This study examined the transition of the nurse anesthesia profession to the doctoral level for entry into practice by 2025, as viewed by nurse anesthesia students (SRNAs). The primary purpose was to study SRNAs’ plans regarding furthering their education to obtain a doctoral degree in the future, as related with variables of gender, age, highest degree earned prior to entry into a nurse anesthesia educational program, length of time of enrollment, and attendance at state or national nurse anesthesia meetings. Relationships among these variables were also explored in conjunction with SRNAs’ levels of awareness of differences between practice and research doctorates and in conjunction with SRNAs’ perceptions of benefits of and barriers to the introduction of practice doctorates as the entry requirement for the nurse anesthesia practice. A nonexperimental, correlational, cross-sectional, descriptive, survey design was utilized to accomplish these purposes. All 6,195 SRNAs enrolled in a nurse anesthesia educational program in the US between November 4, 2010 and December 2, 2010 were invited to complete the electronic survey, and 1,057 (17%) responded. The resultant data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation analysis, binary logistic regression analysis, and multiple stepwise regression analysis. The results indicated that SRNAs who were older and those who had been enrolled in a nurse anesthesia program longer were more likely to plan to pursue doctoral education; that male SRNAs were predicted to have slightly higher awareness levels about differences between practice and research doctorates; and that female SRNAs were predicted to have slightly more positive perceptions about requiring doctoral degrees for entry into nurse anesthesia practice. The SRNAs’ responses in this study may assist nurse anesthesia educational program administrators in the process of planning to implement doctoral education as the entry level for nurse anesthesia practice by 2025. Future research may replicate this study, may look at other factors that were not included in this study, or could use a qualitative methodology to discover participants’ rationales for their plans and perceptions.