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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

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 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 21 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular doctor's degree programs for 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 2023 rankings named Brandman University the most popular school in California for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Brandman is a moderately-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

#2

University of San Diego

San Diego, CA

Out of the 21 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of San Diego landed the # 2 spot on the list. 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

#3

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of San Francisco is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large 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.

Read full report on Nursing at University of San Francisco

The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

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

Full Nursing at California State University - Fullerton Report

#6

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Loma Linda.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Loma Linda University

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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

Read More…

Azusa Pacific University 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 #8 on the list. Azusa Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Azusa.

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

Read More…

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.

Read full report on Nursing at University of California - San Francisco

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 large suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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

Read More…

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
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 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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