Skip to Main Content

General Education

General Education
Introductory Courses
General Education Program Objectives
First Year Core Curriculum Areas
General Education Core Curriculum Areas
Upper Division General Education Requirements

The General Education Program at Hawai‘i Pacific University is designed to help students lead exultant and courageous lives as intelligent members of a complex society. By introducing students to different ways of knowing, the General Education Program challenges students to become creative and innovative, both within their chosen career fields and in their wider lives. In so doing, the General Education Program prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

The purpose of the General Education Program is to provide students with a liberal arts foundation set in the rich cultural context of  Hawai‘i. Diverse courses outside the major will inspire lifelong learning by introducing students to ideas, perspectives, and experiences relevant to their lives. The General Education Program cultivates the skills, knowledge, and values expected of all educated persons through the achievement of specific student learning outcomes.

The unique features of the General Education Program are the Hawaiian context and Hawai‘i’s place as the crossroads of the Pacific. This curriculum is delivered to an internationally diverse, engaged student body and emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches, applied learning, and experiential learning, rooted in a tropical island community.

The General Education Curriculum is aligned with the following WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) core competencies: critical thinking, information literacy, oral communication, quantitative reasoning, and written communication.

Graduation requirements for all students:

  • Critical Thinking and Expression:

  • Quantitative Analysis and Symbolic Reasoning

  • Written Communication and Information Literacy I

  • Written Communication and Information Literacy II

  • Upper-division Writing Intensive course (typically tied to major)

  • Upper-division Values course (Ethical Reasoning or Civic Engagement course (typically tied to major)

Core curriculum area requirements:

  • The American Experience

  • Creative Arts

  • Global Crossroads and Diversity

  • Hawai‘i and the Pacific

  • The Natural World

  • The Sustainable World

  • Technology and Innovation

  • Traditions and Movements that Shape the World

  • University 1000, First Year Seminar

Lower-division general education requirements are waived for any student with:

  • California State GE Breadth Certification, or

  • The University of California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum Certification, or

  • An Associate of Arts Degree, or

  • A Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university