2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in California to see which graduate certificate 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.
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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a graduate certificate.
Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Samuel Merritt University the best school in California for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Coast University - Orange County. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Anaheim.
Full Nursing at West Coast University - Orange County Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western University of Health Sciences. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Read full report on Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences
The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of California - San Francisco helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. Located in the large city of San Francisco, UCSF is a public college with a small student population.
Read full report on Nursing at University of California - San Francisco
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. CSUDH is a large public school located in the small city of Carson.
National University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
California State University - Long Beach came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.
Full Nursing at California State University - Long Beach Report
Point Loma Nazarene University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.
With a ranking of #9, University of San Francisco did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges 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 16 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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