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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 Schools Ranked
$68,813 Avg Student Debt

It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps 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 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 7 schools in California to see which ones had the most popular online graduate certificate programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:

#1

National University

San Diego, California
79 Total Awards

Our 2023 rankings named National University the most popular school in California for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in San Diego, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 79 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2021-2022.

Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.

Around 88% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Read More…

#2

Brandman University

Irvine, California
145 Total Awards
$13,030 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you attend Brandman University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Brandman is a medium-sized public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 145 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

Around 79% of those degree recipients were women.

Since the graduate programs at Brandman are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.

Full Brandman University Report

38 Total Awards
$12,544 Average Tuition & Fees
$36,190 Avg Student Debt

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 graduate certificate. West Coast University - Orange County is located in Anaheim, California and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 38 graduate certificates to qualified students.

Graduate Certificate recipients from West Coast University - Orange County accumulate an average of $36,190 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 84% of those degree recipients were women.

Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out West Coast University - Orange County. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.

Read full report on West Coast University - Orange County

#4

Samuel Merritt University

Oakland, California
7 Total Awards
$57,365 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Samuel Merritt University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oakland, California. It awarded 7 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

Of those students who received their degree, 71% were women.

To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 23% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Samuel Merritt University

$8,494 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Dominguez Hills helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California.

To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 67% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.

Full California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

5 Total Awards
$27,171 Average Tuition & Fees

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in San Marcos, California that handed out 5 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.

If you are interested in distance education, USAHS is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.

Read More…

#6

United States University

San Diego, California
2 Total Awards
$6,239 Average Tuition & Fees

United States University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in San Diego, California, the small private for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2021-2022.

Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.

If you are interested in distance education, USU is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.

Read More…

Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region

View Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 7 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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