2021 Best Nursing Schools in California

Monterey Peninsula College has multiple campuses – in Oceanside, Monterey and Seaside, California.  The Maurine Church Coburn School of Nursing offers an RN degree with an LVN to RN option  Unique to the Maurine Church Coburn School of Nursing is the Men in Nursing Program, which promotes and recruits men in the nursing program, then works towards male retention in nursing.

Chabot College is located in Hayward, California.  They boast that their faculty has 20 or more years of experience.  Also, the majority of their RN graduates move on to pursue their BSN degree at CSUEB bridge program.  They also have incredible NCLEX-RN pass rates – over the past 5 years, pass rates have ranged from 96.3% to 100%.

Victor Valley College is located in Victorville, California.  The nursing program is housed under the Dr. Prem Reddy School of Health Sciences Department.  They offer an RN degree and an LVN to RN option.  Their nursing program “prepares students for an entry-level position in nursing practice. The structure of this program promotes professional and personal growth, including continuing education, and provides upward and lateral mobility for career options.”

Sierra College is located in Rocklin, California.  Their nursing department offers a CNA program, and their RN program offers both the general RN program and an LVN to RN option.  In addition, students may elect to pursue their BSN concurrently with the River City Collaborative, which means that they would have certain BSN degree requirements to attend do while they are completing their ADN education

Los Angeles Harbor College is located in Wilmington, California.  They offer an RN program and an LVN to RN program.

Grossmont College is located in El Cajon, California.  They offer an RN, LVN to RN, and now offer an RN to BSN program, with the assistance of a local university, Point Loma Nazarene University.  The RN classes must be completed at Grossmont College, and then the BSN classes are competed at Grossmont College as well, but are taught by PLNU faculty on-campus

Merritt College is located in Oakland, California.  Their nursing program is an ADN program.  Merritt nursing students also have the option to elect an ADN to BSN option, by enrolling in the Cal State East Bay BSN (CSUEB) program, which is a transfer bridge program to a neighboring university.

San Diego City College is located in San Diego, California.  They offer an RN program, an LVN to RN program, and a 30-unit option program.  ADN graduates who seek to further their education also have the benefit of San Diego City College’s collaboration with San Diego State University; this allows the nursing graduate to continue for their BSN degree while working as an RN.

MiraCosta College has two campuses in Oceanside, California and a campus in Cardiff, California.  Their nursing program offers a CNA program, a home health aide program, an LVN program, an RN program and an LVN to RN program.  MiraCosta College has several partnerships with neighboring universities so that their graduates may easily obtain their BSN after graduation, should they so choose – Chamberlain College of Nursing, California State University College of Nursing and Brandman University, which also discounts the price for MiraCosta students..

Cuesta College is located in San Luis Obispo, California.  They offer an RN and an LVN to RN program.  Their LVN to RN program is 3 semesters, with the summer off.  Clinical rotations are done at neighboring facilities.  They also require their LVNs to have at least one year of experience prior to admittance into their program.

Moorpark College is located in Moorpark, California.  They offer an RN program.  LVNs can apply for advanced placement into the program; this accepts the LVN into the second or third semester of the program.  While they do not have a specific LVN to RN program, this allows the LVN to proceed more quickly through their RN education.

Mt. San Jacinto Community College has campuses in San Jacinto, California and Menifee Valley, California.  They offer an RN and an LVN to RN program.  Their nursing department philosophy, “focuses on the individual needs of the students and patients (persons), within the context of families, communities and environments who exist on a health continuum.”

Stanbridge University is located in Irvine and Los Angeles, California. Stanbridge offers an Associate of Science in Nursing (RN) degree program. Stanbridge maintains a high standard of academic excellence by integrating innovative technology, hands-on practice, and community service for a holistic student experience.

Saddleback College is located in Mission Viejo, California.  They offer a generic RN program and an LVN to RN program.  They also have a “Southern California New Graduate RN Transition Program” that is open to Orange County community college nursing graduates who have graduated within the past year; it is designed to transition the nurse from the school setting directly into the work setting.  The program pairs the new graduate with a practicing RN for the duration of the program, working approximately 240 hours on the night shift.

Chaffey College is located in Rancho Cucamonga, California.  Their nursing program was founded in 1957 and was one of the first five associate’s degree nursing programs in California.  They offer an RN program, a VN to RN program and a VN to RN (non-degree option).

Glendale Community College is located in Glendale, California.  Glendale Community College offers an RN and an LVN to RN program.  Unique to Glendale Community College is their Foreign Nurse Graduate program.  This program is designed for foreign nurse graduates who have a deficiency in their education that is preventing them from taking the NCLEX-RN.

