by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 22 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for health professions students pursuing a doctor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 7,795 doctor's degrees in health professions to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Your choice of health professions for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality health professions program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for health professions students working on their doctor's degree.
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 Health Professions Doctor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in health professions.
It is difficult to beat Samuel Merritt University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in health professions. Located in the large city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in health professions from Samuel Merritt University
Pacific College of Health and Science is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in health professions. Located in the large city of San Diego, Pacific College San Diego is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.More information about a doctorate in health professions from Pacific College of Health and Science
It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in health professions. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in health professions from University of Southern California
It's difficult to beat University of San Francisco if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in health professions. USFCA is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco.More information about a doctorate in health professions from University of San Francisco
Located in the large city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in health professions from Mount Saint Mary’s University
Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in health professions from California State University - Fullerton
Located in the large suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in health professions from Loma Linda University
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.More information about a doctorate in health professions from University of California - Berkeley
Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in health professions from University of California - Los Angeles
Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Stockton.More information about a doctorate in health professions from University of the Pacific
Explore all the Best Health Professions Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 27 | 1,469 |
| Oregon | 27 | 960 |
| Nevada | 25 | 798 |
| Hawaii | 23 | 165 |
| Alaska | 10 | 3 |
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions | 2,127 |
| Medicine | 1,839 |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 1,244 |
| Dentistry | 764 |
| Alternative Medicine & Systems | 522 |
| Nursing | 472 |
| Chiropractic | 296 |
| Optometry | 227 |
| Mental & Social Health Services | 90 |
| Public Health | 86 |