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Overall, I had an amazing, wonderful experience at UHM. I did a Ph.D. in English and I also taught as a graduate assistant in the English department for about 8 years.

The faculty at the university is overall extremely generous, nurturing, and warm, but they are also incredible scholars. This is unusual in university settings. UHM is also a special place where Hawai'i and the Pacific are always visible and relevant to the discussions you have and the thinking you do. I think this makes you a better... Read More thinker!

The best part of my education came from major-specific classes. If you take the time to know your professors and classmates, you'll have amazing peers. There were many opportunities for clubs and other extra-curricular activities, no matter your interests. Please take advantage of these - some of them are also connected with available scholarships. Gen-ed classes will feel tedious, but your early grades will determine how your academic counselors assist you in creating your class schedules. It is... Read More a very welcoming college! The food choices overall were great too.

As I am writing this, I am close to finished with by 3rd year and mostly likely going to fail by PHYS 272 and my CHEM 274 classes. I'll get to why in a moment. I just need to point out that my thoughts and experience is not reflected on the entirety of the school, just the ones giving me trouble.
Why do I not enjoy the school experience, it's because despite the freedom that this school advertised, it's very restricting. I am a Biochem Major and obviously I need to take Chem classes, I understand... Read More that. What I don't understand is why there is only ONE class every semester that I have to take, which on its own wouldn't be bad except for the fact that I am required to take classes that I'd argue I shouldn't have to take for a Chemistry-based major/career path such as 2nd Lang, Arts, and PHYSICS. The course requirement is really dumb and makes no sense. I have no interest in Physics as a career, in fact I am very bad at Physics and only passed my PHYS 170 because the exams were multiple choice and there was Extra Credit. More to the point, I find myself sometimes delaying courses to next semester because my Chem Lectures can't make space for my other required courses. I don't know who thought that taking Science-unrelated classes is necessary for a Science major.
Next, a major reason as to why I rank instruction quality fairly low is because the Chemistry Professors (and TA's and Labs) are god awful. Seriously, I want to know who greenlight the hiring process on these professors because I could do a much better job at teaching (and considering most of my Chem course grades range from C+ to B- is saying something). CHEM 161 wasn't too bad and the professor taught the material well (unlike progressing professors), but the exams were inconsistent because every now and then they make a few of the questions involve random trivia that were in the presentation. Also there were 25 multiple choice questions, which meant if I got the random trivia wrong I loose a significant amount of points. Then there was CHEM 162 where the professor for some reason didn't make the presentation available on Laulima, because of some copyright/ownership. No other professors, CHEM or not, >162 or <162, has ever made their presentation unavailable. Plus, not sharing "their work" is the most dumbest reason why they didn't share their presentation. Then there was CHEM 272, which actually wasn't bad. The work was brutal but that was mostly because she talked too fast and I lost track easily. CHEM 273 takes 2nd Place for being the worst CHEM lecture as of this writing. The professor is horrible at teaching. Seriously. The exams were unfair and the study material only helped half the time. The professor honestly seemed like they didn't know what they was talking about because they kept mirroring the presentation, which consisted mostly of screenshots from the textbook. They don't make it easier to understand because they just copies what they see. Due to this, I had to teach myself most of the stuff and the only reason I passed was because of Bonus points and the grading was VERY lenient with my poor exams, again says a lot of about the kind of professor they are if they are this desperate. [IF ANYONE INVOVLING THE CHEMISTRY STAFF IS READING THIS, PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR GARBAGE CAST OF PROFESSORS]. Finally, is my current Lecture, CHEM 274. THE WORST course (until next year). Their first words were "if you understand what Quantitative and Qualitative Chemistry is, then this class won't be hard." They lied. Their lectures are boring, and honestly they are not even worth listening to either because the Homework and Exams are NOTHING like what they teach. They would release the Answer Key to the Homework and I would find that the way they did it is NOTHING like the examples in the presentation, Every One of My Homework Is At Least 50% Or Below. I can't even get help from my classmates because they often don't know what's going on. Never have I ever met a professor more INCONSISTENT with their teaching than CHEM 274.
I rate the instruction 1/5. However, the experience as a whole 3/5. Why? That's because the Chemistry department doesn't reflect other professors. I have professors from BIOL lectures able to translate the information properly and give people time to digest and their exams/homework is reflective on how well they understood the assignment. All of the professors, even the CHEM, clearly know the subject and understand it, even if they are bad at teaching it. Plus, at least CHEM does provide help, in the form of TA's review sessions and other classmates. Does the school have problems? Yes, other people in different majors will tell you their bad experiences. So unless the school, as a whole or just a department, does something to fix their faults, people at this college won't be 100% happy.

TL;DGAS - Chemistry: Progressively worse every year. But the school isn't bad as a whole. Just that one CHEM department.

