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GRADUATE EDUCATION

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.

All applicants should have outstanding academic records. The evaluation is based on the applicant's academic record, as well as test scores, the statement of objectives, and where appropriate, professional experience. Applicants may submit unofficial copies of transcripts and test scores while applying for admissions. However, admitted students are required to submit official transcripts and test scores in order to enroll at UH Manoa.

Completed applications are screened by the Graduate Student Services Office. Applications that meet the requirements of Graduate Education are forwarded to the respective graduate program, where the standards applied may be more stringent than those set by Graduate Education. 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 Graduate Education either to admit or deny the applicant. The final decision to make a formal offer of admission rests with Graduate Education, which takes into full consideration the recommendation of the graduate program. Admission is valid only for the semester in which the 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.

Graduate Student Services Office notifies each applicant of the 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 UH Manoa until they receive formal notice of acceptance from Graduate Education.

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 UH Manoa 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 UH Manoa. If the omissions and/or alterations are discovered after the student is enrolled, enrollment may be canceled and the student may be referred to UH Manoa's Student Conduct Committee for possible disciplinary action.