2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Nursing is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 3rd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 313,362 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, nursing graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $67,065 and had an average of $26,282 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 18,266 nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $87,508 and $30,286 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 2,734 nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, we looked at 37 colleges that offer a degree in nursing. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great nursing programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the nursing program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California” list to help you make the college decision.
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.
Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree nursing students.
Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Nursing in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend United States University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California. This small school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 262 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
USU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at United States University are $5,850.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Francisco. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California list. This small school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 156 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
UCSF also made our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Francisco are $28,092, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Full University of California - San Francisco Nursing Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend West Coast University - Orange County. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California. This small school is located in Anaheim, California, and it awarded 190 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
West Coast University - Orange County also made our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #11. Average graduate tuition and fees at West Coast University - Orange County are $10,914, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California list. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 117 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Long Beach are $17,784, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Out of the 37 schools in the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 149 degrees to qualified masters’s nursing students in 2019-2020.
UCLA also made our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131.
Point Loma Nazarene University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California list. San Diego, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s nursing degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.
PLNU also took the #15 spot in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Point Loma Nazarene University are $11,880.
California State University - Fresno came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. California State University - Fresno is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 23 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Fresno State, the school also landed the #24 spot in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Fresno State are $17,581.
Azusa Pacific University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Azusa Pacific University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Azusa, California. It awarded 189 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Azusa Pacific also took the #13 spot in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Azusa Pacific University are $16,571, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #9. University of California - Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 17 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california master’s degree nursing students list, UC Irvine has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
California State University - Fullerton ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California list. Located in Fullerton, California, this large public school awarded 68 degrees to qualified masters’s nursing students in 2019-2020.
Cal State Fullerton also took the #18 spot in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Cal State Fullerton are $17,892, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Fullerton
Fresno Pacific University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #11. This small school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 30 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Fresno Pacific not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Fresno Pacific University are $15,000.
San Jose State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 29 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
San Jose State also took the #17 spot in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Jose State University are $18,790, but some majors have different tuition rates.
California State University - Stanislaus landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. California State University - Stanislaus is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 21 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Stanislaus are $18,540, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #14. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 32 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Davis, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Davis are $28,700.
California State University - Los Angeles landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Cal State LA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 78 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Cal State LA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #20 on our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Los Angeles are $17,723, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. California State University - Dominguez Hills is located in Carson, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 61 masters’s nursing degrees to qualified students.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Dominguez Hills are $17,884.
With a ranking of #17, California Baptist University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California list. California Baptist University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 53 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Cal Baptist also made our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #23. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Baptist University are $14,140, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
San Francisco State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. San Francisco State University is a large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 39 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #25 spot in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SFSU are $17,944, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Sonoma State University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Rohnert Park, California, and it awarded 47 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at SSU are $18,890, but some majors have different tuition rates.
California State University - San Marcos landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. CSUSM is a fairly large public school situated in San Marcos, California. It awarded 17 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUSM are $18,661, but some majors have different tuition rates.
California State University - Bakersfield landed the #21 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. California State University - Bakersfield is a fairly large public school situated in Bakersfield, California. It awarded 19 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUB are $18,437, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Full California State University - Bakersfield Nursing Report
California State University - San Bernardino landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. CSUSB is a fairly large public school situated in San Bernardino, California. It awarded 12 masters’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - San Bernardino are $17,936.
Read full report on Nursing at California State University - San Bernardino
San Diego State University landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Located in San Diego, California, this large public school handed out 35 diplomas to qualified masters’s nursing students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california master’s degree nursing students list, SDSU has also earned the #21 rank in our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Diego State University are $18,658, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Western University of Health Sciences landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Western University of Health Sciences is located in Pomona, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 71 masters’s nursing degrees to qualified students.
Western University of Health Sciences also made our “Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Average graduate tuition and fees at Western University of Health Sciences are $23,596, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences
University of Phoenix - California came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. UOPX - California is a private for-profit institution located in Costa Mesa, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 51 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Phoenix - California are $16,752, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
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Notes and References
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%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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