Carrington's Bakersfield program combines vocational nursing courses, general education, laboratory work, and clinical training in an Associate of Science degree. This guide explains the current curriculum, admission steps, published cost, and the separate California Avenue nursing location.
Bakersfield's 82-credit program awards an Associate of Science, not a certificate or diploma.
Bakersfield program overview
Carrington College offers the Bakersfield Vocational Nursing program as an Associate of Science degree. The current catalog lists 82 semester credits and 1,900 scheduled contact hours over approximately 64 weeks, not counting school breaks. A semester credit is the college's way of measuring the amount of coursework completed.
Unlike a shorter certificate program, Carrington places English, algebra, ethics, psychology, and sociology inside the same program as the nursing courses. That is the main reason its published length and price should be compared carefully with other California LVN programs. Students comparing the cost with likely earnings can also look at current LVN salary information for California and Bakersfield.
The college classifies the route as campus-based with blended coursework. Nursing theory, skills practice, simulation, and clinical assignments require in-person participation; the catalog marks most general-education courses as online. Carrington does not publish a current day-versus-evening class schedule for the Bakersfield program on its public pages.
What the degree adds
The degree is not a separate add-on after vocational nursing. The nursing and college-level subjects are built into one curriculum.
Nursing credits
Courses cover nursing fundamentals, anatomy and physiology, medication concepts and calculations, medical-surgical nursing, maternal and pediatric nursing, leadership, skills laboratory, and supervised clinical work.
General-education credits
Reading and composition is split into two courses, and college algebra is also split into two courses. Ethics, general psychology, and introduction to sociology complete the general-education portion.
The Bakersfield award is different from Carrington's Vocational Nursing certificate offered at some other California campuses. The 2026 catalog specifically assigns the associate-degree curriculum to Bakersfield, Rancho Mirage, Santa Maria, and Visalia.
Courses and scheduled hours
Carrington publishes a combined total for the entire degree. The clinical portion accounts for nearly half of the scheduled hours.
Nursing theory and general education
Fundamental nursing skills practice
Supervised patient-care experience
All scheduled program instruction
The theory sequence begins with fundamentals, pharmacology, and anatomy and physiology. It then moves through three levels of medical-surgical nursing, maternal and pediatric nursing, medication calculations, nursing leadership, and a final comprehensive nursing course.
Students complete a fundamentals skills laboratory followed by four clinical courses: fundamentals, medical-surgical I, maternity/pediatric and intermediate medical-surgical II, and medical-surgical III. Carrington does not name its Bakersfield clinical partners or publish the travel radius on the program page.
The catalog marks these as online courses. General Psychology carries a 75% minimum passing requirement for this degree.
Admission and clinical clearance
Carrington's college-wide requirements and the nursing department's requirements both apply. The program does not list college prerequisite courses that must be completed before admission.
Proof of high school completion is due by orientation day. The 2026 catalog lists the Wonderlic test in addition to the nursing-specific assessment.
A CNA certificate is not listed as an admission requirement. Carrington may review previous CNA education for possible transfer credit.
Missing or expired health records can prevent a student from attending clinical and progressing in the program.
When more qualified applicants apply than the program has seats, Carrington uses assessment results, a transcript review when relevant, and a personal interview to rank applicants. Final seat assignments are made at least two weeks before the start date.
Published 2026 cost
The newest catalog separates the program charge from three possible screening costs. Transfer credit or repeated courses can change an individual student's final amount.
For the California Vocational Nursing degree
The catalog says the total includes tuition, an iPad, eBooks, required physical textbooks, an instrument kit, the California Student Tuition Recovery Fund assessment when required, and applicable sales and use taxes.
Carrington lists $20 for Live Scan, $40 for a drug or health screen, and $106 for a background check. Together they add $166 to the $47,312 program charge.
The nursing handbook requires the school uniform, appropriate shoes, a watch with a second hand, stethoscope, penlight, and bandage scissors. The tuition table does not give a separate price for each personal item.
The Bakersfield School Performance Fact Sheet dated November 30, 2025 reports $46,844 as the amount charged to students completing on time in 2023 and 2024. The 2026 academic catalog is newer and lists $47,312 before the three possible screening costs, so the older fact sheet should not be used as the current price.
Bakersfield performance fact sheetPrevious college work
Carrington evaluates courses from accredited colleges before the program starts. Official transcripts must be sent directly to the college before the first day.
