Dominican University Outcomes: $60K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Dominican University graduates earn?

The reported median is $59,507 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is -$8,743 per year.

Azimuth places Dominican University at the 67th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,507, at the 49th percentile.

That is $8,743 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $13,823 more than expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 90th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $1,695. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $12,128.

The earnings scenarios show a spread from $48,301 on the downside to $81,888 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Computer Science graduates earn $86,730 four years after completion, and Nursing graduates earn $80,703. Accounting follows at $77,878.

An estimated 34.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, those continuing their education are outside that earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $59,507
Rank for difference from expectations: 90th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Dominican University reported median: $59,507
Peer schools comparable schools · $8,743 above Dominican University: $68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $13,823 below Dominican University: $45,684

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How many Dominican University first-year students return?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26

Returned the following fall: 76.3%

Source: Dominican University Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $48,301
Median · reported: $59,507
Higher estimate: $81,888

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do Dominican University graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

Dominican University graduates’ reported earnings are $13,823 above that expectation, the 90th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending Dominican University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Dominican University report the highest earnings?

The earnings spread across Dominican University's selected programs is wide. Computer Science graduates report the highest median, at $86,730 four years after completion, from 18 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the second-largest program with published earnings, follows at $80,703 with 36 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management is the university's only nationally ranked program.

Azimuth ranks it #253 within its field. It is also #11 in Illinois, with median earnings of $66,871 and 28 degrees awarded.

At the more moderate end, Psychology is the largest program at 42 degrees awarded and a median of $51,093. Sociology graduates earn $54,686 from 24 degrees awarded.

Business accounts for 20.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Health Professions second at 16.9%. The university has 7 nationally ranked program and 15 programs with published earnings data.

The largest single program is Psychology, at 42 degrees a year, where graduates earn a median of $51,093 four years after completion. Nursing is close behind with 36 degrees and a median of $80,703.

The highest earnings come from Computer Science, at $86,730, though the program awards only 18 degrees a year. Natural Sciences is the university's best nationally ranked program: Azimuth ranks it #5 in its field and #1 in Illinois.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $48,301 to a typical $59,507 and an upside of $81,888. The spread shows that earnings vary substantially by field.

At the high end, Computer Science graduates earn $86,730 four years after completion. Among the largest programs, Psychology is at $51,093.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,507. That figure sits $8,743 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places it in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $13,823 more than the model expects for similar students. That gap lands at the 90th percentile, so the earnings picture is stronger than the raw median alone suggests.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from Dominican University's program mix, show the range: a typical scenario of $59,507, a downside of $48,301, and an upside of $81,888. An estimated 34.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.