Dean’s List
The Dean's List honors students who have a minimum semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.6 or above based on a minimum of 12 computable (letter-graded) units taken at Dominican. Students with grades of 'I' (Incomplete) or 'UF' (Unofficial Failure) are not eligible for the Dean's List. Pass/Fail units are not computable and are not included. Students will not be retroactively placed on the Dean's List as the result of a grade change.
The Dean's List is posted online February 15 for the Fall semester and July 15 for the Spring semester. Qualifying students are also notified directly by the Dean of their school after the Dean’s List has been posted each semester.
National Honor Societies at Dominican University
Alpha Chi
Alpha Chi is a coeducational national honor society whose purpose is to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction. Alpha Chi admits membership to students from all academic disciplines who are Juniors, Seniors, and graduate students, have a minimum 3.5 GPA, and are in the top 10 percent of their class. As a phrase from its constitution suggests, Alpha Chi seeks to find ways to assist students in “making scholarship effective for good.”
Alpha Sigma Lambda
Alpha Sigma Lambda is a national honor society exclusively for students in the Adult Degree Completion Program. Its purpose is to acknowledge adult students who achieve academic excellence while facing the competing interests of family, community, and work. To be eligible students must have a minimum of 24 graded semester units taken at Dominican, half of which must be outside the chosen major. At least 12 units of the total credits should have been earned in liberal arts/sciences, not including applied arts/sciences courses. Students must have a minimum 3.5 GPA and be in the top 10 percent of the class.
Alpha Lambda Delta
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that acknowledges first-year students’ superior academic achievement during their first term in college. Only credit hours that count toward a bachelor’s degree can be used to determine Alpha Lambda Delta eligibility. Advanced placement and other credits earned prior to high school graduation, however, are not counted in determining Alpha Lambda Delta eligibility. The purpose of this honor society is “…to encourage superior academic achievement...to promote intelligent living and a continued high standard of learning and to assist students in recognizing and developing meaningful goals for their roles in society.” Eligible students must have a 3.5 GPA for the first semester completed of college while carrying a full-time academic load, and must rank in the top 20 percent of their class.
Departmental Honors
Dominican University of California recognizes students who demonstrate superior performance in their major. Students will be granted Departmental Honors when the following criteria are fulfilled:
- Minimum overall GPA of 3.6, based on Dominican coursework only in all upper division courses in the major; does not include prerequisite or corequisite courses to prepare for major
- Minimum of half of the upper division units in the major must be taken at Dominican
- Minimum of 18 upper division units in the major must be graded
- Senior projects must be designated as superior quality by faculty in the student’s major. This criteria does not apply to the Barowsky School of Business and Leadership (BSB) when the Senior project is team-based: therefore, Departmental Honors will be awarded to the top 50% of the graduating BSB students (Day and ADC) with a minimum GPA of 3.6 in upper division courses in the major.
Departmental Honors are designated on the Dominican transcript and are included in the Commencement program each Spring (based on the prior Fall’s GPA). Departmental Honors are a separate category from the Honors Program and from Graduation Honors.
Graduation Honors
In order to be considered for Graduation Honors, undergraduate students must have earned a minimum cumulative Dominican GPA of 3.5 in 30 letter-graded units offered for the degree in resident study at Dominican University. Graduation Honors are based on all Dominican coursework completed toward the degree, and are posted to the student's record when the degree is conferred.
For the purposes of announcing Graduation Honors at Commencement in May and December and posting Graduation Honors in the Commencement program, students who had completed 30 letter-graded units by the end of the prior Fall semester will have a preliminary calculation done including all Dominican coursework completed up to that point, so that they can be recognized at that time. Graduation honors will be recalculated at the time of degree conferral to include the student’s final semester of coursework and will be posted on the student’s permanent academic record.
Students are awarded the bachelor's degree:
- Cum laude for a cumulative GPA of 3.5
- Magna cum laude for a cumulative GPA of 3.75
- Summa cum laude for a cumulative GPA of 3.85 or above