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Nursing at College of the Desert

If you are interested in studying Nursing, take a look at what College of the Desert. We’ve gathered the following information to help you decide.

College of the Desert sits in Palm Desert, CA.

For the most recent IPEDS reporting year, 97 nursing degrees were awarded at College of the Desert.

Studying Online at College of the Desert

Online coursework is an option at College of the Desert. Among 12,861 students, 4,122 (32%) were enrolled entirely in distance education and 4,016 (31%) took at least some classes online.

Nursing Rankings at College of the Desert

Rankings can help you compare College of the Desert’s Nursing program to other colleges that offer this major.

Associate-Level Rankings

Ranking	Scope	Rank
Best Schools (Quality)	California	#70 of 141
Best Value	California	#76 of 137
Best Schools (Quality)	Far Western (Region)	#99 of 224
Best Value	Far Western (Region)	#122 of 218
Best Schools (Quality)	Nationwide	#328 of 1,918
Best Value	Nationwide	#720 of 1,878

Earnings for Nursing Graduates from College of the Desert

Those who finish College of the Desert’s Nursing program report the following median earnings (per the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard):

Years After Graduation	Median Earnings
1 year	$79,088
2 years	$73,446
3 years	$79,174
4 years	$95,005
5 years	$115,416

Is this above or below average for the school? Four years after graduating, Nursing graduates from College of the Desert earn a median of $95,005, compared with $36,528 for all College of the Desert graduates — about 160% higher than the school-wide median.

Median Debt at Graduation

Typical debt at graduation for Nursing graduates from College of the Desert comes in at $13,806.

Student Demographics & Diversity

The following sections describe the composition of Nursing graduates at College of the Desert, broken down by degree level.

Program-wide, Nursing graduates at College of the Desert are 86% women (83) and 14% men (14).

Nursing Associate’s Program at College of the Desert

Of the 97 associate’s nursing degrees awarded at College of the Desert, 86% were women (83) and 14% were men (14).

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity of Nursing associate’s degree recipients at College of the Desert.

Race / Ethnicity	Number of Graduates
White	18
Hispanic / Latino	66
Black / African American	3
Asian	6
Two or More Races	4

Racial-ethnic minorities make up 81% of Nursing associate’s degree recipients at College of the Desert, higher than the national average of 44%.*

*The racial-ethnic minorities figure is the total number of graduates minus White, international (nonresident), and unknown-race graduates.

More Specific Nursing Concentrations at College of the Desert

The Nursing program at College of the Desert breaks down into more specific concentrations:

Concentration	Graduates
Registered Nursing	97

Best-Paid Careers for Nursing Graduates

Those who complete Nursing program at College of the Desert pursue many career paths. Here are the highest-paying careers for Nursing majors, ordered by median annual salary:

Occupation	Nationwide Median Wage
Nurse Practitioners	$147,651
Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses	$143,854
Medical and Health Services Managers	$129,557
Registered Nurses	$105,741
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary	$69,718
Nurse Anesthetists	$66,747
Critical Care Nurses	$65,103
Acute Care Nurses	$56,247
Clinical Nurse Specialists	$52,889
Nurse Midwives	$36,174

References

• IPEDS — Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
• U.S. Department of Education — College Scorecard
• O*NET Online (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• National Center for Education Statistics

More about our data sources and methodologies.