(Rohnert Park) — Two recent rankings reports have listed Sonoma State University’s Department of Nursing among the best undergraduate programs in California and the nation as a whole.
In its list of the “25 Best Undergraduate Nursing Schools in 2019,” GradReports.com ranked Sonoma State as No. 1 in the nation based on median salary of graduates one year after graduation. Using salary and debt rates reported by the U.S. Department of Education, GradReports found that SSU’s nursing graduates had the highest median annual salary at $110,300 while finishing among the lowest for median debt loads for students ($12,500).
RegisteredNursing.org also recently ranked the SSU nursing program No. 4 out of 127 different nursing programs evaluated in California. The list is based on exam pass rates for all RN programs over the past five years as well as other factors.
“The Sonoma State University Department of Nursing provides a premier foundation for nurses to practice lifelong learning and to contribute to their community of choice through patient care,” RegisteredNursing, a nursing advocacy organization, noted in its rankings. “The university's flexible BSN offerings and MSN offerings are designed to meet busy students' needs.”
Nursing programs from seven other California State University campuses also appeared on the GradReports top 25 list including Cal State East Bay (No. 2), Sacramento State (No. 3), Cal State Stanislaus (No. 8), San Francisco State (No. 10), Chico State (No. 11), San Jose State (No. 24) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (No. 25). Two other CSU campuses were included in the RegisteredNursing.org Top 10 rankings including Long Beach State (No. 6) and Cal State Stanislaus (No. 7)
“Sonoma State nursing faculty are committed to providing our students with the very highest quality academic and clinical training,” said Dr. Lisa Vollendorf, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Sonoma State. “Our commitment to student success extends to a commitment to serve our community and our region through our extraordinary nursing program.”
Mary Ellen Wilkosz, chair of the Department of Nursing, said she was proud that SSU’s program is so highly regarded “for producing bachelor-prepared RNs that graduate ready to enter the workforce.” She said the program is known for its high-quality faculty, superior pass rates on licensure exams for registered nurses and “commendable employment rates, all at an affordable cost to our students."
ABOUT US: With a student population of about 9,000, Sonoma State is a regionally serving public university committed to educational access and excellence. Guided by our core values and driven by a commitment to the liberal arts and sciences, Sonoma State delivers high-quality education through innovative programs that leverage the economic, cultural and natural resources of the North Bay. See more news from SSU at http://news.sonoma.edu/