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UH Manoa

The student guide to Honolulu, Hawaii: where to eat, live and get help, what a year really costs, and the free stuff most students miss.

UH Manoa at a glance

15,029
undergrads
87%
of applicants admitted
81%
come back for year 2
65%
graduate
15 : 1
students per teacher
$62,422
typical pay 10 years in

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard.

What a year really costs

After grants and scholarships, by family income. Average: $11,122.

Under $30k $7,926
$30k–$48k $6,845
$48k–$75k $9,483
$75k–$110k $12,579
Over $110k $18,901
Tuition, in state
$12,402
Tuition, out of state
$34,434
Typical debt at graduation
$18,750
31% of students get a Pell Grant

Free stuff most students miss

Academics & admin

Writing Center

Free one-on-one writing consultations for any UH student at any stage: brainstorming, drafts, research papers, resumes, letters and creative work.

Getting around

TheBus U-PASS

Eligible UH Mānoa students who pay the U-PASS transportation fee ride TheBus and Skyline free: the pass is already on your Holo-enabled UH ID card…

Health & safety

Safety Escort Service

Free walking escort or ride to any UH Mānoa facility from dusk to dawn, run by Public Safety.

Housing

Food Vault Hawaiʻi

Free campus food pantry for UH Mānoa students in Hemenway Hall 111.

Eat

Dining halls, quick bites and coffee on campus.

11 places
Gateway Cafe
Gateway Cafe
Dining hall

All-you-care-to-eat residential dining hall in Gateway House with globally inspired comfort foods

2563 Dole St
Hale Aloha Cafe
Hale Aloha Cafe
Dining hall

Residential all-you-care-to-eat cafeteria at Hale Aloha Towers with comfort foods and global flavors

2573 Dole St
Paradise Palms Cafe
Paradise Palms Cafe
Cafe

Campus food court with multiple vendors including Hawaiian barbecue and Dunkin

2560 McCarthy Mall
Campus Center Food Court
Campus Center Food Court
Cafe

Central food court with plate lunches, bentos, grab-and-go, and Grubhub mobile ordering

2465 Campus Rd
The Bean Counter
The Bean Counter
Cafe

Campus coffee bar in Shidler College serving Hawaiian-sourced coffee, espresso, bagels, and wraps

2404 Maile Way
Kooks Coffee
Kooks Coffee
Cafe

Surf-culture coffee truck at Food Truck Row with Hawaiian coffee and homemade local syrups

Food truck row on the Legacy Path (Diamond Head side), UH Mānoa

Where to live

Residence halls, apartments and help finding a place.

12 places
Hale Aloha Towers
Hale Aloha Towers
Residence hall

Four 13-story first-year towers (Lehua, ʻIlima, Mokihana and Lokelani), about 260 residents each, named for the flowers of four Hawaiian islands.

2571 Dole St
Hale Kahawai
Hale Kahawai
Residence hall

Four-story first-year hall at the mouth of Mānoa Valley on East-West Road, about 156 residents.

1825 East-West Rd
Hale Laulima
Hale Laulima
Residence hall

Four-story first-year hall next to Hale Kahawai, about 160 residents, and the only hall here with single rooms for first-years (about 143 sq ft)…

1837 East-West Rd
Student Housing Services
Student Housing Services
Housing office

The on-campus housing office in Frear Hall: applications, room assignments, contracts, appeals and meal plan payments.

Frear Hall, 2569 Dole St
Frear Hall
Frear Hall
Residence hall

LEED Silver 12-floor residence hall housing 810 students in suite configurations

2569 Dole St
Gateway House
Gateway House
Residence hall

10-story suite-style residence hall with city and valley views and ground-floor cafeteria

2563 Dole St

Get around

Shuttles, parking and accessible rides.

9 ways

Majors that pay most at UH Manoa

Typical pay 4 years after graduating. Top 6 of 47 bachelor's majors with published pay.

Nursing $120,258
Computer Engineering $100,454
Mechanical Engineering $92,555
Electrical Engineering $88,869
Civil Engineering $87,286
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions $79,863

Source: College Scorecard, field-of-study data.

Your UH Manoa checklist

5 things worth doing early

When you need help

5 things UH Manoa freshmen figure out too late

Watch the video
  1. 1 Every degree needs a Hawaiian focus class

    The Focus requirements include "Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Issues (H or HAP): 1 course, any level". The catalog explains: "These courses focus on aspects of Native Hawaiian history and issues as they compare and intersect with Asian and/or Pacific Island cultures and histories; they promote cross-cultural understanding between nations and cultures."

  2. 2 Check the Focus tag the term you take it

    "To meet a Focus requirement, a course must have an official UH Mānoa Focus designation during the semester in which it is taken." And: "Focus courses change each semester. Therefore, Focus designations are not shown in this Catalog, but appear each semester in STAR." That includes "Writing Intensive (W or WI): 5 courses, including at least two at the 300- or 400-level".

  3. 3 No big exams in the last two weeks

    "No examinations (other than laboratory tests and short quizzes) are allowed during the two calendar weeks before the last day of instruction." Take-home finals have their own rule: "Take-home final exams may be distributed at any time but may not be required to be turned in before the scheduled final exam period for the course."

  4. 4 No show in week one? Next term goes too

    "According to Executive Policy 7.209, students who fail to establish attendance by the late registration period will be administratively dropped from their class." And: "Students may also be dropped from other classes that are dependent on the class where they failed to establish attendance (i.e. co-requisite or future class where the dropped class meets the prerequisite requirement)."

  5. 5 Record the lecture — Gus makes the notes, flashcards and quiz

    Gus is an AI college companion built around your actual classes. Record a lecture and it writes the notes, pulls out the key topics, builds a flashcard deck, and makes a practice quiz from what was actually said. The flashcards come back on a spaced-review schedule, so the thing you missed shows up again right before you would have forgotten it. It is free to try.

One more thing

A leave of absence ends if you enroll anywhere else

"While on leave, students may not be enrolled in another institution at any time; enrollment in another institution automatically invalidates the leave."

UH Manoa Catalog — Registration and Enrollment

A new major can bring a language requirement

"Students should also be aware that changing their major may involve a change in their college/school and thus a change in their HSL requirement." The requirement itself: "Before graduation, students must show competence at the 202 (or equivalent) level in Hawaiian or a second language".

UH Manoa Catalog — General Education Requirements

Gus is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by UH Manoa (the University of Hawaii at Manoa). Tips checked against UH Manoa's own pages in October 2026. Campus info last updated October 2026. Stats from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Something out of date? hello@meetgus.app · All campus guides