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Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

42 Colleges
$9,683 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master'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 Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 42 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

United States University

San Diego, CA

Our analysis found United States University to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. USU is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at USU are $5,650 per year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Stanislaus. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Stan State is a large public school located in the small suburb of Turlock.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Stan State are $9,078 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Stanislaus

Out of the 42 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the # 3 spot on the list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fullerton Report

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Long Beach

#5

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Sonoma State University is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.

SSU graduate students pay an average of $9,422 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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California State University - Chico ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Chico State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chico.

Chico State graduate students pay an average of $9,298 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Chico

With a ranking of #7, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

California State University - Fresno ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno State are $8,087 per year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fresno Report

California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. CSUDH is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carson.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUDH are $8,494 per year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

California State University - East Bay ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a large student population.

Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $8,429 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - East Bay

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value 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 25 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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