Since I do not know much about the other departments at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH Manoa), this review below is specifically for the UH Manoa's CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT & especially the CHEMISTRY PHD OR MASTERS PROGRAM. I enrolled at the UH Manoa CHEMISTRY PHD PROGRAM on August 2013 & graduated on December 2020. My overall experience at that UH Manoa Chemistry PhD Program was UNSATISFACTORY. Here are my reasons: 1) Chemistry Department is UNDERFUNDED for the Undergraduate Teaching Labs. The... Read More Teaching Laboratories are RUN DOWN & several glassware & chemicals use for teaching undergraduate students a chemistry laboratory course are worn out & expired, thus, difficulty to really run a teaching lab to properly teach undergraduate students a chemistry laboratory course. In addition, TAs do NOT get their own laboratory classroom key & instead have to rely on the Chemistry Stockroom Manager or a Professor to open up the laboratory classroom. Undergraduate Students have to SHARE equipment with OTHER TA's Lab Course instead of having their own locker of chemical equipment to run a Chemistry Lab Class. I heard many Mainland US Universities are much more ORGANIZED in terms of the Undergraduate Chemistry Lab Courses than this University of Hawaii at Manoa Chemistry Department. 2) Most of the UH Manoa Chemistry Department Faculty Research Lab are also UNDERFUNDED. If you are planning to get a PhD in Chemistry or a Masters in Chemistry from this UH Manoa Chemistry Department, keep in mind that most of the faculty at this department do NOT have sufficient funds available to run a proper Research Lab. Because of the lack of funding, you may end up doing TA-ship, especially during your "All But Dissertation" or "All But Thesis" status INSTEAD of RA-ship. FYI: TA-ship is a DISTRACTION, which will resulted in PROLONGED STAY at the UH Manoa Chemistry Department 3) Average to complete a PhD in Chemistry Degree at UH Manoa Chemistry Department would be 7+ Years (compare this to other universities in the Mainland U.S.; most Mainland U.S. Chemistry PhD Programs only take 4-5 years to complete the Chemistry PhD Degree). Meanwhile, for Masters, average to complete a Masters in Chemistry Degree at UH Manoa Chemistry Department would be 4+ Years (in the Mainland U.S., average to get a Masters in Chemistry Degree at most Mainland U.S. universities are 2-3 Years). Some at UH Manoa Chemistry Department even ended up DROPPED OUT or EXPELLED... Why take so long for most Masters & PhD Students at the UH Manoa Chemistry Department to complete their degrees, Answer: See my Reason # 1 & 2 above, for they linked with this # 3. With my case, I started the program on August 2013 & completed on December 2020 (that's 7.5 years). 4) Inevitable to encounter a TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT at this UH Manoa Chemistry Department. Many UH Manoa Chemistry Masters & PhD Students struggled with Depression & other forms of mental health struggles. In addition, very COMPETITIVE environment. These 2 things are a formula for TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT, where conflict & harassment between graduate students (& even between grad students & professors) may arise. Most common Toxic Work Environment Behavioral Problems: Gossiping, Rumor Spreading, & Social Isolation of Peers. LACK OF TRUST in this department. In addition, most of the faculty of the UH Manoa Chemistry Department LACKS CARE & proper training in how to prevent an escalation of a Toxic Work Environment. Most common problem most of the UH Manoa Chemistry Department Faculty have is NEGLIGENCE to their Master & PhD Students working for them. There are others I could share, but I feel it's very sensitive to share. But the most common problems are the ones I listed in this # 4. What cause a Toxic Work Environment to form at this UH Manoa Chemistry Department? My answer: Has to do with Problems # 1-3 above. 5) The UH Manoa Chemistry Department Faculty do NOT really support their students well. With my case, I ended up seeking Career Advisement from the UH Manoa Career Center INSTEAD from my own PhD Dissertation Advisor (FYI: Technically, it is the sole responsibility for the PhD Dissertation Advisor to give Career Advice to their PhD Students & they MUST support their PhD Student's Decision. If the PhD Student decides to use his/her PhD Degree for Post-Doc, then their advisor must support that. If the student uses his/her PhD Degree for Industry after graduation, again the Advisor must support that & give good advice as well as being a good TRUSTWORTHY reference for their student). To summarize, if you are planning to enrolled at UH Manoa, especially if you are planning to do a Masters or a PhD Degree at UH Manoa, I STRONGLY SUGGEST to AVOID THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT to get your Masters or PhD Degree. Get your Masters or PhD Degree at OTHER DEPARTMENTS at UH Manoa is acceptable (though do research carefully about the faculty & the Department's Work Environment, especially research carefully if there's a guarantee that you can get your PhD degree in 4-5 years or a Masters Degree in 2-3 years). But, if you are selecting the UH Manoa Chemistry Department to pursue a Masters or PhD Degree, I'm sorry to say, that's a bad choice & it is best that you SHOULD AVOID UH MANOA CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT TO DO YOUR MASTERS OR PHD DEGREE.

I am currently a graduate student in physics, and I did my bachelor's in astrophysics at UH too. I am extremely frustrated with the physics department nearly all the time. The TA pay is horrendously low, and the faculty doesn't seem to care if you actually get your degree or not. Even the "adviosrs" cannot answer simple questions about what is required to get degrees they offer, and other professors will tell you completely false information. They just use us as cheap labor to teach the intro labs... Read More and then kick us out if we can't pass* an extremely difficulty written exam. We cosntaly ask the department to update it's policies, and get nothing in return. I would not recommend the graduate program to anyone.

