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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 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing 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. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Colleges.

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our analysis found Brandman University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Located in the large city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 84% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 16% are male.

Read More…

#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. Located in the city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

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#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. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Women make up 85% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at University of San Francisco Report

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. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, USAHS is a private for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 82% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences Report

The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at California State University - Fullerton helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 26 students majoring in nursing at Cal State Fullerton, 4% are male and 96% are female.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fullerton Report

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Full Nursing at University of California - Los Angeles Report

#6

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Loma Linda University

With a ranking of #8, Azusa Pacific University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 24 students majoring in nursing at Azusa Pacific, 13% are male and 88% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Azusa Pacific University

University of California - San Francisco 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 #9 on the list. UCSF is a small public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Women make up 81% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

Western University of Health Sciences came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

Women make up 93% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 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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