Courses used for this associate degree must have been completed within five years of the Carrington start date.
Clinical, externship, and senior capstone courses do not receive transfer credit under the college's general policy.
At least 25% of the degree requirements must be completed through Carrington College.
Another college decides whether it will accept Carrington credits later. The associate degree does not guarantee that every course will transfer into an RN program.
Other Bakersfield campus programs
These are the programs the 2026 catalog assigns to Bakersfield. The nursing degree meets at California Avenue; the other programs are associated with the larger New Stine Road campus.
Prepares students to capture diagnostic ultrasound images rather than provide bedside nursing care.
Focuses on breathing assessment and respiratory treatment for patients with heart and lung conditions.
Trains students to prepare operating rooms, instruments, and sterile fields as part of a surgical team.
Covers routine clinical and administrative work in medical offices, with a narrower scope than nursing.
Concentrates on records, scheduling, billing, and front-office systems instead of hands-on patient care.
Prepares students to support pharmacists with medication processing, inventory, and pharmacy operations.
Centers on chairside dental procedures, sterilization, dental imaging, and dental-office tasks.
This is an animal-care program, not a human healthcare program, but it is also offered at Bakersfield.
Compare the local routes
Carrington's associate degree, 64-week length, and private-college price make it different from the public certificate routes and the shorter private programs in the area.
A lower-cost public route with college prerequisites and an active CNA certificate required before entry. Its nursing-course estimate is far below Carrington's private-college charge.
A full-time certificate route with four prerequisite classes and an active CNA license. The school currently publishes a $9,000 program cost, with prerequisite costs considered separately.
A diploma program with a full-time day route advertised at about 12 months and evening options that take longer. It does not bundle a full associate-degree general-education block into the LVN program.
An in-person certificate program advertised at 61 weeks full time or 84 weeks part time, with daytime and evening scheduling. Its associate degree is a longer separate option.
A private vocational nursing program at the Ming Avenue campus. The school describes a modular curriculum with clinical externship experience; its public page does not give the Bakersfield schedule or total price.
This is not a Bakersfield campus. Cerro Coso offers the public program through Kern County locations including the Kern River Valley site in Lake Isabella, where the certificate and associate degree paths require prerequisite preparation.
Two Bakersfield addresses
Carrington's main Bakersfield listing uses 201 New Stine Road, but the college's campus overview and academic catalog identify 5300 California Avenue as the location dedicated to Vocational Nursing. That distinction matters when planning a campus visit or daily commute.
Carrington describes the nursing location as an 8,000-square-foot facility with lecture rooms, computer access, a simulation room, a skills lab, six gurneys, mid-fidelity mannequins, a library and learning resource center, and a student lounge.
Official Bakersfield campus pageMonday-Thursday: 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
These are building hours, not a class schedule.Library and learning resources, tutoring, and short-term faculty assistance.
Job-search planning, resume help, and interview preparation for students and graduates.
Enrollment, financial services, registrar support, and administrative assistance.
Carrington questions
These answers use Carrington's 2026 catalog, nursing handbook, Bakersfield campus material, and program-specific disclosures.
It awards an Associate of Science in Vocational Nursing. Carrington offers a certificate version at other campuses, but the 2026 catalog assigns the 82-credit associate degree to Bakersfield.
The catalog does not list separate college prerequisite courses or an active CNA certificate as admission requirements. Anatomy and physiology, English, math, psychology, sociology, and ethics are included in the degree. Previous CNA education may be evaluated for transfer credit.
No. The program has online general-education courses, but nursing instruction also includes in-person lecture, laboratory, simulation, and 880 clinical hours. Carrington lists it as campus-based and blended, not fully online.
Carrington publishes an approximate length of 64 weeks, not including scheduled breaks. Accepted transfer credit may reduce coursework, while repeating a course can extend the program.
Carrington publishes broad Bakersfield building hours but does not identify the current Vocational Nursing class as day, evening, or weekend on its public program and catalog pages. Students receive class, laboratory, and clinical times through the program schedule.
The catalog confirms 880 supervised clinical hours, but Carrington does not publicly name the Bakersfield clinical facilities or state how far students may need to travel. Clinical assignments and times are distributed to students during program orientations.
Carrington lists tuition, an iPad, eBooks, required physical textbooks, an instrument kit, applicable taxes, and the California recovery-fund assessment when required. The catalog separately lists $166 in possible Live Scan, drug or health screening, and background-check costs.
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