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Core and Graduation Requirements for Students Entering UHM Fall 2001

General Education requirements are designed to help students acquire knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking that provide a foundation for lifelong learning. The UHM requirements reflect the unique resources of UHM: the depth of its Hawaiian assets and the breadth of its multiculturalism. The General Education curriculum gives students a global sense of human diversity while paying special attention to the heritages of Hawai'i, the Pacific, and Asia.

There are two components to the General Education requirements. First, General Education requirements are divided into Core requirements and graduation requirements. Core requirements include foundation courses and diversification requirements. Graduation requirements include focus requirements and a foreign or second language.

Fulfilling the Requirements

The General Education Core and graduation requirements are fulfilled by meeting the specifications listed in the following categories. Students should note that options are provided in nearly all parts of the General Education curriculum. Required course work may be challenged by examination. Final approval rests with the dean of the college or school to which a student belongs. Students may seek clarification from the student academic services office in their college or school.

Effective fall 1994, students who have earned an articulated associate in arts (AA) degree from a University of Hawai'i Community College shall be accepted as having fulfilled the General Education Core requirements at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. However, students must also complete all specialized lower division, major, college/school, degree, and graduation requirements. In addition to the core requirements, competence in a second language and five writing-intensive courses are required. With planning, most, if not all, of these requirements may be incorporated into the AA degree; if not, they are required in addition to the associate in arts degree.

By the conclusion of the Freshman year, students should select or be assigned a faculty mentor in a field of their choice. The faculty mentor will discuss with the student future goals and will help the student develop an academic plan in relation to exploring those goals. Mentors may be 1) a faculty member in a department or program the student anticipates as a future major; 2) a faculty member from a course taken during the freshman year; 3) a faculty member recommended to the student by an academic adviser, perhaps from the college in which the student has the most interest. The faculty mentor does not replace college advisers who will continue to guide students' progress toward graduation. 

Honors Program
Selected studies students and honors students should consult the Honors Program for the honors courses that fulfill the General Education Core and graduation requirements.

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