California State University, Dominguez Hills is among the nation’s top degree grantors to minority students, according to the magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, which each year publishes its Top 100 Undergraduate Degree Producers and Top 100 Graduate Degree Producers lists.
Overall, CSU Dominguez Hills came in at 60th for granting bachelor’s degrees to 1,406 students of color in 2011 — the graduation year used in the 2012 rankings — and 64th for conferring master’s degrees to 492 students of color. That year, the university granted 3,005 degrees in total.
Using data reported by universities to the National Center for Education Statistics to compile its two lists, the magazine gives several rankings, from an overall standing for total number of degrees conferred on all minority groups combined to degrees by individual minority group, as well as breakdowns by disciplines for each group.
The university ranked in the Top 100 – and even in the top 50 — in a number of the rankings, including 38th for undergraduate and 36th for graduate degrees granted to Hispanic students, and 82nd for graduate degrees to Asian American students.
CSU Dominguez Hills was also the only public university in California to make the magazine’s list for the number of master’s degrees conferred on African American students, coming in at 87th, and was one of only two public universities in the state to make the list for bachelor’s degrees granted to African American students, ranking 88th.
“The story behind these numbers is one of successful students, period,” said University Interim President Willie Hagan. “Our service area has a high number of underserved, underrepresented students, and their success positively impacts their families and our community. At CSU Dominguez Hills, we work hard to provide an intentional network of support that includes excellent academic programs and services that enhance student success. As we improve current efforts and add new initiatives in the area of student retention and graduation, our minority student graduation rankings will climb even higher in the future.”
Other highlights in the undergraduate ranking included fourth for liberal arts/humanities and 12th for public administration/social service degrees to Hispanic students; 8th for degrees in public administration/social service and 11th for liberal arts to all minority students; 14th for degrees granted in the public administration/social service professions to African American students; and 17th in the same degree field to Asian American students. By total minority groups for specific disciplines at the undergraduate level, the university ranked eighth for public administration/social service.
Updated information (July 19, 2012): Highlights among many master’s degree rankings by categories the university received included third for rehabilitation/therapeutic professions and fifth for nursing degrees to Asian American students; fifth in nursing, seventh in interdisciplinary study, and ninth in engineering-related fields degrees to Hispanic students; seventh in interdisciplinary degrees to African American.
For more information on Diverse and its Top 100 Degree Producers lists and for how CSU Dominguez Hills ranked, visit http://diverseeducation.com/top100.
CSU Dominguez Hills has one of the most diverse student bodies in the western United States, with a student population in 2011-12 that was 47.4 percent Hispanic, 21.4 percent African American, 16.2 percent white, 11.6 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.4 percent American Indian, and 3.1 percent two or more races. In 2011-12, more than 14,000 students were enrolled at the university.
Related Article: CSU Dominguez Hills Ranks Nationally in Graduating Hispanic Students
