,·Public Baccalaureate (Indigenous-serving)·Est. 1976
“An Indigenous-serving baccalaureate campus in Kapolei built around Native Hawaiian and Pacific knowledge — and applied bachelor's degrees that work in the islands.”
The University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu (UHWO) is a small, undergraduate-only public baccalaureate campus in Kapolei, on the leeward (west) side of Oʻahu about 30 minutes from Honolulu. It is a separate institution from UH Mānoa: where Mānoa is the system's research flagship in Honolulu (R1, ~20,000 students, full graduate slate, NCAA Division I), West Oʻahu is a teaching-focused, four-year campus of roughly 2,900 students with no graduate degrees and no varsity athletics. The campus moved to its current 500-acre site on former sugarcane land in 2012 and continues to grow as the youngest four-year UH campus. UHWO is an Indigenous-serving institution: its mission centers Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander student success, and indigenous knowledge is woven through both academics and student life. The Nāulu Center is a dedicated cultural and academic hub for Native Hawaiian students, the Hawaiian-Pacific Studies degree and certificate are signature programs, and clubs maintain loʻi (taro patches), host language and cultural workshops, and partner with leeward-side communities. Roughly 89% of students identify as BIPOC and the student body is overwhelmingly local — about 99% are Hawaiʻi residents, with many older, working, and first-generation learners. Academically, UHWO leans practical and applied. Its nine bachelor's degrees emphasize career-ready fields the islands actually hire for: Business Administration, Public Administration (including Justice, Disaster Preparedness, Health Care Administration), Cybersecurity (Cyber Operations), Creative Media (animation, video game design), Education, Applied Science (Health Information Management, Respiratory Care, Hawaiian and Indigenous Health & Healing), Social Sciences (including Sustainable Community Food Systems), Natural Science, and Humanities. UHWO ranked #8 in U.S. News' 2026 Regional Colleges West list and #3 among public regional colleges in the West, with strong marks for veteran support and social mobility. International enrollment is small (around 1% of the student body), but the campus is SEVP-certified and admits F-1 students who want a quieter, Pacific-centered, lower-cost path to a U.S. bachelor's degree.
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 2026
Top Public Schools — Regional Colleges West
US News Best Colleges 2026
Best Colleges for Veterans — Regional Colleges West
US News Best Colleges 2026
Top Performers on Social Mobility — Regional Colleges West
US News Best Colleges 2026
Test Flexible — Multiple standardized test types are accepted.
Official SourceFall — Priority (First-Year)
Recommended priority deadline for domestic first-year applicants.
Fall — International
International (F-1) applicant deadline for fall.
Fall — Final
Final deadline for all fall applicants.
Spring — Priority (First-Year)
Recommended priority deadline for spring entry.
Spring — International
International (F-1) applicant deadline for spring.
Spring — Final
Final deadline for all spring applicants.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$7,584
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$20,544
/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 UHWO's signature Hawaiian-Pacific Studies degree alongside English, History, Philosophy, Mathematics, and Film/Media/Popular Culture. The division is the academic home of the campus's indigenous-knowledge mission.
Includes Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and the distinctive Sustainable Community Food Systems concentration that ties academic work to leeward Oʻahu's food security and ʻāina-based learning.
UHWO's largest enrollment area, with concentrations in Accounting, Data Analytics, Finance, Hospitality and Tourism, Management, and Marketing — calibrated to Hawaiʻi's tourism, public-sector, and small-business economy.
An applied, professional bachelor's pathway covering Justice Administration, Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management, Health Care Administration, Community Health, and Long-Term Care — distinctive in the UH system.
Prepares teachers across Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle-Level, and Secondary Education with a focus on Hawaiʻi public-school placement and culturally sustaining pedagogy.
UHWO's growth areas: Bachelor of Applied Science in fields such as Information Technology, Information Security & Assurance, Respiratory Care, Health Information Management, and Hawaiian & Indigenous Health and Healing; a standalone Cybersecurity degree in Cyber Operations; and a Creative Media program covering Animation, Design and Media, and Video Game Design and Development.
4 years
UHWO's signature interdisciplinary degree. Students study Hawaiian and Pacific Island histories, languages, politics, arts, and contemporary issues; learn to read, write, or speak Hawaiian or another Pacific language; and engage in field-based learning at loʻi, cultural sites, and community organizations across Oʻahu and the neighbor islands. Pathways into education, cultural-resource management, land and environmental management, public administration, and media.
4 years
A standalone cybersecurity degree (rare at this size of campus) preparing students for federal, defense, and Hawaiʻi-based industry roles. Concentration in Cyber Operations covers offensive/defensive operations, digital forensics, and secure systems — relevant to Hawaiʻi's significant Department of Defense footprint on Oʻahu.
4 years
One of the few public bachelor's programs in the Pacific focused specifically on game design and animation, with project-based courses in design, media, and interactive technology. Frequently cited among UHWO's most popular and distinctive concentrations.
4 years
An applied policy degree for students aiming at FEMA, county emergency management, public-health preparedness, and Pacific-region disaster response — particularly relevant given Hawaiʻi's exposure to hurricanes, tsunamis, wildfires, and volcanic events.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $20,544
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.
