Founded by the Congregation of the Most Holy Name, commonly known as the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, and chartered in 1890, the University seeks to embody the Dominican educational ideals: love of truth, beauty, and the life of the mind, and a deep respect for the dignity and worth of the individual.

Interdisciplinary Study in the Humanities: Global Perspective

Through its programs the University seeks to foster an understanding of the human condition, an appreciation of cultural diversity and global interdependence, and to encourage the search for solutions to human problems through integration of the wisdom and perspective of many disciplines.

Liberal Arts and Professional Programs

In the design of its academic programs, the University places particular emphasis on the connection between liberal arts and professional programs. This connection assures that Dominican’s professional courses of study are informed by humanistic ideals and that the liberal arts disciplines are constantly challenged to integrate theory with realistic awareness of society’s needs and expectations.

Student Life

The University community is consciously oriented to the intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and social development of students. Faculty and staff challenge students to clarify their values, to think critically and creatively, and to listen and communicate effectively. They also challenge students to make decisions and live with the results of those decisions. Extracurricular activities, residence life, work-study, and internships give students opportunities to experiment with different roles and to experience growing competence.

Faculty: Since awarding its first bachelor’s degree in 1917, the University has built its reputation on the quality of its faculty and on excellence in teaching. The faculty of approximately 200 members hold degrees from colleges and universities throughout the world.

Environment: Located on 80 wooded acres in Marin County, California, 11 miles north of San Francisco, the University campus offers an environment of great natural beauty and peace, which both attracts students and supports their need for reflection in order to integrate all that they learn and experience.

Non-Discrimination: Dominican University of California offers equal education and employment opportunity to all persons regardless of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status. This policy is in consonance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972; Executive Order 11246, as amended; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; and applicable laws of the State of California.

Student Body: Dominican enrolls over 1,800 students – graduate and undergraduate, resident and non-resident – from across the United States and more than 24 other countries. The University has had coeducational graduate enrollment since 1950 and coeducational undergraduate enrollment since 1971.

Student Life: Students enjoy on-campus concerts and lectures, art exhibits, and student government. The intercollegiate athletic program supports NAIA teams in men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, and tennis, and women’s volleyball, softball, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s lacrosse. Proximity to San Francisco and other Bay Area cities affords students many opportunities for education, cultural enrichment, recreation, and employment.

Facilities: Dominican’s physical resources include: library; science, nursing skills and other laboratories; computer center; computer classroom/language lab; amphitheater; art gallery; fine arts studios; music conservatory with concert auditorium; recreation center; swimming pool, athletic fields and tennis courts; student center; residence halls; dining hall; and classroom buildings.

Academic Freedom

Dominican University of California is committed to the open analysis, discussion, and assessment of ideas and values. It supports the proposition that education involves both analysis and re-evaluation of accepted ideas, attitudes, and practices of the culture, with the aim of conserving the good, exploring new ways of thinking and acting, opening new vistas of knowledge, establishing a more profound art, and creating a more vital spirituality.

Dominican assumes that it is the responsibility of all faculty to uphold the purposes and aims of the University as stated in the University Catalog.

Mission

Dominican University of California transforms lives. We are an independent, learner-centered, international university of Catholic heritage, which interweaves Dominican values, the liberal arts and sciences, and the skills and knowledge necessary to live and work in an interdependent world.

Vision

In the future, Dominican is

• known and respected internationally as an independent, Catholic, international, learner-centered university which offers distinctive academic programs and attracts students, faculty, and staff of high quality;

• focused on the learner, offering a variety of programs, curricula and delivery systems based upon what best meets the needs of its diverse learners;

• committed to balancing the need for continuity and change, upholding its traditions while encouraging innovation, continuous improvement, and risk taking; financially strong, investing in people, facilities, and technology;

• extensively engaged in the culture of many communities, particularly Marin, sharing expertise in order to promote the common good; devoted to being a community of people committed to the goals and values embodied in its vision and mission.

Diversity Declaration

Dominican University of California declares that its commitment to diversity and the fulfillment of its educational mission is best achieved when every member of the University community upholds in thought, word, and deed:

"E Pluribus Unum; Ut Unum Sint*  Two profound visions – our American civic tradition and our Catholic religious heritage – inform Dominican University of California’s commitment to the principle of pluralism and to the dream of a reconciled community.  Faithful to these birthrights, Dominican seeks to nurture attitudes and behaviors that promote global awareness, inclusive sensibilities, and respect for the dignity of each individual regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, culture, political conviction, or disability – all in the light of the Truth that breathes forth love and in the hope of a common life that transforms the world."

* “Out of many, one; that all may be one”

Consistent with the above declaration and Dominican ideals, the University recommends that every member of the community support and express his or her active commitment to diversity utilizing the guiding principles stated below:

• All members of the University community are collectively responsible for enabling and institutionalizing diversity throughout the University

• All members of the University community consider diversity constructively in all planning, policy, decision-making, procedural, academic and administrative operations throughout the University

• All members of the University community refuse to accept any behavior or action that is diversity intolerant, insensitive, and or discriminatory

• All members of the University community promote an on-campus environment that values equity and access of opportunity for all of its participants irrespective of background, nationality, culture, religion, class, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and disability

Educational Aims

Dominican University of California produces skilled, knowledgeable persons of character.

Skills

Dominican graduates:

• Read and listen critically.
• Write and speak clearly and effectively.
• Think independently and work collaboratively.
• Use information technology proficiently and with the ability to evaluate critically the quality of the sources.
• Are skilled in the analysis, interpretation, and application of quantitative measures.
• Use quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze questions and solve problems logically and creatively.
• Manage the challenges of personal and professional decisions in a rapidly changing world.
• Develop multiculturally informed leadership and citizenship skills.

Knowledge

Dominican graduates: 

• Have an interdisciplinary understanding of the main branches of knowledge: the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities.
• Possess an informed awareness of the many cultural perspectives and languages that shape civilization.
• Are aware of the theological and spiritual dimensions of the human condition and of the role of religion in life and society.
• Become global citizens with an informed awareness and appreciation of social, political, economic, and ecological interdependence.
• Acquire a substantial and coherent body of knowledge in their major.

Character

Dominican graduates:

• Aspire to virtue, practice compassion, and respect the dignity, worth, and individuality of others.
• Are conscientious and ethical.
• Seek to contribute to the progress of a civil society.
• Are committed to the lifelong pursuit of truth.