Admission Policies

Applicants for admission are required to list all current and previous enrollment in any post-secondary institution on the application form. Applicants who fail to inform the University of such enrollment or who submit or have submitted on their behalf any required information or documentation that is fraudulent or has been altered without proper authorization may be denied admission to the University. If the omissions and/or alterations are discovered after the student is enrolled, the student's admission may be rescinded and his or her enrollment canceled. No transfer credits will be allowed in future admission. In addition, the student may be referred to the Student Conduct Committee for disciplinary sanctions.

Application materials must be postmarked by the admission deadline. Unofficial, faxed, hand-carried, or student copies of official academic documents will not be accepted. Because some programs have earlier deadlines or may fill their spaces early, you should apply well in advance of the campus deadline. The application and supporting documents become the property of the University and are not returned or available for distribution.

UH Mānoa abides by all relevant articulation agreements outlined in University of Hawaiʻi System Board of Regents and Executive Policies. Accordingly, transfer applicants who meet all admission criteria and have earned an articulated associate in arts (AA) degree from a University of Hawaiʻi community college will be admitted to UH Mānoa campus as having fulfilled the UH Mānoa general education core requirements.

While an articulated AA degree satisfies general education core requirements, students must also complete all specialized lower-division, major, college and degree/graduation requirements. Additional campus-specific requirements such as competency in a foreign language or writing-intensive courses may also be required. With planning, most if not all requirements may be incorporated into the AA degree; otherwise they are required in addition to the AA degree.

The Office of Admissions reserves the right to accept or reject transfer credits earned at any other institution of higher education. In general, UH Mānoa accepts credits earned at institutions fully accredited by U.S. regional accrediting associations or an institution recognized by the Office of Admissions, provided such credits are substantially equivalent to courses at UH Mānoa and have been completed with a grade of D (not D-) or better. An evaluation of transfer credits will be undertaken only after a student has been admitted to a program leading to a degree and has confirmed his or her intention to enroll.

Transfer decisions about courses taken at any other University of Hawaiʻi campus are guided by the UH Articulation Agreement. For additional information, refer to the Transfer Credit Search database.

Transfer Credit Restrictions

Only course credits are accepted in transferring to UH Mānoa. Grades and grade points from other institutions do not transfer. Although all qualified courses may be transferred from two-year colleges, UH Mānoa applies no more than 60 credits from non-University of Hawaiʻi community or junior colleges toward the credits required for a bachelor's degree as determined by your college.

Credit is not awarded for lower level courses if they are taken subsequent to or concurrently with a higher level course for which they are explicit or implicit prerequisites.

No more than 30 credits of correspondence coursework from regionally-accredited U.S. colleges and universities will be accepted in transfer.

UH Mānoa does not award credit for life experience. Enrolled students may make individual arrangements for credit by examination.

Coursework taken through military schools may be considered for credit with the consent of the appropriate University department. The student's DD-214 or DD-295 form must be submitted. Credits awarded for military schooling do not count toward the 24 credit requirement for admission as a transfer student nor exempt applicants from submitting SAT/ACT scores or high school transcripts.

Courses completed with non-traditional grades such as CR (credit), P (pass), S (satisfactory) may be transferable only if the grade represents a D (not D-) or higher. Courses with non-traditional grades are generally only accepted as elective credit and do not fulfill University, college, school, or departmental requirements.

UH Mānoa does not accept the following types of courses for transfer credit:

• Courses from unaccredited institutions: Coursework taken at any institution not fully accredited by a regional U.S. accrediting association or is not recognized by the Office of Admissions is not transferable. After completing a minimum of 30 credits at UH Mānoa with a GPA of 2.0 or better, a student may be granted credit for coursework completed at unaccredited institutions which were candidates for accreditation at the time of the student's attendance . No more than 60 credits from such institutions may be applied to UH Mānoa degree requirements.
• Courses below college level: At UH campuses courses include those numbered below 100
• Developmental or remedial courses
• Repeated or duplicate courses: Transfer credit is generally not awarded for a repeated course in which a passing grade was previously earned, nor for more than one version of a cross-listed course
• Courses that provide instruction in a particular religious doctrine
• Vocational or technical courses
• Mathematics courses considered below college level.

UH Mānoa will grant credits and/or waivers on the basis of IB higher level examinations. Download the IB factsheet.

The following guidelines are used by the Office of Admissions to compute a transfer applicant's cumulative collegiate grade point average (GPA) for admission purposes. These guidelines do not address all the different grading practices admissions staff encounter when reviewing transcripts and pertain only to the transfer GPA calculated for purposes of determining general admission to UH Mānoa. Some undergraduate programs (e.g., education, engineering, and business administration) have more selective admission policies and different or additional requirements.

