Marquette Explorer Program @DHSZ

Our formal partnership with Marquette to deliver the dual-enrollment Marquette Explorer programme was signed on November 22nd 2022. We are currently progressing with teacher accreditation such that our own DHSZ teachers are Marquette adjunct instructors, able to deliver a suite of university-level courses tailored to our own students. This means that our students can study university courses at high school and, after completing the courses and passing the assessments, are able to earn credits recognised by the university.

About Marquette University

Founded in 1881, Marquette University is consistently ranked in the top 100 US colleges by US news.  With a focus on teaching quality, they are ranked #18 for best undergraduate teaching.  Marquette, just like DHSZ, are committed to a broad and balanced curriculum of personalized pathways.  Highly ranked programmes include Real Estate (11th), Supply Chain Management (13th), Physical Therapy (13th), MBA (19th), Finance (24th), with other areas of strength including Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Engineering.  Also, aligned with DHSZ, Marquette focusses on developing students to ‘be the difference’, equipping them with skills, motivation, and understanding to thrive in life, and is ranked #6 for graduate employment (96%).

 #Key Benefits of Marquette University Credited Courses for DHSZ Students Include:

• Scholarships from Marquette of up at 27,000 USD
• Guaranteed English test waivers for admission to ACCP partner universities for students who pass a combination of English of accredited courses. These universities include Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia, Pepperdine University, UC Riverside, University of Arizona, Rutgers University and Purdue University.
• For students taking sufficient courses, the possibility of direct entry to second year / second semester courses at top 100 partner universities.
• College credits accepted by a range of US universities, including 48 colleges from the US News Top 80 rankings. These include: Johns Hopkins, Washington St Louis, UC Berkley, UCLA, UNC Chapel Hill, New York University, Ohio State and Penn State.
• College credits accepted by a range of top Canadian universities such as: Toronto, McGill, University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser.

In order to formalise the agreement and discuss how to further enhance the ongoing collaborations between Marquette and the EiM family of schools, Mr. David Fitzgerald (DCI Global Director of Education, International) met with Dr John Baworowsky (Vice President for Enrollment Management), Justin Osborn (Vice President of Product Development IPERC and Director of Explorer Program, Marquette University), and Jing Han (President of IPERC).

DHSZ Plans for 2023 Courses and Pathways for Our Students

• In the second semester this year, we plan to offer our first Marquette course to Year 11 Liberal Arts students, in order that our signature Liberal Arts course can benefit from Marquette University credit.  From August 2023, we plan to extend this offering to Year 12 in three additional key areas:
• A new Liberal Arts track is planned as an alternative to a fourth AS level, to provide a wide-ranging, skills-based continuation of the highly popular lower school liberal arts curriculum.  
• Students specialising in visual arts will have the opportunity to spend double the current amount of time in the studio from Year 12 onwards, graduating with both A-Levels and also one or more Marquette Art courses, in addition to benefiting from intensive portfolio support.
• Our honors-level English courses in the upper school, such as Research English and Literature, are planned to have optional Marquette University credit.

Steve Hodgkin DHSZ Assistant Director for Upper school comments： 

“the Marquette partnership opens up new doors to many DHSZ students, in terms of curriculum choices. Whether they are applying to the US or beyond, these accredited courses as additional depth and breadth to our IGCSE and A Level curriculum, as well as building on the strength of our signature internal DHSZ courses, such as Liberal Arts and Research English. Above all, this is a chance for our high school students to demonstrate that they can handle US college level courses much earlier than in many other schools – a chance for them to thrive and show themselves in their best light. Grow in Dulwich, Thrive in Life!”

Richard Nunns DHSZ Deputy Director for Staff and School Development notes:

“Marquette University is an exciting partner for DHSZ, sharing our commitment to high-quality teaching and learning, personalized pathways, and our focus on preparing students to thrive at school, at university, and in life.  This partnership will bring a wide range of benefits to students, allowing them to explore their passions and develop their essential skills.  The fact that it has been so easy to partner with Marquette is credit to our exceptional faculty and the strength of our existing internally-designed courses.”