About a third of California residents live in areas where there is a shortage of primary care doctors. This shortage disproportionately affects rural areas, with some having only 40 primary care providers per 100,000 people. Luckily, California recently passed a law that provides nurse practitioners with a path to independent practice to help lessen the effects of this shortage and give these professionals exciting professional opportunities in the state.
Here are some top universities where you can pursue various nurse practitioner degrees in the Golden State. For specific program types, review our California based FNP programs, AGNP programs, and PNP program offerings. Many DNP programs are also offered in the state of California.
Program Overview:
AUHS is a “Christian-based, minority-serving university” specializing in educating students for careers in healthcare, specifically nursing, pharmacy, and research. The university takes a holistic approach to learning and promotes the development of mind, body, and spirit. It was founded in 1994 and now offers various degrees, including two FNP options.
Program Overview:
Azusa Pacific University is 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. The school of nursing is located on its West Campus. The university was founded in 1899 as the Training School for Christian Workers; today, it is one of the largest Christian universities in the country. Azusa Pacific University offers several options for those wishing to pursue an NP degree, indcluding a BSN to FNP with School Nurse Credential you won’t find in any other school.
Program Overview:
California Baptist University is one of the top Christian Colleges in the nation. The College of Nursing has been preparing nurses for clinical practice since 2005. The school expanded in 2014, tripling the amount of space available for classrooms and labs and introducing a state-of-the-art simulation lab.
Program Overview:
California State University Channel Islands is the newest addition to the CSU system. This four-year public university in Camarillo was established in 2002. The nursing program features a state-of-the-art Simulation Lab and offers multiple degree options, including the following NP tracks:
Program Overview:
The California State University, Dominguez Hills, was founded in 1960 on 346 acres of land that once belonged to Juan José Dominguez, a Spanish soldier who received the original land grant from King Carlos III of Spain in 1784. The nursing program was established in 1973 and celebrated 50 years of educating health professionals. It offers one NP option:
Program Overview:
CSU Fresno’s School of Nursing in the College of Health and Human Services is located in the Central San Joaquin Valley, home to four of the region’s largest hospitals. Students have a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in the heart of the region. The school offers the following two NP pathways.
Program Overview:
The School of Nursing at CSU Long Beach was established the same year the university opened, 1949. It started an RN-BSN completion program and expanded over the years to include multiple degree options. This university is one to consider for those interested in pursuing a DNP as a nurse practitioner, offering the following three options:
Program Overview:
Located in the heart of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. It’s also federally designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, Minority-Serving Institution, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. The Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing offers a high-tech simulation lab featuring high-fidelity manikins, a physical assessment laboratory, and task trainers to provide students with unique hands-on experiences during their education. It offers the following four NP options:
Program Overview:
California State University San Marcos is about an hour from the U.S.-Mexico border. It was founded in 1989, and today, about half of CSUSM students are underrepresented minorities. The College of Education, Health, and Human Services nursing programs were established in the fall of 2006, and the college added MSN programs just three years later. It offers one NP option.
Program Overview:
Stanislaus State College was established in 1957 as the fifteenth campus in the CSU system. It’s centrally located, a short distance from the San Francisco Bay Area, Big Sur, Monterey, the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park, and Sacramento’s governmental hub. The School of Nursing in the College of Science offers multiple nursing degrees, including the following NP option.
Program Overview:
What is unique about Charles R. Drew University is that it focuses strictly on preparing students for degrees in healthcare, from radiology techs to nurses to physicians. The university was established in 1966 and today is designated as a minority-serving institution by the U.S. Office for Civil Rights and is one of only four Historically Black Medical Colleges in the country. It opened the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing in the fall of 2010, now the Mervyn M. Dymally College of Nursing, and offers two NP programs.
Program Overview:
Concordia University Irvine is a comprehensive Lutheran Christian university that has been educating students for close to 50 years. The nursing program is taught on the Spectrum Campus, which features 20,000 sq. ft. of state-of-the-art nursing teaching space and more than 90,000 sq. ft. for additional unique educational spaces. CUI offers one NP degree.
Program Overview:
Fresno Pacific University is the only accredited Christian university in the Valley with regional campuses located in North Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, and Merced. FPU opened in 1944, but the School of Natural Sciences wasn’t established until 2005. Today, the School of Nursing offers multiple programs, including the following NP option:
Program Overview:
LLU is a Seventh-day Adventist university established in 1905, and the School of Nursing was there right from the beginning. Students have access to the largest medical simulation center in the country, with a fully equipped skills lab featuring 20 patient beds and medical equipment. Students also get the opportunity to get hands-on clinical experiences at the world-renowned Loma Linda University Medical Center. The university offers the following five NP options:
Program Overview:
NU was established in 1971 by U.S. Navy Capt. Dr. David Chigos, who wanted to provide educational opportunities and support for deployed soldiers and Veterans. The university supports students in many ways, including free virtual mental health counseling, 1:1 assistance for navigating the financial aid process, and a NU Mentoring Network for individual student and alumni career guidance. It offers two NP options.
Program Overview:
PLNU is a faith-based Christian university that started as the Pacific Bible College in 1902. The school experienced several name changes and grew rapidly in the last 120+ years. Today, it has more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students and offers more than 70 programs, including the following three NP programs.
Program Overview:
SDSU was founded in 1897 and is a federally-designated Hispanic-serving Institution and an Asian American and Native-American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. It’s the oldest higher education institution in San Diego, only 30 minutes north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The School of Nursing was established in 1953; MSN programs were added in 1982. Today, the school offers one NP program:
Program Overview:
SFSU was founded in 1899, and the School Nurse Program was introduced in 1955. This program was phased out in the 1960s to shift focus from school nursing to a BSN program. In 1994, the College of Health and Human Services was established and became the School of Nursing’s home. Master’s programs were introduced in 1979, and the NP program was introduced in 1994. Today, SFSU offers the following NP options:
Program Overview:
Samuel Merritt University started in 1909 with the establishment of a nursing credentialing program at Samuel Merritt Hospital in Oakland. This diploma program lasted until 1981 when it was replaced with a four-year baccalaureate option. Master’s programs were introduced in 1992. Today, the university prepares nurses for all levels of the field, including the following three NP options:
Program Overview:
Located about one hour north of San Francisco, Sonoma State University offers a friendly, safe, and informal atmosphere on a beautiful campus. The School of Science and Technology at SSU is home to the Department of Nursing, which has been educating nurses for over 50 years. It currently offers an NP option:
Program Overview:
Touro University was established in 1997. Its 44-acre campus sits within the historic Mare Island Naval Base. The School of Nursing offers programs designed for working professionals. It offers multiple on-campus resources for nursing students, including a Clinical Skills Center with simulated exam rooms and a Simulation Center designed to mirror an ER/ICU setting with multiple mannequins and simulated patient experiences. It offers the following NP option:
Program Overview:
UC Irvine was founded in 1965, and its first nursing program was a graduate-level program in 1986 in partnership with UCLA. The nursing program grew over the years, and the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing was established in 2016. In 2022, the school introduced a state-of-the-art simulation lab where students get hands-on experience to prepare them for their future careers.
Program Overview:
UCLA was founded in 1919, but the School of Nursing wasn’t established until 1949. Today, the school offers an innovative Nursing Simulation Education Program (NSEP) where students can practice delivering patient care and learning essential skills. UCLA offers eight NP options, more than any other school in the state.
Program Overview:
One of the world’s leading health sciences universities, the University of California San Francisco, dates its founding to 1864. The Training School for Nurses was established in 1907 and offered its first baccalaureate program in 1917. By the mid-1900s, it offered several MSN options. Today, students can choose from five NP tracks at the school:
Program Overview:
The University of San Diego is a Catholic university near the Mexican border. It was founded in 1949, and the School of Nursing was established in 1973. In 1979, the school started offering MSN degrees, and the NP program followed in 1986. The school’s state-of-the-art Dickinson Nursing Simulation Center offers students hands-on experience with six primary care exam rooms, three acute-care hospital rooms, virtual reality simulations, and more. Students can choose from three NP tracks.
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The University of Southern California opened its doors to its first students in 1880. Today, it is one of the world’s leading educational institutions. The NP program is offered through the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, which was established in 1920.
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The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences has multiple campuses across the country, in Florida, Texas, and California. The School of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences boasts a 95% first-time FNP certification exam pass rate. Most graduate classes are online, but students must come to campus for hands-on experience in the simulation labs. The school offers the following four NP options:
Program Overview:
USU was founded in 1997 to focus on providing educational opportunities for underserved populations such as working adults, first-generation college students, Latinx, and immigrants to increase bilingual capacity in nursing, healthcare, and education in Southern California. The College of Nursing and Health Sciences offers a variety of programs, including two NP options.
Program Overview:
West Coast University focuses exclusively on healthcare careers, from nursing to physical therapy to physician assistants. Its nursing program uses state-of-the-art simulation labs with high-fidelity manikins that provide real-time feedback and help students practice skills that will help them in their clinical assignments and their careers. Students can choose from three NP tracks:
Program Overview:
Western University of Health Sciences has two campuses, one in Oregon and one in Pomona, California. It has prepared healthcare professionals for their careers for more than 45 years. It boasts a 100% pass rate for certification exams for graduates of the MSN-FNP program. Western University of Health Sciences offers two NP programs:
