College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Hawaii at Manoa

HILarge public institution · Overall rank #258 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Overall, Azimuth ranks University of Hawaii at Manoa #258 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Hawaii at Manoa is a public university in Honolulu where mobility is among the highest we track. The degree mix is led by Business and Social Sciences, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, yet the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. The model adds for the factors it measures and subtracts for what it cannot explain.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. The lowest income band pays well under the published cost, while the highest pays closer to it.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are in engineering and nursing, not the social sciences.

University of Hawaii at Manoa at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
86.6%
Six-year completion[2]
64.3%
Four-year earnings[3]
$61,903

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,469
Median student debt[4]
$18,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$30,988

University of Hawaii at Manoa rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Hawaii at Manoa enrolls 15,029 undergraduates as a public university in Honolulu, Hawaii. That puts it in the top fifth of nonprofit four-year institutions (82nd percentile).

At University of Hawaii at Manoa, 86.6% of applicants are admitted, a share that exceeds the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among full-time entrants, 80.7% continue into a second year, a figure that falls short of the 83.1% peer median.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 64.3%, while the comparable median is 65.0%. An estimated 34.7% of students arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Return is the weakest of the four , while mobility stands far above access and affordability, which sit close together in the middle. That leaves a wide span between the top and bottom of the profile.

Mobility is the part of University of Hawaii at Manoa’s profile that stands out most, while return is the area that trails its other pillars. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the mobility pillar sits in the 91st percentile and affordability in the 74th percentile.

Access falls in the 72nd percentile, whereas return, the weakest pillar, is in the 41st percentile. The strong mobility reading sits alongside a more modest return result.

Pell Grants go to 26.2% of undergraduates at University of Hawaii at Manoa. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,081 and 1,293, and the middle 50% of submitted ACT scores fell between 17 and 25.

For access, Azimuth ranks University of Hawaii at Manoa #412 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort is 59.6%, below the overall six-year graduation rate (64.3%) by 4.7 percentage points.

For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #136 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,372 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

University of Hawaii at Manoa rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#258

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 91
Access & reach
National percentile: 72
Affordability
National percentile: 74
Return on investment
National percentile: 41

Top-ranked majors

  1. Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language#3
  2. Environmental Design#4
  3. Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy#7

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Hawaii at Manoa briefing

University of Hawaii at Manoa cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at University of Hawaii at Manoa is $26,433 (an average). In-state tuition and fees are $12,186, and room and board are $14,658.

Out-of-state students pay $34,218 in tuition and fees. For the average aid recipient, the average net price is $15,664, meaning aid covers about 41% of the published cost.

The is $30 above the $15,634 median at comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #362 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 74th percentile.

The published cost of attendance at University of Hawaii at Manoa is $26,433 (an average across living arrangements), and aid-recipient costs vary across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $10,675 in the lowest family-income band, $12,246 in the lower-middle family-income band, $14,469 in the middle family-income band, $18,760 in the upper-middle family-income band, and $22,562 in the highest family-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,887, while Azimuth ranks the public university #362 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 41% of the published cost, or average savings of $10,769.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $15,664. The peer median net price, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, putting the university’s average $30 above that benchmark.

Aid covers a substantial portion of the published cost, though the overall average sits above the comparable-school median. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $18,500.

The peer median debt for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, making the university’s median $1,576 below that figure; 74.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $30,988 for parent borrowers.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,469

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Hawaii at Manoa

Federal borrowing is common at University of Hawaii at Manoa, though the typical federal debt of completers sits below the comparable-school midpoint. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $18,500, and 74.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $20,076, making the university's median $1,576 below it. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $30,988.

The earnings scenarios show a wide range at University of Hawaii at Manoa: $41,906 in the downside scenario, $61,903 in the typical scenario, and $84,177 in the upside scenario, all four years after completion. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $61,903 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that figure in the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,372 more than the model expects for similar students. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $18,500, compared with $20,076 at comparable institutions of the same type and size; it is $1,576 below the peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years. Lower debt and above-expected earnings point in the same direction, though modeled earnings vary widely by scenario.

Parent borrowing is a separate part of the cost picture: parents using Parent PLUS have median borrowing of $30,988 at University of Hawaii at Manoa. The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$18,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$30,988

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$210/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$394/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of Hawaii at Manoa briefing

University of Hawaii at Manoa career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, $61,903 is the median earned four years after completion, in the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth puts University of Hawaii at Manoa's return pillar in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,372 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations means the gap between graduates' earnings and the model's expectation for similar students; it is in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,183. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,811.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610; the university is $3,707 below it. The return picture is mixed: model-beating earnings, below-peer pay.

University of Hawaii at Manoa has a middle-of-the-pack earnings result nationally, with median earnings of $61,903 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that observed earnings measure in the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 3,023 completers.

The typical modeled scenario, based on the program mix, matches the observed median. Graduates earn about $1,372 more than the model expects for similar students.

An estimated 31.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The observed median and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

University of Hawaii at Manoa records a median of $61,903 four years after completion for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled. That figure lands at the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The result is $3,707 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). For return, Azimuth places the university at #873 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,372 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome falls at the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,183. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,811.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,787. Degrees cluster in business, the social sciences and health fields, with engineering and nursing at the top of the pay scale.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from $41,906 on the downside to $84,177 on the upside. An estimated 31.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings differ sharply across fields at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Its downside and upside earnings scenarios run from $41,906 to $84,177 four years after completion; these scenarios are modeled from the program mix, not observed groups.

Several individual programs post medians above the upside: Nursing at $120,258, Computer Engineering at $100,454, and Mechanical Engineering at $92,555, each four years after completion. The scenarios describe a mix-wide range, whereas these figures describe separate program completer groups. That distinction matters when reading program-specific outcomes.

