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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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

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 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.

The Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 42 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

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

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. Located in the large city of San Diego, USU is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at USU are $5,650 a year.

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Out of the 42 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Stanislaus landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a large student population.

Stan State graduate students pay an average of $9,078 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Stan State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 a year.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

CSULB graduate students pay an average of $8,280 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#5

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sonoma State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SSU are $9,422 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, SSU also did well on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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California State University - Chico came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the midsize city of Chico, Chico State is a public college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Chico State are $9,298 per year.

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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. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at San Jose State are $9,286 per year.

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With a ranking of #8, California State University - Fresno did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

Fresno State graduate students pay an average of $8,087 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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With a ranking of #9, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUDH are $8,494 a year.

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California State University - East Bay landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

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

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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 3,851
Nevada 2,015
Alaska 177
Hawaii 535
Oregon 1,502

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

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

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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