Dominican in National Top Ten for Post-Grad Salaries

Dominican University of California joins Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale and Stanford as among the nation’s top 10 schools for post-graduate salaries, according to new college rankings based on early-career salary data from the U.S. Department of Education.

The ranking, which is based on data and student outcomes, highlights and reinforces the importance of the Dominican Experience to student success, said Dominican University of California President Mary B. Marcy.

“I am confident that Dominican is the only institution near the top of this list whose student body includes such a high percentage of students who are the first in their family to attend college, who are from underrepresented groups, or who are Pell-grant eligible,” President Marcy said.

“Not coincidentally, we are the only institution in the top tier that articulates its commitment to student success clearly through the Dominican Experience.”

GradReports compared the salaries of more than 4.6 million college graduates to determine “Salary Scores” for more than 885 college degrees, then used the scores to rank the 2021 Best Colleges at the associate, bachelor's, and master's levels.

A pool of more than 900 colleges was ranked in the bachelor’s degree category, with data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Each college is ranked based on median alumni earnings in the first year after graduation for students who received federal financial aid.

The Salary Score compares the median alumni salary for a specific program at one school to the median alumni salary for the same program at other schools, allowing prospective students to see which schools offer top earnings for that program.

“The ranking evaluates only students who receive federal financial aid, and controls for choice of major, making its validity and relevance to our students’ experience even more clear,” President Marcy said.

Each school then receives an overall Salary Score by degree level to illustrate colleges that prepare students for a high paying career regardless of major. This overall score is based on how well the school performs across all the programs it offers, weighted by student enrollment in each program.

DOMINICAN UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROGRAMS

DOMINICAN GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Dominican’s score compares alumni salaries to the alumni salaries of students in the same programs across all schools, making Dominican’s overall Salary Score and placement among the nation’s top 10 schools exceptional.

“This announcement comes on the heels of a series of exceptional accolades for Dominican, and reinforces that we are a University of unsurpassed opportunity for students from all backgrounds,” President Marcy said.

 Last fall, Dominican received the Institutional Transformation Award from the American Council on Education. The University was recently identified as one of the top in the nation at moving students from the bottom of the socio-economic ladder to the top.

In 2020, Dominican was tapped by the Office of the Governor to lead a state-wide Civic Action Fellows program; and, also in 2020, President Marcy was recognized by the Washington Center with the William M. Burke Presidential Leadership Award.