2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You
Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in California. In total, 18,329 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in California.
There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in California to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Check out the nursing graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Samuel Merritt University the best school in California for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Oakland.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Coast University - Orange County. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
Read full report on Nursing at West Coast University - Orange County
Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Western University of Health Sciences landed the # 3 spot on the list. Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Pomona.
Read full report on Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Francisco. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. UCSF is a small public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Dominguez Hills is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a large student population.
With a ranking of #6, National University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.
California State University - Long Beach landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.
With a ranking of #8, Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
University of San Francisco ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.
Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 3,851 |
| Nevada | 2,015 |
| Alaska | 177 |
| Hawaii | 535 |
| Oregon | 1,502 |
More Nursing Rankings in California
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
Nursing Focus Areas
| 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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 16 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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