base year and 36 months of clinical anesthesia.

• Clinical base year. At that program, interns rotate through pediatrics, cardiology, medicine wards, emergency medicine, trauma surgery, the medical ICU, palliative care and some anesthesiology.
• CA-1. Foundational skills in the general operating room, plus obstetric, pediatric, neurosurgical and cardiothoracic cases.
• CA-2. The full range of cases. Residents "achieve most of their minimum case numbers" by the end of this year.
• CA-3. Flexible time for advanced skills such as transesophageal echocardiography, research or electives.

The intern year can come in one of two packages. A categorical position, in the NRMP's definition, "provides the full training required for board certification." An advanced position begins "after one or more years of required preliminary training," so applicants who match into one also need a separate 1-year preliminary or transitional position. A resident doctor is paid during all of it.

Anesthesiology filled every first-year seat in 2026. According to the NRMP's Advance Data Tables, programs offered 1,865 PGY-1 positions and 306 PGY-2 advanced positions, and both filled at 100 percent with none left over.

US MD seniors took 70.5 percent of the PGY-1 seats and US DO seniors took 18.2 percent. For how the algorithm pairs applicants with programs, see what happens on Match Day.

The ABA certifies anesthesiologists through three staged exams. Its page for residents lists them in order:

1. BASIC. Taken "at the end of CA-1 year," and focused on the science behind clinical anesthesiology.
2. ADVANCED. Taken after you finish residency and pass the BASIC.
3. APPLIED. Open once you pass the ADVANCED, and made of a standardized oral exam and an objective structured clinical exam. The ABA's staged timeline says it's offered up to 6 times a year.

So the last step toward board certification comes after residency ends. The BLS notes that board certification isn't required to practice, but every state requires a completed residency for a license.

The BLS puts subspecialty fellowships at 1 to 3 years. The University of Pittsburgh lists 10 anesthesiology fellowships, and every one whose length it gives runs 1 year: cardiothoracic, critical care, perioperative medicine and regional anesthesiology.

How many residents add one? At Stanford, two thirds of residency graduates were entering fellowships, "the largest fraction ever," according to a post on the department's Ask Alex blog. The fellowship explainer covers how fellowships work across specialties.

The BLS reports a median annual wage of $391,490 for anesthesiologists in May 2025, against $275,930 for all physicians and surgeons. That's $115,560 above the overall median, after 1 more year of residency than the shortest specialties. How much doctors make sets that figure beside resident stipends and other specialties.

• How many years after high school? At least 12, or 13 with a 1-year fellowship.
• How long is anesthesiology residency? 4 years: a clinical base year plus 3 clinical anesthesia years.
• Is it faster with a DO? No. DO school also takes 4 years, and DO graduates enter the same residencies.
• Is a fellowship required? No. You can practice and seek board certification after residency.

It all starts with the MCAT^®. The PurpleCAT concept library splits the exam's science into short topics you can study one at a time.

Last verified October 31, 2026, against the NRMP's 2026 Advance Data Tables, the ABA's staged exam pages, the AMA's residency length list and BLS data for May 2025. Program structures vary; check individual programs for their exact terms.