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Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California

7 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

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.

The Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 7 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular online graduate certificate programs for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

Check out the online nursing graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

#1

National University

La Jolla, CA

Our 2023 rankings named National University the most popular online school in California for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Of the 39 students majoring in nursing at National University, 15% are male and 85% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at National University

#2

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brandman University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

About 96% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 4% are male.

Full Nursing at Brandman University Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means West Coast University - Orange County is a great place for nursing students working on their online graduate certificate. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Anaheim.

Of the 19 students majoring in nursing at West Coast University - Orange County, 21% are male and 79% are female.

Read More…

The in-demand online graduate certificate programs at Samuel Merritt University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. Located in the city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

About 88% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at Samuel Merritt University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. CSUDH is a large public school located in the city of Carson.

Full Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. USAHS is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

Read full report on Nursing at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences

#6

United States University

San Diego, CA

With a ranking of #6, United States University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online graduate certificate. USU is a small private for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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

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

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 7 schools only.

  • 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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