2023 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California
Finding the Best Health Professions Associate Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, health professions students earned 54,872 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 99 schools in California to see which associate degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for health professions majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 15% Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Unitek College the best school in California for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Fremont, Unitek College is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
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Out of the 99 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of San Mateo, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanbridge University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California list. Stanbridge is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Loma Linda University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best health professions schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Merced College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Merced Community College District is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Merced.
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Casa Loma College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Casa Loma College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Van Nuys.
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With a ranking of #8, West Hills College-Lemoore did quite well on this year’s best schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. West Hills College-Lemoore is a small public school located in the rural area of Lemoore.
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With a ranking of #9, Canada College did quite well on this year’s best schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the large suburb of Redwood City, Canada College is a public college with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #10, Mendocino College did quite well on this year’s best schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Ukiah, Mendocino College is a public school with a small student population.
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CBD College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Community Based Education and Development is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
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Foothill College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Los Altos Hills, Foothill College is a public school with a large student population.
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Cuesta College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree health professions programs. Cuesta College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
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With a ranking of #14, Pacific Union College did quite well on this year’s best schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Angwin, PUC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Santa Barbara City College | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 16 | Mount Saint Mary’s University | Los Angeles, CA |
| 17 | San Joaquin Delta College | Stockton, CA |
| 18 | Cabrillo College | Aptos, CA |
| 19 | Butte College | Oroville, CA |
Best Health Professions Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Health Professions Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 10,021 |
| Oregon | 5,865 |
| Hawaii | 1,126 |
| Nevada | 4,207 |
| Alaska | 578 |
More Health Professions Rankings in California
Health Professions Related Rankings by Major
Health Professions Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Nursing | 322,592 |
| 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 |
| Health Sciences & Services | 35,945 |
| Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions | 29,833 |
| Mental & Social Health Services | 29,053 |
| Medicine | 28,629 |
| Dental Support Services | 26,399 |
| Communication Sciences | 22,298 |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 20,393 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science | 18,901 |
| Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services | 10,751 |
| Health/Medical Prep Programs | 9,210 |
| Other Health Professions | 7,984 |
| Dentistry | 6,770 |
| Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services | 6,158 |
| Bioethics/Medical Ethics | 5,115 |
| Alternative Medicine & Systems | 3,564 |
| Chiropractic | 2,658 |
| Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies | 2,374 |
| Medical Illustration & Informatics | 2,089 |
| Optometry | 1,822 |
| Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences | 1,775 |
| Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services | 960 |
| Medical Science | 909 |
| Movement & Mind-Body Therapies | 294 |
| Alternative Medical Support Services | 227 |
| Energy & Biologically Based Therapies | 68 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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