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Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

21 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

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.

The Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

Check out the nursing doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our analysis found Brandman University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

Of the 113 students majoring in nursing at Brandman, 16% are male and 84% are female.

Full Nursing at Brandman University Report

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#2

University of San Diego

San Diego, CA

The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at University of San Diego helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. USD is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Of the 58 students majoring in nursing at USD, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Full Nursing at University of San Diego Report

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#3

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at University of San Francisco helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

Full Nursing at University of San Francisco Report

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Out of the 21 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences landed the # 4 spot on the list. USAHS is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

About 82% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 18% are male.

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

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The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at California State University - Fullerton helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

Women make up 96% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Fullerton

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#6

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Loma Linda.

Of the 25 students majoring in nursing at Loma Linda University, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Full Nursing at Loma Linda University Report

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University of California - Los Angeles came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

About 88% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 12% are male.

Full Nursing at University of California - Los Angeles Report

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Azusa Pacific University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Azusa Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Azusa.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

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With a ranking of #9, University of California - San Francisco did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of San Francisco, UCSF is a public college with a small student population.

About 81% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 19% are male.

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Western University of Health Sciences did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

About 93% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 7% are male.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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

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 21 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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