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Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California

7 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

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 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in California to see which online graduate certificate programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Colleges.

#1

National University

La Jolla, CA

Our analysis found National University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue an online graduate certificate in California. National University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

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#2

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brandman University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Brandman University

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means West Coast University - Orange County is a great place for nursing students working on their online graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

About 79% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 21% are male.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Samuel Merritt University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.

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

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The in-demand online graduate certificate programs at California State University - Dominguez Hills helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills

#6

United States University

San Diego, CA

United States University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the large city of San Diego, USU is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at United States University

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, USAHS is a private for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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

More Nursing Rankings in California

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 7 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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