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Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

21 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

Check out the nursing doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our analysis found Brandman University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Located in the city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 113 students majoring in nursing at Brandman, 16% are male and 84% are female.

Read More…

#2

University of San Diego

San Diego, CA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of San Diego is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 58 students majoring in nursing at USD, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Full Nursing at University of San Diego Report

#3

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at University of San Francisco helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, USAHS is a private for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 82% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 18% are male.

Read More…

The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at California State University - Fullerton helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 96% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fullerton Report

#6

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 25 students majoring in nursing at Loma Linda University, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Full Nursing at Loma Linda University Report

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

About 88% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 12% are male.

Full Nursing at University of California - Los Angeles Report

Azusa Pacific University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Azusa Pacific University Report

University of California - San Francisco landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. UCSF is a small public school located in the city of San Francisco.

About 81% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 19% are male.

Read More…

Western University of Health Sciences landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular 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.

About 93% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 7% are male.

Full Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 21 schools only.

  • 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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