To calculate a transfer admission GPA the Office of Admissions uses all transferable academic courses deemed substantially equivalent to UH Mānoa courses from all regionally-accredited U.S. colleges and universities and institutions recognized by the Office of Admissions the applicant has attended and in which the student received a grade. If the student repeats a course, the highest passing grade is computed into the transfer GPA.

Note: Grades of CR (credit), NC (no credit), P (pass), S (satisfactory), and W (withdrawal) do not affect GPA calculation. Selective programs may view these grades differently in their admission process.

The Office of Admissions does not include in the transfer admission GPA:

• Courses taken at an institution not fully accredited by the appropriate U.S. regional accrediting association or institutions not recognized by the Office of Admissions
• Courses considered below college level
• Vocational and technical courses
• Remedial and developmental courses
• Courses of instruction in a particular religious doctrine
• Courses taken out of sequence (i.e., backtracking). Lower level courses taken concurrently with or subsequent to higher level courses for which they are explicit or implicit prerequisites are not counted.

UH Mānoa grants waivers and/or credits on the basis of the CEEB Advanced Placement Examinations, Credits for AP examinations do not count toward the 24 credit requirement for admission as a transfer student, nor do they exempt the applicant from submitting SAT/ACT scores or high school transcripts. Download the AP factsheet.

Credits awarded for general and subject examinations do not count toward the 24 credit requirement for admission as a transfer student nor do they exempt applicants from submitting SAT/ACT scores or high school transcripts. Download the CLEP factsheet.

UH Mānoa will grant credits and/or waivers on the basis of IB higher level examinations. Download the IB factsheet.

Official documents (transcripts, etc.) must be submitted immediately to be considered for post-deadline admissions. There is no appeal to the following conditions:

• The application fee is not refundable or transferable
• If your application is incomplete at the time of review, it may be denied
• Meeting the minimum requirements will not necessarily guarantee acceptance during this post-deadline period
• You are responsible for checking your application status and verifying that all required documents have been received by the Office of Admissions
• Your admissions decision may be delayed as late as the first day of classes
• Application processing time may take up to 4 weeks once the application is complete and all documentation required has been received by the Office of Admissions
• Certain majors have earlier application deadlines and will not consider/review late applications.
• If accepted, your registration may be during the late registration period and you may be subject to the $30 late registration fee
• Registration for incoming students may currently be in progress and you are not guaranteed your choice of classes
• Your transfer credit evaluation and pre-requisite clearance will be delayed and will affect your financial aid eligibility
• If you apply for financial aid, the processing of your financial aid package will be delayed and there is a chance that you will not receive your financial aid award in time for the semester
• Services and privileges, not restricted to the above, will be limited as a result of your post-deadline application
• If you are on a F-1, Student Visa, processing of your I-20 may be delayed
• You are not guaranteed student housing and you must prepare to live off-campus for the first semester
• You must be prepared to pay out-of-pocket for tuition, fees, etc;

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions rarely grants deferrals, but newly admitted freshman, transfer, returning, or 2nd degree students may request a deferment.

Requests to defer an offer of admission will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be granted under extenuating circumstances such as military service and/or medical reasons. Supporting documentation must be provided with the request for deferment. You must upload documentation to support your deferment request to the Deferment Request Form. If no documentation is uploaded to the form, your request will not be reviewed.

• This form and your supporting documentation must be received by the first day of the semester in which you were admitted.
• Please read all statements on the Deferment Request Form before submitting as you need to agree to all terms listed.
• Services (e.g. financial aid, housing, scholarships, etc.) that may have been granted at initial acceptance are not guaranteed with this deferment.
• If approved, a deferment will be granted for only one consecutive semester from your admitted semester (Fall to Spring or Spring to Fall). If you were previously granted a deferment, you may not request another deferment.
• Currently enrolled students cannot submit a deferment request and should speak with their academic advisor.
• Students who are not granted a deferment will need to reapply if they wish to attend a future semester.
• If you choose not to request a deferment and rather want to cancel your admittance, please go to the following link: Cancel Admissions

Applicants who will not be attending UH Mānoa and wish to cancel their admission can complete and submit the form below prior to the first day of instruction of your semester of acceptance.

Deadline to cancel admission: First day of instruction. See Academic Calendar.

New students who wish to change their major before the start of their first semester must follow the timeline below:

PRIOR to May 1 (for fall applicants), PRIOR to Dec 1 (for spring applicants)
Send requests to the Office of Admissions at manoa.admissions@hawaii.edu

AFTER May 1 (for fall applicants), AFTER Dec 1 (for spring applicants)
students must contact their academic advisor to make major changes. Find my advisor

*Continuing students looking to change their major must contact their academic advisor.