LVN Programs In San Diego County

LVN Programs In San Diego County

San Diego County Has 7 LVN programs.

There are 7 accredited LVN programs in San Diego County. 3 of those programs are located in the CITY of San Diego. There is also one in Santee, one in Oceanside, two in Chula Vista, and one in National City.

4 of the programs are at private colleges, 2 are at community colleges, and 1 is at Grossmont Adult School.

All 7 programs are approved by California's Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT). The BVNPT is California's governing body that approves vocational nursing schools. Any LVN program you attend MUST be approved by the BVNPT.

The programs at the 4 private colleges usually have no waiting lists, and few, if any, prerequisites. However, they are almost always more expensive. Most private programs offer financial aid of some type.

The community college LVN programs usually have a few prerequisites, may have waiting lists, and typically take longer to complete. The upside is, community colleges are more affordable that the private programs.

LVN Programs in San Diego

Concorde Career College

Concorde Career College

619-908-1963

4393 Imperial Ave Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92113

Dalrada Career Institute

Dalrada Career Institute

858-278-9800

8787 Complex Dr B100, San Diego, CA 92123

Grossmont Adult School

Grossmont Adult School

619-588-3500

1550 Melody Ln, El Cajon, CA 92019

Meta Polytechnic

Meta Polytechnic

619-679-2893

2086 Otay Lakes Road, Suite 201, Chula Vista, CA 91915

Miracosta College

Miracosta College

760-757-2121

1 Barnard Dr, Oceanside, CA 92056

North-West College

North-West College

619-268-8063

6106 Arosa St, San Diego, CA 92115

Nurse Academy

Nurse Academy

619-488-3460

2345 E 8th St #113, National City, CA 91950

Southwestern College

Southwestern College

619-421-6700

900 Otay Lakes Rd, Chula Vista, CA 91910

4 Private Programs, 3 Public Programs

4 Public Programs in San Diego County

Concorde Career College

There are 2 LVN programs at Concorde Career College(CCC): 1 full-time and 1 part-time. The full-time program takes 12 months to complete. The part-time, weekend program takes 20 months to complete. The program is a total of 757 hours, with 66.5 classroom hours, and 198 clinical hours.

Dalrada Career Institute

Dalrada Career Institute's LVN program takes 12 months to complete. There are 1,530 total training hours. 576 hours of Theory, and 954 hours of Clinical.

Meta Polytechnic

Meta Polytechnic's LVN program takes 53 weeks to complete. The program is full-time, Monday through Friday. It is broken into 5 terms, with total hours of 1,624. There are a maximum of 30 students per session. LVN programs are typically broken into separate parts. Some schools break it up into "semesters", and others break it up into "terms".

Nurse Academy

Nurse Academy is located in National City. Their LVN program takes 12 months to complete. They have spring, fall, and summer sessions.

Requirements to apply:

  • TEAS test score of at least 60
  • GED/High school diploma or Equivalency
  • Physical Examination and TB Clearance

3 Public Programs in San Diego County

Southwestern Community College

Southwestern Community College(SCC) is located in Chula Vista. Their LVN program takes 3 semesters to complete. They have 1 program every 18 months.

SCC's program has 6 prerequisites:

  • Human Anatomy
  • Human Physiology
  • College Composition
  • Fundamentals of Nutrition
  • Elementary Statistics

CNA certification is also required before applying. SCC has a 1 semester CNA program.

Miracosta Community College

Miracosta Community College(MCC) is located in Oceanside. They have a fulltime program that takes 14 months to complete. They also have a part-time program that takes 24 months to complete.

There are 3 prerequisites:

  • Nursing 151 - Body Systems Survey for Health Professionals
  • Pharmacology 100

Cna certification is required. Miracosta has a 1 semester CNA class.

Grossmont Adult School

Grossmont Adult School is located in El Cajon. Their LVN program takes 18 months to complete.

3 prerequisites are required: 

  • TEAS test before applying
  • Completion of an Anatomy & Physiology course
  • CNA Certification

Average LVN salary in San Diego

Pay for vocational nurses is at an all-time high. The average LVN salary in San Diego is now $63,835. Of course, there are differences based on where you work, what kind of a facility, and how much experience you have.

Nurses who work in hospitals typically make more than those who work in assisted living facilities. 

As an example, LVNs who work at Mesa Vista Hospital in the Psych Adult ICU unit average $74,235 annually. Working at an outpatient urgent care in San Diego pays approximately $59,140.

The average LVN salary in California is slightly below San Diego. As of August 2024, the median pay for a vocational nurse is $63,676 annually.

Are "Online" LVN Programs Valid?

When searching Google, Yahoo, and other search engines, you may notice some schools advertising themselves as an "Online LVN Program". This can be a little misleading. According to the BVNPT, there are NO completely online LVN programs.

California has 148 LVN programs approved by the BVNPT. Many of them have a hybrid format. But the school must ALWAYS include hands-on clinical instruction. So when you read about an online LVN program, just keep in mind that labs and clinical rotations will be in-person.

The BVNPT has an entire section devoted to unapproved completely online programs, and how they are not valid.