2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in California
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. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamp that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
The Best Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 52 schools in California to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school us, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Fielding Graduate University the best school in California for students working on their graduate certificate. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this very small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 121 students in .
Online graduate courses are available at Fielding, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2022-2023 year, about 97% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Presidio Graduate School is a great place for students working on their graduate certificate. Located in San Francisco, California, the very small private not-for-profit school awarded 8 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in .
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Out of the 52 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Santa Clara University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in Santa Clara, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 24 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in .
Online graduate courses are available at SCU, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2022-2023 about 13% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Keck Graduate Institute. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Keck Graduate Institute is a very small private not-for-profit school located in Claremont, California that handed out 137 graduate certificates in .
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at KGI. In 2022-2023 about 24% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Claremont Graduate University is a great place for students working on their graduate certificate. Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 114 graduate certificates in .
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Claremont Graduate University. During the 2022-2023 year, about 52% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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Stanford University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 3 graduate certificates in .
Stanford does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 8% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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California State University - San Marcos came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. CSUSM is a public institution located in San Marcos, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 graduate certificates in .
CSUSM does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 58% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.
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With a ranking of #8, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Berkeley, California, the large public school handed out 91 graduate certificate awards in .
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UC Berkeley. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 23% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.
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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
One thing to take note of is that Cal Poly San Luis Obispo does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 14% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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With a ranking of #10, Brandman University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Brandman University is a medium-sized public school located in Irvine, California that handed out 103 graduate certificates in .
Since the graduate programs at Brandman are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
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Saint Mary’s College of California ranked #11 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. SMC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Moraga, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 23 graduate certificates in .
Online graduate courses are available at SMC, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2022-2023 about 6% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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University of Southern California came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 1,283 students in .
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at USC. In fact, around 50% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #13 on the list. UC Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 137 graduate certificates in .
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UC Irvine. In fact, around 69% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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Golden Gate University - San Francisco came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking.
Golden Gate University - San Francisco does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 55% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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With a ranking of #15, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Loyola Marymount University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 119 graduate certificates in .
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Loyola Marymount. In 2022-2023 about 41% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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University of Redlands landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs. University of Redlands is located in Redlands, California and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 27 graduate certificates to qualified students.
University of Redlands does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 35% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.
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With a ranking of #17, National University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Located in San Diego, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 56 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in .
One thing to take note of is that National University does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 72% took at least some of their classes online.
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With a ranking of #18, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Located in San Jose, California, the large public school awarded 95 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in .
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at San Jose State. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 70% took at least some of their classes online.
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Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #19 on the list. PLNU is located in San Diego, California and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 2 graduate certificates to qualified students.
PLNU does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 74% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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Biola University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs. Biola University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in La Mirada, California that handed out 13 graduate certificates in .
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Biola does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2022-2023 year, about 58% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 39 students in .
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at MSMU. In fact, around 54% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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University of San Francisco landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs. University of San Francisco is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 2 graduate certificates in .
USFCA does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2022-2023 about 24% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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With a ranking of #23, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate. This large public school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 14 graduate certificates in .
Online graduate courses are available at UC Davis, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2022-2023 about 9% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #24 on the list. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 187 graduate certificates in .
One thing to take note of is that CSULB does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2022-2023 year, about 37% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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With a ranking of #25, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
One thing to take note of is that CSUSB does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 60% took at least some of their classes online.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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