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NurseGradAlert

When to Apply for California New Grad RN Residencies

California residencies don't take applications all year. Most open for a week or two, once or twice a year, and each hospital picks its own months. Here is what we know, from the hospitals' own calendars and the windows we have caught open.

6 open right now · 9 with a confirmed opening date · 46 with a yearly calendar

Open Right Now (6)

See every open program, soonest deadline first

Confirmed Dates Coming Up (9)

The day the hospital itself posted.

  • Loma Linda University Health · Loma Linda · opens Oct 26, 2026California RN license needed by the program start date
  • UC Davis Medical Center · Sacramento · opens Nov 4, 2026, closes Nov 11, 2026California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Stanford Health Care · Palo Alto · opens Nov 9, 2026, closes Nov 15, 2026You can apply before your license. Each cohort sets its own license deadline (not posted yet).
  • Sharp HealthCare · San Diego · opens Nov 10, 2026, closes Nov 13, 2026
  • Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital · Santa Barbara · opens Nov 19, 2026, closes Nov 30, 2026California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Scripps Health · San Diego · opens Nov 29, 2026California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Eisenhower Health · Rancho Mirage · opens Dec 28, 2026, closes Jan 8, 2027California RN license required to apply
  • VA San Diego Healthcare System · San Diego · opens Feb 1, 2027, closes Apr 1, 2027RN license needed 30 days before the program starts
  • Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford · Palo Alto · opens Mar 10, 2027, closes Mar 17, 2027California RN license verified by Aug 10, 2027, for the Fall 2027 cohort. Interim permits are not accepted.

Month by Month

The month each hospital opens applications in a usual year, from its published calendar, and the windows we have seen open since our opening records start, Aug 12, 2026. A usual month is not a promise: hospitals move dates, so turn on alerts for the ones you want.

October

November

  • Community Memorial Healthcare · Ventura · Annual cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)You can apply before your license. Each cohort sets its own license deadline. The last one we saw was Jan 9, 2026.
  • Kaiser Permanente Southern California · Pasadena · March cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license due by Kaiser's deadline, weeks before the start. The last one posted was Sep 29, 2026, for a Nov 9, 2026 start. Interim permits are not accepted.
  • Mark Twain Medical Center · San Andreas · Spring: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital · Santa Barbara · February cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Scripps Health · San Diego · March cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Sharp HealthCare · San Diego · Spring 2027 cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • St. Joseph's Medical Center · Stockton · Spring: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • UC Davis Medical Center · Sacramento · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date

December

  • Eisenhower Health · Rancho Mirage · February cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license required to apply
  • Mercy General Hospital · Sacramento · Spring: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Mercy Hospital of Folsom · Folsom · Spring: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Mercy San Juan Medical Center · Carmichael · Spring: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Palomar Health · Escondido · Spring cohort postings: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date

January

February

  • Loma Linda University Health · Loma Linda · Adult, June 2027 cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Orange Coast Medical Center · Fountain Valley · March cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital · Santa Barbara · May cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Scripps Health · San Diego · June cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • VA San Diego Healthcare System · San Diego · Fall Cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed 30 days before the program starts

March

April

  • Mark Twain Medical Center · San Andreas · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Salinas Valley Health Medical Center · Salinas · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital · Santa Barbara · July cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Scripps Health · San Diego · August cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • St. Joseph's Medical Center · Stockton · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • UC Davis Medical Center · Sacramento · Spring: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • UC San Diego Health · San Diego · September cohort postings: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System · Los Angeles · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date

May

  • Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula · Monterey · Fall cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Dominican Hospital · Santa Cruz · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Loma Linda University Health · Loma Linda · Adult, September 2027 cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Palomar Health · Escondido · Summer cohort postings: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • VA San Francisco Health Care · San Francisco · October cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date

June

  • Arrowhead Regional Medical Center · Colton · September cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license required to apply
  • Kaiser Permanente Southern California · Pasadena · September cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license due by Kaiser's deadline, weeks before the start. The last one posted was Sep 29, 2026, for a Nov 9, 2026 start. Interim permits are not accepted.
  • Long Beach Medical Center · Long Beach · August cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • Orange Coast Medical Center · Fountain Valley · August cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • PIH Health · Whittier · August cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center · Pomona · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center · Napa · Summer cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital · Santa Rosa · Summer cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • Providence Southern California · Los Angeles · Summer cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka and Redwood Memorial (Humboldt) · Eureka · Summer cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed by the program start date
  • Scripps Health · San Diego · October cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date

July

August

  • City of Hope · Duarte · Fall: usually opens this month (their published calendar)
  • Eisenhower Health · Rancho Mirage · October cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license required to apply
  • Kaiser Permanente Southern California · Pasadena · November cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license due by Kaiser's deadline, weeks before the start. The last one posted was Sep 29, 2026, for a Nov 9, 2026 start. Interim permits are not accepted.
  • Palomar Health · Escondido · Fall cohort postings: usually opens this month (their published calendar)California RN license needed by the program start date
  • Sierra View Medical Center · Porterville · we saw it open Aug 30, 2026
  • VA San Diego Healthcare System · San Diego · Spring Cohort: usually opens this month (their published calendar)RN license needed 30 days before the program starts

September

Seasons Only, No Month Posted

  • El Camino Health · Mountain View · Opens twice a year, mid-winter and early summer (months not posted)

The other programs have not posted a calendar and we have not seen them open yet. Their pages say what we know. Browse every program.

Graduating in December?

Several spring programs take applications in October and November, before a December graduation. Use the months above to see when to have your resume, transcripts and references ready.

Whether you can apply before you are licensed depends on each hospital. Many only need your RN license by the start date. Some want it before you apply. When a hospital publishes its rule, it shows under the program above and on its page here.

How long the license takes: the California Board of Registered Nursing posts its processing times. On Sep 24, 2026 it listed 10 to 12 weeks for exam applications from California nursing school graduates, processed by graduating class after the graduation date, and 2 to 3 weeks for NCLEX results. Check their page for today's times.

If a window closes before you can apply, look for that hospital's next month above. Regular new grad RN jobs can post any day, so they are worth watching too (how applying works).

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