Center for Pacific Island Studies

Pacific Islands studies at UH Mānoa is an innovative, interdisciplinary program committed to the production and dissemination of a wide range of knowledge about Oceania. The program focuses on the Island societies of this vast region, and the dynamic cultural, social, and political interactions that link them to each other as well as to the rest of the world. It seeks to understand the many worlds of Oceania through multiple conceptual lenses, drawn selectively from a range of academic disciplines and from the knowledge systems of the region itself. Pacific Islands studies promotes active, student-centered approaches to learning and encourages creativity in research and representation of Island issues.

With a core and affiliate faculty of over 40 members, and access to one of the finest collections of Pacific materials in the world, the Pacific Islands studies program offers interdisciplinary programs of study leading to the MA in Pacific Islands Studies and the Certificate in Pacific Islands Studies. A “major equivalent” in Pacific Islands studies is available through the BA in Interdisciplinary Studies.