,·Private (LDS Church-affiliated, undergraduate-only)·Est. 1955
“The most internationally diverse university in the United States — a Pacific gathering place for Latter-day Saint students from 60+ countries.”
Brigham Young University-Hawaii (BYU-Hawaii) is a private, undergraduate-only university owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Founded in 1955 by Church President David O. McKay as the Church College of Hawaii, the school sits on a 100-acre campus in the rural town of Laie on Oahu's North Shore, about 35 miles from Honolulu. BYU-Hawaii is a distinct institution from BYU-Provo and BYU-Idaho, with its own mission: to serve as the Church's gathering point for Latter-day Saint students from across Oceania and the Asian Rim, and to prepare them to return home as leaders in their communities. Roughly 70% of the ~2,800-student body is international, drawn from more than 60 countries — by share, the most internationally diverse university in the United States. Academic life is organized into seven small faculties spanning Arts & Letters, Business & Government, Culture/Language/Performing Arts, Education & Social Work, Math & Computing, Religious Education, and Sciences, offering roughly 37 bachelor's degrees with a 16:1 student-faculty ratio. Hospitality & Tourism Management, TESOL, Pacific Island Studies, Hawaiian Studies, Intercultural Peacebuilding, and Computer Science are signature programs, many designed to feed graduates back into Pacific and Asian economies. Every student lives under the Church Educational System Honor Code (dress and grooming standards, residential living standards, weekly church attendance, and an annual ecclesiastical endorsement) and the campus is overwhelmingly LDS — about 97% of students are Church members. The defining feature of BYU-Hawaii is its symbiosis with the adjacent Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC), the most-visited paid attraction in Hawaii. The PCC was founded in 1963 specifically to fund student scholarships and provide on-campus employment, and over 700 BYU-Hawaii students work there each year — most through the IWORK work-study program, which pairs international students with tuition, housing, meals, and health insurance in exchange for ~19 hours of weekly campus work and a four-year commitment to return home after graduation. Combined with the North Shore beaches, a Polynesian-majority student culture, and a tuition rate (subsidized by the Church) that's a fraction of comparable private US schools, BYU-Hawaii offers an experience unlike any other US university — a small, mission-driven, international cohort living and learning together in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Regional Colleges West
US News Best Colleges 2025
Most International Students (US)
US News 2025 — highest international share of any US university
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceFall — Priority (International)
Earliest decision; recommended for IWORK candidates.
Fall — Document Deadline (International)
All supporting documents due.
Fall — Final Deadline (International)
Last day to apply for Fall semester.
Fall — Final Deadline (US Domestic)
Domestic applicants get a later final deadline than international.
Winter — Priority
January-start semester.
Winter — Final Deadline (International)
Spring — Priority
April-start semester.
Spring — Final Deadline (International)
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$9,102 – $18,204
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Houses the school's most popular and career-oriented programs, including Hospitality & Tourism Management — directly tied to Hawaii's largest industry and graduates' return-home roles in Pacific and Asian tourism economies.
A signature faculty for BYU-Hawaii's Pacific identity, with rare-in-the-US programs in Pacific Island Studies, Hawaiian Studies, and Intercultural Peacebuilding alongside World Languages, Music, Theatre, and Anthropology.
The university's growing STEM hub, offering Computer Science, Information Systems, and Information Technology — the most common F-1/OPT pathways for international graduates.
Trains teachers and social workers for Pacific Rim service, with a globally recognized TESOL program (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and a dedicated English as an International Language (EIL) pathway for ESL learners.
Lab-based undergraduate sciences with an emphasis on health-professions preparation, including Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Exercise & Sport Science, Psychology, and Physics.
Liberal arts core covering Communication, Media & Culture, English, Film, and Visual Arts.
4 years
BYU-Hawaii's flagship career program, leveraging Hawaii's tourism economy and the adjacent Polynesian Cultural Center (the state's #1 paid visitor attraction) for hands-on internships. Designed to send graduates back to Pacific and Asian hospitality markets as managers and operators.
4 years
One of the only undergraduate Pacific Island Studies majors in the US, taught alongside a student body that is itself ~21% Oceanian. Combines anthropology, history, language, and cultural sustainability with primary-source access to the PCC's living-culture villages.
4 years
An applied conflict-transformation degree built around BYU-Hawaii's globally diverse student body — students practice cross-cultural mediation in a real-world setting where 60+ nationalities live and study together.
4 years
STEM-designated program (eligible for the 24-month STEM OPT extension), the most common F-1 pathway to long-term US employment for international graduates who choose to pursue work in the US after their IWORK return-home commitment.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $6,630
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
