2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California
Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in California with 18,329 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Healthcare Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 18 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare 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 Doctor’s Degree Schools in California
Check out the nursing doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 10 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences the best school in California for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. USAHS is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the suburb of San Marcos.
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Out of the 18 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Samuel Merritt University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Point Loma Nazarene University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.
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Out of the 18 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 4 spot on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Touro University California helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. TUC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Vallejo.
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With a ranking of #6, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.
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California State University - Fresno ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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University of San Francisco landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #9, Loma Linda University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Loma Linda.
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Western University of Health Sciences ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Full Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences Report
Request InformationBest 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 |
|---|---|
| Oregon | 1,502 |
| Washington | 3,851 |
| Nevada | 2,015 |
| Hawaii | 535 |
| Alaska | 177 |
More Nursing Rankings in California
Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing
One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Nursing Concentrations
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing | 266,651 |
| Family Practice Nurse/Nursing | 16,104 |
| Nursing Administration | 9,838 |
| Nursing Practice | 7,992 |
| Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 5,092 |
| Nursing Science | 4,600 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,287 |
| Adult Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,021 |
| Nurse Anesthetist | 1,936 |
| Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing | 1,883 |
| Critical Care Nursing | 773 |
| Geriatric Nurse/Nursing | 563 |
| School Nursing | 553 |
| Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery | 509 |
| Clinical Nurse Leader | 444 |
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | 419 |
| Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing | 331 |
| Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing | 181 |
| Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing | 57 |
| Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing | 53 |
| Palliative Care Nursing | 14 |
| Forensic Nursing | 14 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 18 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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