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������ of California has earned its highest-ever “U.S. News & World Report” ranking, coming in at the number seven spot in the 2027 Regional Universities (West) category, a reflection of its outstanding student outcomes, including strong graduation and retention rates.

The 2027 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings evaluates more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities, using up to 17 factors to measure academic quality and graduate success.

In separate categories, U.S. News also ranked Dominican highly as a Top Private School (#4 in the West), a Best Value School (#9 in the West), and for its outstanding work empowering Social Mobility (#29 in the West). 

Small class sizes, hands-on research and scholarship, personalized attention from professors who know students by name, extensive community engagement, and high starting salaries for graduates are hallmarks of a Dominican education. 

Dominican’s number seven spot is a 24-point increase from 2026. This year’s rankings heavily emphasize student outcomes, academic resources and expert opinion. 

Student outcomes, which tracks a school’s success in preparing students for life after college accounted for 52% of the total weight. These include graduation rates, first-year retention, and the school’s performance against a predicted graduation rate. Success for low-income students is measured by the Pell graduation rate. Post-graduation metrics assess the percentage of graduates whose earnings exceed a typical high school graduate and graduates’ earnings by major. 

Peer assessment accounted for 20% of the total weight. This captures key aspects of a school’s quality, including innovative teaching and institutional health. Presidents, provosts, and deans rate institutions in their category with which they are familiar.

Other factors impacting the ranking are faculty resources, financial resources. 

The western region includes universities in California, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Hawaii, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Alaska. Regional universities provide a full range of undergraduate, and master's, and some doctoral programs. 

These U.S. News accolades follow strong rankings from both TIME magazine and Money.

Dominican is listed as one of the nation’s top institutions for student outcomes, learning environment, and attractiveness to students in the inaugural TIME magazine “America’s Best Colleges of 2026-2027” ranking.  

The inaugural ranking of 500 qualifying U.S. colleges is based on a comprehensive analysis to identify top-performing colleges nationwide. The analysis is structured around three key pillars: student outcomes (75%), learning environment (15%), and attractiveness (10%). This puts a particular emphasis on what students gain from attending an institution relative to its cost.

Dominican also was recognized as one of Money’s Best Colleges in America 2026. Money's analysis showcases the country's top 735 colleges based on a number of factors, including graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid, and alumni salaries. Money uses “star ratings” to identify standout schools, with 5 stars being the highest. Dominican scored exceptionally high on most of Money’s metrics to receive 4.5 stars. Most colleges on the list landed in the 3.5 to 4-star category.

Elevating student success is at the heart of the Dominican Experience. The  Dominican Experience ensures that all undergraduates have access to:

• One-on-one attention and coaching from a network of mentors across
campus.
• Real-world experiences, including internships, service-learning,
clinicals, or global learning programs. 
• Signature work projects, ranging from a capstone thesis developed with
a faculty advisor, undergraduate research in the lab or the field, an art
project, a choreographed dance, or publication in a journal.
• Job readiness and interview skills through career coaching, resume and
LinkedIn workshops, and interview preparation.