2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right 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. Or you may find the programs at a trade school or bootcamp to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 11 schools in California to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate programs for nursing students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
Featured schools near , edit
Top Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Dominguez Hills the best school in California for nursing students working on their graduate certificate.
CSUDH does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 67% took at least some of their classes online.
Read full report on California State University - Dominguez Hills
Out of the 11 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, National University landed the # 2 spot on the list. San Diego, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 79 students in 2021-2022.
One thing to take note of is that National University does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 88% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in Long Beach, California, the large public school awarded 202 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2021-2022.
Graduate Certificate recipients from CSULB accumulate an average of $22,018 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since CSULB does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 55% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at Point Loma Nazarene University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. This small private not-for-profit school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 2 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since PLNU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 72% took at least some of their classes online.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of San Francisco helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 6 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at USFCA. During the 2020-2021 year, about 61% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 30 graduate certificate awards in 2021-2022.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since MSMU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 78% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
San Francisco State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 638 students in 2021-2022.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $13,427 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since SFSU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 83% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #8, Brandman University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Irvine, California, the medium-sized public school awarded 145 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2021-2022.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Brandman. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Holy Names University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. HNU is located in Oakland, California and has a very small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 28 graduate certificates to qualified students.
One thing to take note of is that HNU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 19% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
California State University - Los Angeles landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school handed out 169 graduate certificate awards in 2021-2022.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Cal State LA. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 70% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #11, University of Phoenix - California did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate.
Graduate Certificate recipients from UOPX - California accumulate an average of $35,809 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
UOPX - California does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2020-2021 year, about 11% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region
View Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools Nationwide >
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
Request Info | Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |