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Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

4 Colleges
$1,285 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,486 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Undergraduate 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 4 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value undergraduate certificate 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.

2023 Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a undergraduate certificate.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for an Award Taking 1 to 4 Years in Nursing

Our analysis found Glendale Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a undergraduate certificate in California. GCC is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Glendale.

GCC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,171 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from GCC take out $22,175 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, GCC is ranked #1 for overall quality for nursing in California.

Full Nursing at Glendale Community College Report

#2

Saddleback College

Mission Viejo, CA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Saddleback College is a great value for nursing students working on their undergraduate certificate. Saddleback College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Mission Viejo.

Saddleback College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,332 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Saddleback College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list.

Read full report on Nursing at Saddleback College

#3

Victor Valley College

Victorville, CA

Out of the 4 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Victor Valley College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Victorville, Victor Valley College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Victor Valley College are $1,424 a year.

Full Nursing at Victor Valley College Report

#4

Pasadena City College

Pasadena, CA

The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Pasadena City College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in California. Pasadena City College is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Pasadena.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pasadena City College are $1,212 a year.

Full Nursing at Pasadena City College Report

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 4 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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