To ensure students have enough skills in the rapidly changing digital world, the Dominican University of California has started a new degree program that pairs liberal arts degree with a computer science minor.
The program – designed in coordination with Facebook, Lyft, and LinkedIn – will equip the students with hard and soft skills of the work that is done digitally.
“We don’t believe that students should have to choose between the long-term benefits of a college degree and the technical skills that will support career success,” University President Mary B. Marcy said.
“This new program will enable our students to tap the insight and expertise of practitioners at the world’s leading tech firms without sacrificing the holistic student engagement that is a hallmark of a great liberal arts education, and indeed the hallmark of the Dominican Experience.”
The university has also entered into an incubation partnership with Make School, a pioneer in computer science education, which will allow every Dominican student regardless of the major to get hands-on computer science skills.
“For decades, the most successful entrepreneurs, executives, and investors in tech have combined the sort of deep and critical thinking that is the hallmark of a liberal arts education with a command of the latest technical skills,” Doug Carlston, former Dominican Trustee and founder of software developer Broderbund, said.
“This is about preparing students for careers during a period of unprecedented change, but also ensuring that they have the practical, hard skills to succeed in their first job.”
Starting next year, a new bachelor degree program in Applied Computer Science will be also offered at the Make School’s campus.