General Education

General Education at UHM is a modern, flexible, diverse and multicultural curriculum supported by excellent teachers, classrooms, and information technology. The purpose of UHM is to provide an environment in which both faculty and students can discover, examine, preserve and transmit the knowledge, wisdom, and values that will enrich present and future generations. The University’s special and global distinction is found in its Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific orientation. The academic program structure and research enterprise takes special advantage of Hawai‘i’s unique location, physical and biological environment, and cultural setting.

The General Education Core and Graduation requirements develop a deeper appreciation of the complexities and potentialities of the human experience from the perspectives of the arts, humanities, and the natural and social sciences while encouraging an understanding of imagination and creativity through the application of abstract and intuitive thinking. Upon graduation, students will be able to:

• appreciate the values and ideas of cultures as they have evolved and as they find expression in literature, history, philosophy, religion, art, and music; 
• reason and analyze effectively; 
• communicate clearly and effectively in Standard English; 
• know the aims and methods of science; 
• recognize the ways in which humans organize and how social institutions shape human behavior.

There are two components to the General Education requirements: Core requirements and Graduation requirements. Core requirements include Foundations and Diversification requirements. Graduation requirements include Focus requirements and Hawaiian or a Second Language. 

Minimum Grade Requirements

A grade of D (not D-) or higher is required for a course to fulfill General Education Core and Graduation requirements. The Credit/No Credit option is not allowed for any course taken to fulfill a General Education Core and Graduation requirement, with the exception of those courses offered for mandatory CR/NC (see “Grades” on page 14 of the Catalog for further information).

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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Please note: This Catalog was prepared to provide information and does not constitute a contract. The University reserves the right to change or delete, supplement or otherwise amend at any time and without prior notice the information, requirements and policies contained in this Catalog.