Students attending Honolulu colleges may enjoy the city's laid-back vibe, tropical temperatures, beautiful natural scenery, surfing and swimming. Residents of the city -- and students attending colleges in Honolulu — represent a diverse blend of cultures and ethnicities. The main industry in Honolulu is tourism, which can provide students at colleges and universities in Honolulu with seasonal and part-time work.
College-bound students may benefit from the State of Hawaii's several programs for earning college credit while still attending high school.
Hawaii Medical College offers diploma and associate degree programs for students seeking careers as medical/clinical assistants and technologists, and medical billing and coding specialists.
Honolulu Community College and Kapiolani Community College were founded when Hawaii was still a U.S. territory, not a state. Today these schools offer a variety of programs in liberal arts, health sciences, computer science, business, construction and mechanics, culinary arts and more.
Aspiring cosmetologists in Honolulu can consider programs offered by the Hawaii Institute of Hair Design or the Paul Mitchell School.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa is the flagship campus of the 10-campus University of Hawaii System. Its departments of oceanography, astronomy, earth science, marine biology, business, and library and information science are ranked among best in the U.S. The school offers more than 200 degree programs and has a NCAA Division I athletics program.
Hawaii Pacific University, in downtown Honolulu, is currently consolidating its campus to create a more student-centric, integrated urban facility. It has a planned completion date of 2020. Its most popular four-year degree programs are in business administration and registered nursing.
Chaminade University of Honolulu, and Pacific Rim Christian University are both faith-based schools. Chaminade offers undergraduate programs in business, natural sciences, communications and nursing, while Pacific Rim focuses on theology and ministry degree programs.
Both Hawaii Pacific University and Chaminade University offer numerous graduate programs — including online ones — the most popular being social services/public administration, education, business administration and nursing.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa is a top public research university. Its most popular graduate programs are architecture, engineering, education, biology/biomedical sciences, business administration, health, social work and law.
Another one of the universities in Honolulu is the Institute of Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. It offers a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (M.S.O.M.)
If you'd like to see more college options in Hawaii, explore our list of Hawaii colleges.
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