California State University-San Marcos

California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) is part of the 23-school California State University System. Located in San Marcos, CSUSM is a public university founded in 1989. They offer 62 bachelor’s degree programs, along with 15 master’s degrees through their four colleges. The university is located on 304-acres of land overlooking San Marcos. The area features some of the best beaches in the region and is just a short drive from the US-Mexico border. The student body has exceeded 17,000, making CSUSM one of the bigger schools in the area. Interestingly, 85% of the alumni stay in the local community.

The School of Nursing is part of the College of Education, Health and Human Services (CEHHS). These programs are accredited by the CCNE. CSUSM began offering the nursing programs in 2006, starting with the BSN program. They now offer a total of six different nursing programs, including the traditional BSN program, LVN to BSN, and MSN, and they opened a satellite campus in Temecula to accommodate the growing number of students. The MSN program offers two areas of concentration – Advanced Practice Nursing and Post-Masters Certificates. These programs are designed for students to complete part-time, while the BSN program is intended for full-time students.