GRADUATE EDUCATION Navigation

GRADUATE DIVISION

ACADEMIC POLICIES

Student Responsibilities

Admission

Application Procedures and Deadlines

Standardized Examinations

Additional Requirements and Information

Classification of Students

Summer Session

Registration

Enrollment Requirements

Credit Hours

Grades

Requirements for Continued Registration

Diplomas

Degree Checks

Conferring of Degrees

Transcripts

CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAMS

DOCTORAL DEGREE PROGRAMS

TUITION, FEES, AND FINANCIAL AID

Admission

Applicants for advanced degree programs must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or its equivalent from a recognized foreign institution of higher learning. The standards of the degree in question must be equivalent in both the distribution of academic subject matter and in scholarship achievement requirements to those maintained at UH Manoa. Generally, an applicant must have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (4.0-equals-A scale) or the equivalent in the last four semesters or approximately 60 semester credits (or the equivalent in quarter credits) of his or her undergraduate record and in all post-baccalaureate work.

Completed applications are screened by the Graduate Division Admissions Office. Applications that meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate Division are forwarded to the respective graduate program, where the standards applied may be more stringent than those set by the Graduate Division. There the applications are subjected to a more comprehensive and intensive review by the graduate faculty. Where admission is intensely competitive, admission decisions are reached through a comparison of the relative merits of all applicants applying in the program or in an area of concentration, if applicable, for that particular semester. The graduate program then makes a recommendation to the Graduate Division either to admit or deny the applicant. The final decision to make a formal offer of admission rests with the Graduate Division, which takes into full consideration the recommendation of the graduate program. Admission is valid only for the semester for which a student was accepted.

Applicants may be denied admission for any number of reasons. Some of the more common bases of denial are undistinguished academic records and poor test scores, inadequate preparation and background for advanced academic or professional study, unclear or unfocused objectives for graduate study, or inability of the program to accommodate all qualified applicants due to limited space or lack of faculty to guide the students in specified areas of interest. It is suggested that applicants consult the chair of the selected program concerning their interests and availability of faculty members in their intended areas of study.

The Graduate Division notifies each applicant of its decision. Official notification of acceptance or rejection is generally mailed between February and June for fall admission, depending on when the completed application is received and when a decision is reached. Most of the notifications are mailed in April and May. For spring, notification is generally between October and December. In programs with intense competition, selections are often made early. Applicants should not make definite arrangements to attend the UH until they receive formal notice of acceptance from the Graduate Division.

All applicants are required to specify on the application form all current and previous enrollment in any postsecondary institution. Any applicant who fails to inform the UH of such enrollment or who submits or has submitted any required information or document that is fraudulent or that has been altered without proper authorization may be denied admission to the UH. If the omissions and/or alterations are discovered after the student is enrolled, enrollment may be canceled and the student may be referred to the UH’s Student Conduct Committee for possible disciplinary action.