2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California
It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 21 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular doctor's degree programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in California
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found Brandman University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 113 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 84% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Brandman are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
You’ll be in good company if you attend University of San Diego. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. San Diego, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 58 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 88% were women.
USD does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 24% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
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. San Francisco, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 46 students in 2020-2021.
Around 85% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at USFCA, 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 100% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in San Marcos, California, the medium-sized private for-profit school awarded 45 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 82% of those degree recipients were women.
USAHS is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Read full report on University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Cal State Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 26 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 96% were women.
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.
Loma Linda University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Loma Linda, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 88% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Loma Linda University. In 2019-2020 about 22% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.
Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
UCLA 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. In 2019-2020 about 79% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Azusa Pacific University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in Azusa, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 24 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Azusa Pacific are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
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 situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 16 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 81% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UCSF. In 2019-2020 about 69% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Read full report on University of California - San Francisco
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 located in Pomona, California and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 93% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Western University of Health Sciences does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 0% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
California State University - Fresno ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Fresno State is a large public school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 12 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 92% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Fresno State. In 2019-2020 about 98% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Point Loma Nazarene University 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 #12 on the list. PLNU is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at PLNU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 56% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
San Jose State University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at San Jose State. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 94% took at least some of their classes online.
Samuel Merritt University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Oakland, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
Around 44% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Samuel Merritt University, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 23% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Touro University California 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 #15 on the list. Vallejo, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at TUC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 72% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of California - Davis 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 #16 on the list. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 6 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UC Davis. In 2019-2020 about 52% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
California Baptist University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. California Baptist University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Riverside, California that handed out 4 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 75% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Cal Baptist. In 2019-2020 about 45% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of California - Irvine ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 50% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UC Irvine. In fact, around 95% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
National University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.
National University does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 48% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Northcentral University 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 #19 on the list.
Since the graduate programs at Northcentral University are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
West Coast University - Orange County landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs.
West Coast University - Orange County is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 21 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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