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2023 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Nursing Practice in California

15 Ranked Colleges
205 Degrees Awarded
$33,500 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Nursing Practice is the 105th most popular major in the country with 7,992 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across California, there were 271 nursing practice graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 205 nursing practice graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,525 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate” ranking, we looked at 15 colleges that offer a degree in nursing practice. To top this list, a school must have a successful nursing practice program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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The nursing practice school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree nursing practice students.

1

Out of the 15 schools in the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in San Marcos, California, this medium-sized private for-profit school awarded 45 degrees to qualified doctorate’s nursing practice students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full USAHS Nursing Practice Report

1
USD crest
University of San Diego
San Diego, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of San Diego. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate. Located in San Diego, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 45 degrees to qualified doctorate’s nursing practice students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Nursing Practice at USD

3

Out of the 15 schools in the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #3 spot on the list. California State University - Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 26 doctorate’s nursing practice degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State Fullerton Nursing Practice Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 15 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UCLA Nursing Practice Report

5
Brandman crest
Brandman University
Irvine, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brandman University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate list. Brandman University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 12 doctorate’s nursing practice degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Brandman Nursing Practice Report

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate. Located in Fresno, California, this large public school awarded 12 degrees to qualified doctorate’s nursing practice students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Nursing Practice at Fresno State

7

University of California - San Francisco came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. UCSF is located in San Francisco, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 doctorate’s nursing practice degrees to qualified students.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Nursing Practice at UCSF

8
PLNU crest
Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego, California

Point Loma Nazarene University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. Located in San Diego, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 degrees to qualified doctorate’s nursing practice students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Nursing Practice at Point Loma Nazarene University

8
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

With a ranking of #8, San Jose State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate list. San Jose State University is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full San Jose State Nursing Practice Report

8
Samuel Merritt University crest
Samuel Merritt University
Oakland, California

Samuel Merritt University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oakland, California. It awarded 9 doctorate’s nursing practice degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Nursing Practice at Samuel Merritt University

11
TUC crest
Touro University California
Vallejo, California

Touro University California landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. Located in Vallejo, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 7 degrees to qualified doctorate’s nursing practice students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Touro University California Nursing Practice Report

12
Cal Baptist crest
California Baptist University
Riverside, California

California Baptist University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. California Baptist University is a fairly large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 4 doctorate’s nursing practice degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California Baptist University Nursing Practice Report

13

University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #13. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Nursing Practice at University of California - Irvine

14
Northcentral University crest
Northcentral University
San Diego, California

With a ranking of #14, Northcentral University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate list. This fairly large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 0 doctorate’s nursing practice degrees in 2020-2021.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Nursing Practice at Northcentral University

14

West Coast University - Orange County did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Practice Major in California for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #14. West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit institution located in Anaheim, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Nursing Practice at West Coast University - Orange County

Notes and References

References

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