Home About UH Academic Calendar Courses Undergraduate Education Graduate Education Degrees, Minors, & Certificates Colleges, Schools, & Academic Units

Administration

General Information

Advising

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs


Instructional and Research Facilities and Programs

Center for Chinese Studies

Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies

Center for Japanese Studies

Center for Korean Studies

Center for Pacific Islands Studies

Center for Philippine Studies

Center for South Asian Studies

Center for Southeast Asian Studies

Committee for the Preservation and Study of Hawaiian Language, Art and Culture


Asian Studies

Hawaiian Studies

Pacific Islands Studies

Hawaiian Studies

Kamakakuokalani 209A
2645 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822

Tel: (808) 973-0989
Fax: (808) 973-0988
Web: kchs.hawaii.edu

Faculty

*J. Osorio, PhD (Chair)—politics of identity in the Hawaiian kingdom, colonization in the Pacific
*C. L. Andrade, PhD—traditional navigation, Malama ‘Aina: traditional resource management, indigenous geography, Hawaiian music
*I. M. Andrade, MFA—Native Hawaiian visual culture/art, customary practices/fiber arts, museum studies
A. Drexel, MFA—Hawaiian art, history, mythology, land tenure
*R. P. H. Ka‘aloa, MEd—educational technology, distance education, Indigenous education
*L. Kame‘eleihiwa, PhD—Hawaiian mythology, history, land tenure, literature, traditional navigation
P. Kauila, MA—Hawaiian information resources
M. Naukana-Gilding, MLS—Hawaiian genealogies, Hawaiian information resources
L. Ohai, MA—La‘au Lapa‘au: Hawaiian medicinal herbs, horticulture
W. K. Perry, JD—comparative politics, law
H. Trask, PhD—native political movements in Hawai‘i and the Pacific, literature and politics of Pacific island women, Hawaiian history and politics, third world and indigenous history and politics
*K. G. T. Young, PhD—class and culture in native Hawaiian society, contemporary politics in Hawai‘i and the Pacific

Degree Offered: BA in Hawaiian studies, MA in Hawaiian studies

The Academic Program

Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies (HWST) recognizes its kuleana to nurture and educate community leaders, teachers and scholars who will lead Hawai‘i into the future. Kamakakuokalani offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees that reflect the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of Hawaiian knowledge. In the past, our BA graduates have gone on to earn advanced degrees in anthropology, art, botany, business, communications, counseling, education, engineering, English, geography, law, linguistics, medicine, music, ocean science, Pacific Islands studies, political science, psychology, social work, theater, and urban and regional planning.

In Fall 2005, we inaugurated our master of arts program, allowing students to pursue their interests while deepening their scholarly abilities. The master of arts degree builds on the BA program concentrations. It addresses crucial issues such as sustainable economic development, training students in land and resource management that is consistent with the geography and history of Hawai‘i, indigenous pedagogy and epistemology, and creating the political, economic, and governmental infrastructure for a Hawaiian nation. The MA also provides professionals in government, law, criminal justice, education, social work, and various health fields, the specialized knowledge in Hawaiian history and culture needed to adequately serve the community.

Our BA and MA programs consist of five areas of concentration:

  1. Kukulu Aupuni: Envisioning the Nation
  2. Moolelo Kahiko: Native History and Literature
  3. Malama ‘Aina: Natural Resource Management
  4. Halau o Laka: Visual and Performing Arts
  5. Kumu Kahiki: Comparative Polynesian and Indigenous Studies

Undergraduate Study

Bachelor’s Degree

Students design their program around a selected area of concentration. Third-year fluency in Hawaiian language is required, as well as familiarity with Hawaiian literature, culture, politics, and economics. The Native Hawaiian view is emphasized in the major.

Major Requirements

A 3.0 in all courses for the major.

  • Total of 35 credit hours
  • 23 credit hours in the following required courses:
    • HAW 301 and 302
    • HWST 207 or 281 or 285 or 351
    • HWST 270, 341, and 342
    • HWST 343 or 390 or 490
    • HWST 478 or MUS 312 or MUS 412 or MUS 478
  • 12 credit hours of approved courses in one of these concentrations:
    • Kumu Kahiki: Comparative Polynesian and Indigenous Studies
    • Halau ‘o Laka: Hawaiian Academy of Visual and Performing Arts
    • Mo‘olelo ‘Oiwi: Native History and Literature
    • Kukulu Aupuni: Envisioning the Nation
    • Malama ‘Aina: Land and Sea Resource Management
  • Third-year fluency in Hawaiian

Before beginning work on the major, students should have completed HAW 101, 102, 201, and 202; HWST 107; and BOT 105. Specific programs should be determined through consultation with program advisors. Majors should be interviewed by the advisor by the end of the sophomore year.