Bakersfield College is located in Bakersfield, California.  They offer an RN program, an LVN to RN program and the 30-unit option program.  Bakersfield College also has a partnership with Cal State University Bakersfield (CSUB), where their graduates can easily transfer into an ADN to BSN program.

Rio Hondo College is located in Whittier, California.  They offer an RN and an LVN to RN program.  They also offer a Psych Tech (PT) to RN program.  The programs for the LVN to RN and the PT to RN are similar.

Hartnell College is located in Salinas, California.  Their nursing curriculum “is evolving and embraces new ideas and technology, yet is guided by foundational elements of safety, quality, and ethical-legal standards.”  Their ADN program is four semesters (or two years) after completion of about a year of prerequisites.

Imperial Valley College is located in Imperial, California.  Imperial Valley College offers an LVN, an RN and an LVN to RN program.  Their LVN to RN program is broken down into “track 1” and “track 2” – track 1 is for students who seek the ADN degree.  Track 2 is the 30-unit option, which allows the LVN to get their RN license in 2 semesters bu not actually getting their ADN degree.

College of the Siskiyous is located in Weed, California.  They boast that they have one of the most beautiful campuses in California because their campus is housed on the base of Mount Shasta in Northern California.  They offer an LVN to RN “Step-up” program.  Their program is two semesters, although they require their students to take a three unit Transition course over the summer.

Santa Rosa Junior College is located in Forestvilla, California.  They offer an RN and an LVN to RN program.  In addition, they have a partnership with Sonoma State University School of Nursing, allowing graduates to pursue their BSN or MSN after graduation from Santa Rosa Junior College.

College of Marin is located in Kentfield, California.  Their mission is to “…educate entry-level practitioners for roles as providers of care across the health care continuum, as managers of care, and as active members within the profession of nursing.”  Their program is small and exclusive – they select only 36 students each fall.

Sacramento City College is located in Sacramento, California.  Their nursing department offers an ADN and an LVN and Career Mobility (VN-RN) program, which are four semesters and three semesters respectively.  They also offer an LVN to RN 30-unit option, which readies the nurse to take the NCLEX-RN exam, but does not meet the requirements for an associates degree.

Ventura College is located in Ventura, California.  Their ADN degree is unique – the student can elect simple to enroll for their RN degree, or to enroll for the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to the California State University (CSU) Systems.  Many students elect this option if they believe that they will want to work as an RN while pursuing their BSN degree.

American River College is located in Sacramento, California.  They offer an RN program and an LVN to RN program.  Each semester, they have anywhere from 200 to 300 qualified applicants for their nursing programs.  Their nursing programs begin twice yearly, spring and fall.

Long Beach City College is located in Long Beach, California.  They offer an LVN program, in addition to an ADN program.  Their ADN program also offers an LVN to ADN options.  Graduates of the LVN to RN program at Long Beach City College are eligible to enroll in neighboring universities in their ADN to BSN or ADN to MSN programs.

Reedley College is located in Reedley, California.  Their LVN to RN program is located in their Madera Center.  Unique to Reedley College is the Madera College Advantage Program (MCCAP), which works to transition high school seniors into college life.

West Hills College – Lemoore is located in Lemoore, California.  They offer an RN program and an LVN to RN program.  They also offer the 30-unit option for LVNs.  The LVN to RN program is three semesters, beginning with a summer semester.  The LVN to RN students then meet up with the traditional RN students to finish out the final two semesters.

Riverside City College is located in Riverside, California.  Riverside City College’s ADN program was founded in 1957, and is nationally recognized as number two in the state of California for program completion.  They offer an LVN, RN, RN to LVN and a 30-unit option program.

Santa Barbara City College is located in Santa Barbara, California.  Their school of nursing educates CNAs, LVNs, an RNs.  They also have an LVN to RN option.  They also have two LVN to to RN options; both will require the same nursing classes but do allow entrance to LVNs with different prerequisites.

Santa Monica College is located in Santa Monica, California.  They offer an ADN and an LVN to ADN program.  The LVN to ADN program can be completed in three semesters.  The LVN seeking entrance into the LVN to ADN program must have at least one year of nursing experience within the past two years and must also have IV certification.

Mendocino College is located in Ukiah, California.  They offer both an RN program and an LVN to RN program; their LVN to RN program is a bit shorter, being three semesters as opposed to four semesters.  They are proud to boast that their most current NCLEX-RN pas rate is 100%.

