With a 69-year history of providing nursing education, the CSU is specially equipped to prepare its thousands of students to serve their communities through future careers in nursing. The CSU's nursing programs are marked by the true quality and educational excellence that comes from time and experience instructing students. Here are just nine distinctions that set the CSU apart.
1. CSU nursing programs provide high-quality instruction taught by expert faculty. With national curriculum standards, workforce ready programming and expert faculty, the CSU gives students in-depth, hands-on learning that prepares them for the broad range of nursing careers. Students also have a unique opportunity to be taught by faculty engaged in applied patient-care research projects. The CSU also maintains these high standards of learning for all its online nursing programs, ensuring students in remote areas without access to a campus can still experience and acquire a high-quality nursing education.
2. 20 CSU campuses across the state offer nationally accredited nursing programs. Collectively, these programs enroll more than 7,600 nursing students and graduate more than 3,250 students each year. And, as they are all nationally accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, these programs are consistently assessed for their quality and integrity in baccalaureate nursing education.
3. CSU-educated nursing graduates boast high licensure exam passage rates. According to the data, CSU students average 92% on their Registered Nurse National Council Licensure Examination.
4. Partnerships with California Community Colleges streamline and accelerate students' path to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Twenty CSU universities provide ADN-to-BSN tracks, the majority of which offer hybrid and online program options. In addition, 15 CSUs work with 37 community colleges to provide concurrent enrollment nursing programs, which allow students to earn their ADN and BSN degrees in three years—the fastest route to a BSN degree for community college students.
5. CSU ADN-to-BSN programs have no waiting lists. Each ADN-to-BSN program has open spots for eligible students. CSU universities allow community college students with an ADN to seamlessly continue their educational journey and obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing without having to wait. This accessibility ensures that nurses already in the workforce can advance their career without unnecessary interruptions while also benefiting from the CSU's robust and supportive academic environment.
6. CSU nursing graduates secure relevant positions post-graduation. Armed with applicable experience and a degree, almost all CSU nursing graduates are employed in their field within six months after graduation. Many of these individuals return to health care clinics, doctor's offices and hospitals in their home regions to give back and provide care for their communities.
7. CSU nursing programs ensure a welcoming, inclusive learning environment. Thanks to the university's focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, students within CSU nursing programs come from a range of backgrounds. During the 2022-23 academic year, 31% of baccalaureate prelicensure nursing students and 45% of ADN-to-BSN students were Black or Latinx—and 25% of prelicensure nursing students and 55% of ADN-to-BSN students were the first in their family to go to college. In 2021-22, 41% of prelicensure nursing students and 44% of ADN-to-BSN students received a Pell Grant. CSUs work with state and federal partners to bolster their diversity efforts. For example, in 2023, a number of campuses were awarded grants through the California Department of Health Care Access and Information's Song-Brown Healthcare Workforce Training Programs, totaling $4 million, as well as additional funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration, to help grow the nursing workforce, support students from disadvantaged backgrounds and prepare graduates to meet the needs of California's underserved communities.
8. The CSU offers a valuable education at an affordable cost. By offering competitive tuition rates and myriad
financial aid options, the CSU remains one of the best values in higher education. In fact, more than half its students graduate with zero student loan debt.
9. CSU nursing programs dominate state rankings. CSUs took the top 9 spots in NursingProcess.com's 2024 '10 Best Accredited BSN Programs in California' list, 9 spots on allnurses's 2024 '12 Best RN to BSN Programs in California' list and 7 spots in nursing.org's 2024 'Top 10 Best Nursing Schools in California' list. On all three lists, a CSU took the top slot.
Learn more about nursing at the California State University and how CSU nursing programs are
meeting the state's workforce needs.