Graduate Study

Master’s Degree

The MA in Hawaiian studies features an interdisciplinary curriculum that draws from faculty strengths in indigenous traditions as well as western academic fields. Examples of faculty expertise in native practices are oli, hula, fiber arts, voyaging, and musical performance. Our faculty members’ expertise also cover a wide spectrum of western academic fields that include history, geography, art, education, and natural sciences.

Graduate students are each assigned a faculty mentor upon admission who will work with the individual on curriculum and research endeavors. In addition, the graduate chair offers continuous administrative assistance and academic advising as needed. Academic benchmarks include but are not limited to: development of critical thinking and analytical skills; theoretical foundations for interdisciplinary studies; grounding in and application of Native practices particular to individual interest.

Prerequisites

The following are prerequisite courses for applicants who are not BA degree recipients of Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies. Students taking these prerequisites may enroll concurrently in graduate level Hawaiian studies courses with consent of instructor. These prerequisites have been established by our faculty as consensus core competencies in Hawaiian studies. Significant contexts for analysis and critical thinking are based in the measurable teaching objectives and learning outcomes of these courses. They represent the educational foundations of our field:

  • HWST 107 Hawai‘i: Center of the Pacific
  • HWST 270 Hawaiian Mythology
  • HWST 341 Hawaiian Genealogies
  • HWST 342 Chiefs of Post-Contact Hawai‘i

In addition to the four courses above, candidates must select one of the following to complete the 15 credits of course prerequisites:

  • HWST 343 Myths of Hawaiian Histor
  • HWST 390 Issues in Modern Hawai‘i
  • HWST 490 Senior Seminar in Hawaiian Studies

Equally central to these foundations is the requirement that MA students will have also completed up to the fourth level (HAW 402) of Hawaiian language by the time they graduate.

Core Classes

There are four core classes that all MA students are required to take. They form the foundation of the MA program:

  • HWST 601 Indigenous Research Methods
  • HWST 602 Hawaiian Archival Research
  • HWST 603 Review of Hawaiian Literature
  • HWST 604 Writing a Hawaiian Thesis

Areas of Concentration

Hawaiian studies MA candidates will choose two of the five areas of concentration to focus their research on. Candidates will be required to integrate the two areas of concentration in a single thesis research project (Plan A) or non-thesis project (Plan B). From project inception to completion, the Hawaiian studies Plan B incorporates more non-university related knowledge keepers and knowledge keeping-conveying practices. Currently, four of the five areas of concentration are offering classes; they are the following:

  • HWST 640 Mo‘olelo ‘Oiwi: Historical Perspectives
  • HWST 650 Hawaiian Geographical Resource Management
  • HWST 670 Kumu Kahiki: Comparative Hawaiian and Tahitian Cosmogonies
  • HWST 690 Kukulu Aupuni: Envisioning the Nation

Admission Requirements

  1. Apply online to UH Manoa Graduate Division at www.hawaii.edu/graduate.
  2. Complete Hawaiian studies MA intake form. Intake forms are available at the Kamakakuokalani Center Room 207.
  3. Intake interview with graduate faculty. Applicants should call (808) 973-0985 to schedule an interview.
  4. Three letters of recommendation. Two from applicants former professors and one from a Hawaiian studies faculty member with whom the applicant has consulted during preadmission advising.
  5. Submit the following documents as enclosures with a cover letter from you to our main office at 2645 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822.
    a. Writing sample: a five to ten page research paper done for a class (any course, any topic) which you received a grade and credit as an undergraduate. In lieu of such a document, applicants may write an original essay five to ten pages in length as an overview that conveys the nature of the applicant’s major field of study.
    b. A two page statement of intent describing the applicant’s proposed thesis topic and its basic relationship to the interdisciplinary field of Hawaiian studies. This statement may be developed after an interview with a faculty member of Kamakakuokalani.

HWST Courses