Catalog 2026–2027

Multidisciplinary Hawaiian Studies Certificate

Program Coordinator: Jason Iota Cabral, Ph.D.
Email: jasoncab@hawaii.edu
Website: https://www.olelo.hawaii.edu/

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Multidisciplinary Hawaiian Studies is designed to allow more students to demonstrate a specialization in Hawaiʻi and Native Hawaiians through courses available on campus after establishing a base in Hawaiian language and culture.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this certificate, students will be able to:

  • Identify, explain, and perform traditional practices within respective courses and College-wide activities.
  • Identify and explain Hawaiian cultural concepts within respective courses and College-wide activities.
  • Identify and explain aspects of the evolution of the Hawaiian language and its relationship to the current cultural, social, and/or political standing of Hawaiʻi.

Curriculum (26 credits):

  1. Required Courses (8)
    • HAW 101-102 Elementary Hawaiian I (4), Elem Hawaiian II (4) or any higher numbered Hawaiian Language course (8)
  2. Core Electives (3)
    • 3 semester hours taken from:
      • HWST 111 Hawaiian ʻOhana (3)
      • HWST 176 Hist & Dev Of Hawn Music (3)
      • HWST 211 Hawaiian Ethnobotany (3)
      • HWST 213 Hawaiian Ethnozoology (3)
  3. Related Electives (15)
    • 15 semester hours with no more than 6 semester hours of the same alpha
      • Courses taught through English in the Monitoring the Culture track of the Hawaiian Studies B.A.
      • Courses pertaining to Native Hawaiians or Hawaiʻi, including courses taught through Hawaiian, if previous permission is obtained from the Hawaiian Studies department chair

Notes:

  1. The Certificate in Multidisciplinary Hawaiian Studies may be pursued by Hawaiian Studies and other discipline majors and by those pursuing any other certificate or certificates at UH Hilo.
  2. Credits may be shared once or more than once between this certificate and other degrees and certificates on campus, but no more than 9 credits can be shared between the Certificate in Multidisciplinary Hawaiian Studies and any single one of the following: the Hawaiian Studies B.A., the Certificate in Hawaiian Culture, the Certificate in Hawaiian Language.