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Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California

16 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in California to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Samuel Merritt University the best school in California for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.

Read full report on Nursing at Samuel Merritt University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Coast University - Orange County. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at West Coast University - Orange County Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western University of Health Sciences. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

Full Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences Report

The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of California - San Francisco helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. UCSF is a small public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Nursing at University of California - San Francisco

The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Dominguez Hills helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. Located in the small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

#6

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.

Read full report on Nursing at National University

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Long Beach

Point Loma Nazarene University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Point Loma Nazarene University

#9

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Full Nursing at University of San Francisco Report

#10

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

Mount Saint Mary’s University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read More…

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 16 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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