For borrowers who complete at University of Hawaii at Manoa, debt sits below the comparable-institution benchmark, though aid recipients face different average net prices across family-income bands. Median federal student loan debt is $18,500.

The peer median—the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size)—is $20,076, making the university's figure below it by $1,576. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.

Graduates earn about $1,372 more than the model expects for similar students. This is earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,664. Average net prices are $10,675 in the lowest family-income band, $12,246 in the next band, $14,469 in the middle band, $18,760 in the next-highest band, and $22,562 in the highest band.

Aid covers about 41% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Lower debt than peers and above-expected earnings point favorably, while family income shapes the cost picture.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,183
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,811
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$1,372

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / University of Hawaii at Manoa briefing

University of Hawaii at Manoa acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

University of Hawaii at Manoa admits 86.6% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
86.6%
Approximate lower endpoint
1081
Reported average
1102
Approximate upper endpoint
1293

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Hawaii at Manoa briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Hawaii at Manoa?[12]

Program outcomes vary sharply across fields at University of Hawaii at Manoa, making the choice of major especially consequential for earnings four years after completion. Mechanical Engineering recorded median earnings of $92,555 from 94 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #125 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Civil Engineering posted $87,286 across 83 degrees awarded and ranks #64 nationally by Azimuth. At a more moderate earnings level, Environmental Design had $59,090 and 43 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth rank of #4 nationally.

Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language recorded $39,768 from 31 degrees awarded and ranks #3 nationally.

The program roster pairs especially strong national placements with earnings that vary substantially by field. Azimuth lists 37 ranked bachelor’s fields among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Environmental Design ranks #4, with 43 degrees awarded and median earnings of $59,090 four years after completion. East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics ranks #9, with 89 degrees awarded and $46,563 in median earnings.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa awards bachelor's degrees across 37 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 47 with published four-year earnings data. Business is the largest program family, accounting for 19.8% of degrees awarded, ahead of Social Sciences at 8.1% and Biological Sciences at 7.8%.

The largest single programs are Psychology at 216 degrees awarded, Marketing at 139, and Biology at 131. The highest-ranked program is Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, which awards 31 degrees a year.

Azimuth ranks it #1 in Hawaii within its field. Environmental Design is another strong performer, with 43 degrees awarded and a benchmark ratio of 1.03x against the national median for its field.

The highest-earning program is Nursing, where graduates earn a median of $120,258 from 120 degrees awarded a year. Computer Engineering follows at $100,454, though it is a much smaller program with 15 degrees awarded.

Mechanical Engineering rounds out the top earners at $92,555, with 94 degrees awarded and a national rank of #125 within its field. Strength is spread across several fields rather than concentrated in one.

The largest programs in business and social sciences sit alongside highly ranked offerings in Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Environmental Design, and civil engineering. 20.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and the engineering programs that appear among the top earners also hold strong national ranks.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 216 degrees awarded
$48,005
Marketing 139 degrees awarded
$58,999
Biology, General 131 degrees awarded
$45,307
Communication and Media Studies 126 degrees awarded
$45,072
Finance and Financial Management Services 124 degrees awarded
$64,224
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 121 degrees awarded
$53,332

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / University of Hawaii at Manoa briefing

How does University of Hawaii at Manoa serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest measured pillar at University of Hawaii at Manoa, where the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 64.3%. Pell recipients complete within six years at 59.6%, below the overall rate by 4.7 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, place the university in the 59th percentile.

Graduates earn about $1,372 more than the model expects for similar students. Above-expected modeled earnings and the mobility standing point in the same direction.

At University of Hawaii at Manoa, admission and transfer routes shape access to an undergraduate population of 15,029. The university admits 86.6% of applicants, and an estimated 34.7% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Pell Grants go to 26.2% of undergraduates, a financial-access measure. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The admission rate, transfer estimate, and Pell participation describe several paths into the university.

06 / University of Hawaii at Manoa briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Hawaii at Manoa?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Admissions peerHawaii Pacific University85.9% admitted
Comparison with University of Hawaii at Manoa
MeasureUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaHawaii Pacific University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,903$58,128-$3,775 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa
Average annual net price$15,664$29,657+$13,993 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa · higher cost
Admission rate86.6%85.9%
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Wyoming96.9% admitted
Comparison with University of Hawaii at Manoa
MeasureUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaUniversity of Wyoming
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,903$61,749-$154 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa
Average annual net price$15,664$13,599-$2,065 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa · lower cost
Admission rate86.6%96.9%
Explore University of Wyoming →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Hawaii-West OahuNearby option · HI
Comparison with University of Hawaii at Manoa
MeasureUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaUniversity of Hawaii-West Oahu
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,903$53,969-$7,934 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa
Average annual net price$15,664$10,327-$5,337 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa · lower cost
Admission rate86.6%95.3%
Higher-earnings alternativeSan Jose State University$89,614 earnings
Comparison with University of Hawaii at Manoa
MeasureUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaSan Jose State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,903$89,614+$27,711 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa
Average annual net price$15,664$13,760-$1,904 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa · lower cost
Admission rate86.6%84.6%
Explore San Jose State University →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Hawaii-West Oahu$10,327 average net price
Comparison with University of Hawaii at Manoa
MeasureUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaUniversity of Hawaii-West Oahu
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,903$53,969-$7,934 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa
Average annual net price$15,664$10,327-$5,337 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa · lower cost
Admission rate86.6%95.3%
Similar profileMetropolitan State University of DenverMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Hawaii at Manoa
MeasureUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaMetropolitan State University of Denver
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,903$60,186-$1,717 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa
Average annual net price$15,664$15,327-$337 vs University of Hawaii at Manoa · lower cost
Admission rate86.6%98.8%
Explore Metropolitan State University of Denver →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings