Special Academic Programs
Honors Program
The University Honors Program is designed to enrich talented, motivated students through its small and highly interactive classes. Any interested students may enroll in an Honors course, but the faculty also screen for those who will have the most opportunity for success. Academically strong high school seniors (at least a 3.6 GPA, 26 or higher ACT score) admitted to BYU-Hawaii as well as continuing students with a GPA of at least 3.5 are invited to participate in the Honors Program.
Students who wish to graduate with University Honors distinction must meet the following requirements:
- A 3.5 cumulative GPA (3.0 in all Honors classes)
- Seven Honors sections of General Education or elective classes
- At least four semesters of Honors colloquia
- Completion of an Honors service project
- Completion of an Honors senior academic project
For more details, please visit the Honors website, or contact Randal Allred, Coordinator of the University Honors Program, 293-3633.
Cooperative Education
Cooperative Education helps students to apply educational concepts learned in the classroom through supervised work experiences related to their majors. Cooperative Education includes all formal paid and non-paid work experiences for which credit is granted. It can include internships, practicums, and field experiences. All courses in this program carry the course number 399R and are offered throughout various divisions. Formal work experiences include part-time work while attending school full-time, or periods of full-time work alternating with full-time school.
The Cooperative Education program is based upon the following guidelines:
- Must be a junior or senior (except in some two-year programs)
- Must work in a position related to his/her major
- Must be approved by the faculty advisor and dean/associate dean
- Cannot be on academic or other probation
The Career Planning and Placement Office assists departments in locating work positions and processing contracts between the university and employees. Each division or school develops its own program to fit its own set of needs.
English as an International Language
The English as an International Language (EIL) program provides non-native speakers of English with the English instruction they will need to meet the linguistic demands of university life. EIL courses also focus on the international English proficiencies these same students may need in their careers following graduation.
New non-native English speaking students are placed in English classes based on the results of proficiency exams that are administered upon arrival at the university. Students must enroll in the EIL classes that have been determined by these exams.
EIL Foundations courses (100 level) are intended for students who have had limited access to advanced English instruction in their countries and require an extra semester of language classes before entering the 200 level EIL courses. No University credit is given for Foundations courses, but full credit is offered for 200 and 300 level course work.
Enrollment in other university classes concurrent with EIL courses is possible under the guidance of the EIL Academic Advisor.
The Pacific Institute
BYU-Hawaii maintains the Pacific Institute, funded in part by the Polynesian Cultural Center. The Pacific Institute and its Board of Fellows is a community of scholars and cultural experts from the BYU-Hawaii campus and the PCC, organized to assist both institutions to accomplish their educational, cultural, and spiritual missions. The Institute oversees publication of the quarterly journal, Pacific Studies, conducts at least two major research programs annually, and helps ensure the authenticity of all cultural presentations at the PCC. Encouraging research and publications that document the history, cultures, arts, and crafts of Polynesia and other Pacific Island cultures, the Institute establishes connections and alliances with other research institutions in Hawaii and the Pacific.
Polynesian Cultural Center
BYU-Hawaii has developed and is building upon a special relationship with its cultural-educational neighbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center. Students work at the Center, learning valuable skills while helping to finance their college education. Selected academic courses use the Center as an educational laboratory, and faculty members provide various services for the Center. The Center, in turn, provides cultural opportunities and helps the university, directly and indirectly, to underwrite its educational costs.