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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

18 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, nursing students earned 18,329 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 5th in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 18 schools in California to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the nursing doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, USAHS is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Nursing at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Samuel Merritt University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Oakland.

Read full report on Nursing at Samuel Merritt University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Point Loma Nazarene University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Point Loma Nazarene University

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at University of California - Los Angeles Report

Out of the 18 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Touro University California landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Vallejo, TUC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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University of California - Davis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of California - Davis

California State University - Fresno ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

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#8

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

Full Nursing at University of San Francisco Report

#9

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Loma Linda University

Western University of Health Sciences landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

Read full report on Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 3,851
Oregon 1,502
Nevada 2,015
Hawaii 535
Alaska 177

Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 18 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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