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• undergraduate degree in Hawaiian studies or completion of HWST 107, 270, 341, 342 and one of the following: HWST 343, HWST 390 or HWST 490
  (Applicants with a BA in Hawaiian Studies from UH Hilo may petition to waive this requirement.)
• graduate program supplemental information form (download form)
• statement of objectives * (download form)
• sample of academic writing **
• three letters of recommendation — Two from the applicant's former professors and one from a Hawaiian studies faculty member with whom the applicant has consulted during preadmission advising.)
• interview (Case-by-case considerations will be made for off-island applicants.)
• official TOEFL scores — 500/173/61 or above (Required of most non-native speakers of English. Click here for information on exemptions.)

* Include an overview of intended thesis topic or practicum topic. Two pages maximum.

** The writing sample should be five to 10 pages in length and may be an undergraduate term paper. For applicants who do not have undergraduate writing samples, an original essay may be submitted. The essay should focus on 1) overview of the applicant's undergraduate major and course work, 2) life experience with the native Hawaiian community here in the islands or elsewhere, and 3) relevant work experience.

The Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa offers a graduate program leading to the MA in Hawaiian studies. The program features an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Hawaiian islands, as well as the aboriginal population of the islands and their lineal descendents, who carry on the traditions of Hawai'i in the face of relentless contemporary change.

The worldview from which this MA program operates is based on the genealogical, ancestral and attendant spiritual ties to the Hawaiian islands and the surrounding oceans as cosmogonic elders, in concert with Western academic disciplines where appropriate. This unique synthesis of Hawaiian and Western worldviews will be generated through the interaction of faculty and students in the program, and will be applied to coursework, practicum, reading and research activities geared toward individual interests.

Students in the program will be required to complete a set of core courses, after which they will choose two focus areas of concentration for their research. The focus areas include the following:

• historical perspectives,
• national and international issues,
• native and non-native Hawaiian resource management,
• comparative Polynesian studies, and
• cultural constructions of indigenous visual, performance, and health knowledge.

Students who do not hold a BA in Hawaiian studies will be required to enroll in prerequisite courses to assure mastery of the undergraduate curriculum in Hawaiian studies.

Students may select Plan A (thesis) or Plan B (non-thesis)

• Plan A requires 33 credits (including six credits of thesis research), a written thesis and defense of the thesis.
• Plan B requires 30 credits of course work and a Plan B paper with practicum experience that reflects two chosen focus areas of concentration as approved by the committee.
• Both plans require a comprehensive final exam and the completion of Hawaiian language requirements through HAW 402.

Courses
To view a listing of courses offered, visit www.catalog.hawaii.edu/courses/departments/hwst.htm.