2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
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. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps 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 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 33 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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Top Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
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. USU is a private for-profit institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 397 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USU are $5,650 a year.
Since the graduate programs at USU are primarily online, it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Stanislaus helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in California. Located in Turlock, California, the fairly large public school awarded 15 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Stan State are $18,582 per year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Stan State. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 99% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Stan State also took the #3 spot in our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California rankings.
Read full report on California State University - Stanislaus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 50 students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $17,914 a year.
Cal State Fullerton does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 99% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. This large public school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 111 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at CSULB are $17,784 a year.
CSULB does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 100% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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 Rohnert Park, California, the medium-sized public school awarded 30 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
SSU graduate students pay an average of $18,926 in tuition and fees each year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at SSU. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 90% took at least some of their classes online.
In addition to its great value ranking, SSU is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list.
California State University - Chico ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. This fairly large public school is located in Chico, California, and it awarded 4 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Chico State are $18,802 a year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Chico State. During the 2019-2020 year, about 99% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
San Jose State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. San Jose State is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 25 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at San Jose State are $18,790 a year.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at San Jose State. In fact, around 94% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
California State University - Fresno did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Fresno State is located in Fresno, California and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 master’s degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Fresno State are $17,591 a year.
Online graduate courses are available at Fresno State, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 98% took at least some of their classes online.
California State University - Dominguez Hills came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Carson, California, and it awarded 61 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at CSUDH are $17,998 a year.
CSUDH 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 97% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #10, California State University - East Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a public institution located in Hayward, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $17,933 in tuition and fees each year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Cal State East Bay. In 2019-2020 about 100% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
California State University - Los Angeles landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. This large public school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 73 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Cal State LA are $17,723 a year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Cal State LA. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 100% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Read full report on California State University - Los Angeles
California State University - San Marcos landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. This fairly large public school is located in San Marcos, California, and it awarded 27 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at CSUSM are $18,665 a year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at CSUSM. In 2019-2020 about 99% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
San Francisco State University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. SFSU is a public institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 49 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
SFSU graduate students pay an average of $18,242 in tuition and fees each year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at SFSU. During the 2019-2020 year, about 93% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Concordia University, Irvine ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 4 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Concordia University, Irvine are $8,564 per year.
If you are interested in distance education, Concordia University, Irvine is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
California State University - Sacramento landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. This large public school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 61 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $18,330 per year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Sac State does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 86% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Read full report on California State University - Sacramento
California State University - Bakersfield did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. CSUB is located in Bakersfield, California and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUB are $18,517 per year.
CSUB does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 99% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
San Diego State University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SDSU are $19,074 a year.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at SDSU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 91% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #18, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. This large public school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 44 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Davis graduate students pay an average of $28,710 in tuition and fees each year.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UC Davis. In fact, around 52% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Davis is ranked #2 for overall quality in California.
Vanguard University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Vanguard University of Southern California is a small private not-for-profit school located in Costa Mesa, California that handed out 20 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Vanguard are $12,376 per year.
If you are interested in distance education, Vanguard is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Vanguard 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.
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 179 students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $28,138 per year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UCLA. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 79% took at least some of their classes online.
UCLA not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list.
With a ranking of #21, Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in San Diego, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 28 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
PLNU graduate students pay an average of $11,880 in tuition and fees each year.
PLNU 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 2019-2020 year, about 56% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
California State University - San Bernardino landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. CSUSB is a fairly large public school situated in San Bernardino, California. It awarded 4 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at CSUSB are $18,151 a year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since CSUSB does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 100% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 8 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
MSMU graduate students pay an average of $13,099 in tuition and fees each year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at MSMU. In fact, around 99% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of California - Irvine landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 20 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Irvine graduate students pay an average of $28,458 in tuition and fees each year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UC Irvine. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 95% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Fresno Pacific University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. Fresno Pacific is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 21 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno Pacific are $15,060 per year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Fresno Pacific does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 11% took at least some of their classes online.
Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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.
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