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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California

18 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was ranked 5th in California. In fact, 3,819 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad 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 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 moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

Full Nursing at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences Report

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Samuel Merritt University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. Located in the large city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Samuel Merritt University

Out of the 18 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Point Loma Nazarene University landed the # 3 spot on the list. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Full Nursing at Point Loma Nazarene University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Full Nursing at University of California - Los Angeles Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Touro University California is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. TUC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Vallejo.

Full Nursing at Touro University California Report

University of California - Davis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the small 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 college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Fresno

#8

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of San Francisco

#9

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Loma Linda.

Full Nursing at Loma Linda University Report

Western University of Health Sciences landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read More…

Best 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
Washington 561
Oregon 69
Nevada 211
Hawaii 46
Alaska 17

One of 29 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 16,952

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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