Last month in the midst of February
rainstorms a few colleagues drove to San Rafael for a tour of Dominican
University. This small, Catholic
heritage school of only 1800 students nonetheless offers excellent options for
students interested in education, health careers, dance or business.
Dominican is well known for its direct
entry nursing program that begins either in fall or spring semesters. It boasts a high pass rate for nursing boards
of 84-89% and offers financial aid as well as scholarships to well qualified
students. In addition to nursing, there
is a 4 +1 Occupational Therapy program and a new Physician’s Assistant program
is opening soon. The university has
invested heavily in labs and facilities for its health programs—these are worth
viewing during a campus tour.
Other popular 4 +1 masters programs include
business and education. Elementary
education/liberal studies majors can earn a credential within 4 years or stay
another year either for a masters or a special education credential. Secondary education students often take 5
years to complete their degree and credential.
Overall, the dance program is Dominican’s
most competitive and specialized. The
school is affiliated with Alonzo Lines and dance majors—only about 15 are
admitted each year—take a daily bus to San Francisco for training.
While on campus, we toured the usual
buildings—classrooms, the student center, library and ate lunch at the
cafeteria. The students and the
atmosphere appeared friendly and approachable.
The Spanish style architecture is appealing. Our guide did confess that on-campus housing
is below par and weekend social life is pretty quiet. Our guide emphasize, however, that she loved
the close knit community at Dominican and felt it was providing great
opportunities both for learning and extra-curricular life. We met with an associate admissions dean who
described other “gems” of the school: a robuts study abroad program in which
6-8 faculty members lead programs annually, internships for all students,
integrative advising that exposes students both to academic and professional
advisors, and a thesis requirement for all majors.
We left campus a little soggy for our tour
in the rain but felt we had discovered a local liberal arts school well worth
consideration—especially for students interested in the programs highlighted
above.
