Liberal arts colleges are a great option for students seeking a well-rounded education in an intimate campus setting. The best liberal arts colleges in Hawaii offer a diverse selection of degree programs with opportunities for a highly individualized educational experience.
The majority of the universities and colleges in The Aloha State are public institutions, including Hawaiʻi’s largest school, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The nearly 15,000 students who attend this school pay tuition fees around $12,000. Students attending public colleges can choose between a wide range of on campus and online degree programs.
It’s also worth noting that you can receive in-state tuition discount rates for attending a public college in Hawaii, whether you enroll through a traditional or online degree program.
Hawaiʻi also offers several private school options, including two which have religious affiliations. While tuition at these private schools varies, from $6,000 at Brigham Young University Hawaiʻi to $26,000 at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, each serves between 2,000-3,000 students.
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Students who attend both brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Hawaii have the option to major in fields like biology, education, history, criminal justice, physics, and many others. However, students who graduate with degrees in the health care field have an extra advantage. Hawaiʻi offers a student loan forgiveness-based financial aid program for health care workers who work at designated, high-need locations within the state for at least two years.
So, even though Hawaiʻi comes in just above the national average for tuition costs, if you are considering a career in health care, this may be the place for you.
Some dream of vacationing in paradise - but why not take it a step further and live there? Students attending school in Hawaiʻi won’t have to say aloha, or goodbye, to the beautiful white sand beaches, perfect waves, and tropical drinks. Both traditional and online students can enroll in one of Hawaiʻi’s 15 higher education institutes and live their best life in these picturesque island communities.
For more information on obtaining your degree in Hawaiʻi, explore some of the top programs and schools this state has to offer.
Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
A liberal arts college is a school that puts a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. We’ve identified 5 liberal arts colleges in Hawaii. To be ranked among the 30 best liberal arts colleges in Hawaii, schools must fully accredited institutions.
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
46%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1100/21
Hawaii Pacific University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
59%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
Chaminade University of Honolulu’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
67%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1170/24
Brigham Young University–Hawaii’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
25%
Student body
2K
University of Hawaiʻi Maui College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
39%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/18
University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utiulized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.