Los Angeles Valley College is located in Valley Glen, California.  Their program offers an RN program, an LVN to RN option and an LVN 30 unit option.  They also offer an ADN-BSN collaborative program, which links the student to California State University.  This allows the student to obtain their ADN degree and continue immediately for their BSN degree while working as an RN.

Palomar College is located in San Marcos, California.  They offer two types of RN degrees – an Associate of Arts (AA) in Nursing and an Associate of Science (AS) in Nursing.  Both have identical nursing coursework, with the AA program requiring additional general education credits.  They also have an LVN to RN option and an LVN 30-unit option.  The LVN 30-unit option allows an LVN to take the coursework required to take the NCLEX-RN in one year, without receiving either an AA or AS degree.  Of note with this option is that this is specific to California – this license may not transfer to other states.

El Camino Community College is located in Torrance, California.  They offer an ADN, LVN to ADN and a 30 unit option.  In addition, they do allow students to apply to their program with advanced placement; these students include LVN/LPNs, LPTs and transfers from other accredited nursing programs.

Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health is located in Los Angeles, California.  This community college is owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles.  The nursing program began in 1895 and has evolved over the years into the program it is today; it graduates 100 to 150 RNs yearly.

Los Angeles City College is located in Los Angeles, California.  Acceptance into their program is based on a “lottery” – qualified applicants must meet multiple requirements (such as prerequisites, an assessment test, and an application).  All that qualify are placed into the lottery and those who are drawn are given entrance into their program.  Graduates from their program may opt to attend Cal State University LA for their ADN to BSN program; this will allow the graduate to work as an RN while continuing their education.

Citrus College is located in Glendora, California.  They offer an LVN program, an RN program and an LVN to RN program.  Their nursing program is fairly new compared to other nursing programs in California – their LVN to RN program was founded in 2007, with their ADN program forming in 2008.

Cypress College is located in Cypress, California.  Cypress College boasts that their Health Science Division programs are ranked among the highest in the nation and the state, with NCLEX-RN pass rates that are higher than national standards.  They offer an RN and an LVN to RN career mobility program.

Gavilan College is located in Gilroy, California.  They offer an LVN program, an RN program, an LVN to RN program and a 30-unit option program.  Gavilan College was founded in 1919, and originally was named San Benito County Junior College.  In 1963, the name was changed to Gavilan College.

Golden West College is located in Huntington Beach, California.  They offer an RN and an LVN to RN program.  They also offer co-enrollment programs for ADNs seeking to become BSNs with Concordia University, California State University – Fullerton, and Vanguard University.  The student would attend Golden West College full-time, but could concurrently attend one of these universities one to two evenings per week to shorten the length of time of the BSN program.

California State University – Long Beach is located in Long Beach, California.  For BSN nursing, they offer a traditionl nursing program, designed for students without a prior nursing license, and a “registered nurse student” program which is designed for students already holding an RN license.  They also offer a DNP program.

California State University – Sacramento is located in Sacramento, California.  They offer a variety of BSN programs – a traditiona BSN program, an RN to BSN program and an LVN to RN 30-unit option, non-degree program.  The non-degree program serves the LVN who wants to work as an RN but may not have time to complete an ADN or BSN degree.  On the downside, they do not have a degree after completion and their nursing license may not transfer state-to-state.

Sonoma State University is located in Rohnert Park, California.  Sonoma State University offers “pre-licensure BSN” and “post-licensure” BSN programs. The pre-licensure program is designed for traditional BSN students, where as the post-licensure BSN program is designed for students who hold an ADN degree and their RN license.

California State University – Bakersfield is locate in Bakersfield, California.  The BSN degree has been offered at CSUB since 1970, when the university was founded.  Since that time, over 2000 nurses have graduated from their nursing program.  Their nursing program expanded in 1987, and began a master’s in nursing administration program.  It has since expanded and now includes family nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, clinical nurse leaders, and nurse educators.

California State University – Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California.  They have the ability to boast that they are ranked on US News & World Report’s Best Nursing Schools: Master’s list.  Their nursing department offers a traditional BSN program, an accelerated BSN program, an ADN to BSN program and multiple post-graduate options.  In addition, they have collaborative agreements with various community colleges, allowing ADN graduates to segue into their programs easily.

National University has 19 locations throughout California, with 4 military learning centers.  They have multiple types of nursing programs, from BSN, LVN to RN, LVN to BSN, RN to BSN, doctorate of nursing practice, master of science in nurse anesthesia and master of science in nursing.