I truly loved my experience at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I had the opportunity to meet with advisers, professors, and other students before attending, which helped me secure my major and interest in the school. I do have a learning disability and was helped by the Kokua Program all throughout my undergrad to get all the necessary help I need for test taking and advising. Professors were kind and helpful and always made themselves available for office hours. I took part in being a college... Read More ambassador, honors society, and other clubs which help me meet many people on campus. There was no "party" atmosphere which I appreciated, because I wanted to on my studies. I did meet a lot of other students who were interested in being successful in courses like myself. I was mostly an on-campus student, but the online courses I took were also enjoyable and the professors for online courses had office hours in person on campus. My required courses (not for my major but for the university) were the hardest courses for me. Math, Writing Intensive, etc. The only negative drawback for the University was having to do required group assignments with students who were really checked out. I had a hard time being forcibly assigned to work with students, who I did specifically choose not work with (mostly at random or drawn from a hat) because they would disappear, and become absent from the entire course, leaving myself and few other students to cover a majority of the work for them. This happened several times throughout my time at the University of Hawaii. Because Hawaii is an exquisite, relaxed place, many students not from the state itself can disregard school and ended up going missing from the course, which is not appreciated when 25% of your grade can rely on a project with them. Other then that drawback, I enjoyed the school and the professors, and many other students I met there. My major (Fashion Design and Merchandising) had so many engaging courses and professors. I recommend this college to anyone interested!

I have heard complaints of key major courses not being offered frequently enough (mostly with friends in engineering/physics). In my experience with the history program, I felt there was enough variation of courses and the professors were mostly good. There is more push to assist students to graduate within the 4-5 years because when I was attending, a lot of students were graduating after 6+ years. Food has gotten better. Some buildings are a bit old and decrepit. The campus is medium/large, spanning... Read More over 300 acres apparently, so there's a lot of skateboarding, biking, and scootering to get around (watch out).

The Art Department is AMAZING and the Instructors are talented teachers and artists. I am a better artist because of my time at UH and when you study art, you learn to view the world in a different and unique way. Due to the lack of funding the academics suffer. I had some excellent teachers and some not so excellent teachers along the way. I was able to take really amazing classes including Freaks & Monsters, Performance Art, Sci-fi Literature, and Japanese Film to name a few. It is difficult (but... Read More not impossible) to graduate in 4 years, I graduated in 5 1/1 years with my BFA. It is a beautiful open campus and I met some of my best life long friends at UH.

Studying at the University of Hawaii became the highlight of my twenties. This tropical island made going to class enjoyable! Studying at UH Manoa gave me the foundation I needed in my focused Communicology degree, but it also gave me hands-on experience and interaction with the Hawaiian Culture and their people! As a student, you learn about the Hawaiian islands and the history behind Hawaii! The professors are laid back and were easy to communicate with. I could wear comfortable clothing because... Read More of the Hawaiian weather and I was fortunate to live on campus, walking distance to my classes! The Aloha spirit made coming to class enjoyable and leaving Hawaii I knew that I could always have a place to call home and Ohana (family)!

The library is extremely dated, and the most updated facility is the Gym. Also at the library, they have a lot of older people wandering around looking at what you are doing on the computer, and it's bothersome when I am trying to study. I would study in my dorm; however, it's too freaking hot, because the only dorm with air conditioning is Frear and that fills up first. Students will make fun of you or laugh if you are smart, because they are so stupid, and they are not even the cool kids either.... Read More The stupid nerds will laugh at you for paying attention in class or studying hard in the library, and believe me I was popular in High School. The library is a public library and is small. Plus most students living on campus don't have air conditioning in their rooms, so they try to go there. Students here are the laziest students I've ever seen in my life. I transferred from Orange Coast College (community) I saw 100 times more dedication from the students. The food is terrible and gives me diarrhea every time I eat there. The professors suck they go too fast through slides. The laid back culture on this campus leads to students officially not getting anything done, and just slacking off. The staff is not catering at all to the students. The campus is broken down everywhere, and old. Everything closes early on campus, and there is barely any clubs or frats. The students on this campus act like its highs school still and immature like kids. I personally don't think they are going anywhere in life. LOL. I'm about to transfer out to maybe Univerisity of Alabama or Georgia for a better college environment. Some students act rich, but they are just here because of the WUE. LOL. This is like a crappy community college, with fake/plastic/artificial classmates, that pretend to be cool and lie to fit in. There is one Starbucks on campus, and the line wraps around outside in the morning catering to all the campus and takes 20 minutes plus to get a drink; therefore I switched to drinking monster. The campus is dead on the weekends, and all the shops/restaurants are closed. Everything around town/to get things ordered is super expensive.LOL. The frats are a joke. I'm transferring ASAP!!! Nobody here takes their education seriously. Loser people. Anyways good luck!