Empowering more students, particularly Latine students, to pursue advanced degrees in healthcare is the goal of a new academic initiative from Dominican University. As the recipient of a five-year, $3 million grant from the federal Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans program, the university is building Pathways to Wellness, a program designed to create new graduate degrees and new post-baccalaureate certificates, better support graduate students holistically and financially, and increase graduate enrollment and degree completion in Dominican’s Borra College of Health Sciences. The Pathways to Wellness program includes the following:

• the design of a new Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling degree to address regional inequities within this field, and the redesign of the university’s Master of Health Sciences degree to create a more accessible path to advanced healthcare programs and careers.

• development of post-baccalaureate certificates for high-demand careers in certified drug and alcohol abuse counseling and lab technology. These certificates will be stackable toward the completion of a master’s degree. 

• improvement of graduate program support services, including mental health services, academic supports, scholarships, emergency aid, and testing and licensure fees.

If you are interested in learning more, visit www.dom.edu.