University of Hawaii at Manoa Psychology: Cost, Outcomes & Admissions

University of Hawaii at Manoa's psychology graduate training centers on a PhD in Psychology, with the master's awarded en route rather than as a standalone terminal credential. In 2025-2026, graduate tuition is $650 per credit for Hawaii residents and $1,402 per credit for nonresidents.

That cost structure makes residency and assistantship funding decisive for most applicants. Admissions are competitive and built around research fit, not just test scores.

Because the MA does not independently lead to licensure, applicants should weigh psychologist licensing requirements, the full doctoral timeline, and the funding package before applying. That dynamic filters out many master's-only applicants.

University of Hawaii at Manoa Psychology Program Overview

UH Mānoa’s psychology graduate training is built around the PhD, not a standalone terminal master’s. Students considering a psychology master's in Hawaii as a final credential should understand that the department admits for doctoral intent and awards the MA en route.

Primary Graduate Psychology Offerings

The Department of Psychology lists bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, plus a Certificate in Clinical Psychology (Respecialization) for professionals who already hold a doctorate in another area. The core graduate path is the PhD in Psychology, which is campus-based. The MA in psychology is not a separate admission track; it is earned after completing master’s-level coursework within the doctoral program. Older catalog language still mentions an MA in psychology, but it repeats the same rule: only PhD-interested students are admitted, bachelor’s degree holders complete the master’s work, and then petition into the doctoral program.

• Psychology PhD: campus-based, no terminal MA option.
• MEd in Educational Psychology: campus-based, 30 credits, evening classes, no thesis requirement.
• MEd in School Counseling: hybrid, synchronous sessions typically 4:30 to 7:00 pm HST.²
• Doctorate in Educational Psychology: campus-based, one to two online or hybrid courses per semester, late afternoon.¹

Educational Psychology and School Counseling Options

For students focused on school and applied educational settings, the College of Education offers an educational psychology degree , the Master of Education in Educational Psychology with a General Educational Psychology concentration. This campus-based program is typically 30 credits over two years, includes evening classes, and lists a cost near $650 per credit. No thesis or capstone is required. The Doctorate in Educational Psychology is also campus-based but may include one to two online or hybrid courses per semester, usually in the late afternoon. The MEd in School Counseling is hybrid, with online courses and synchronous sessions typically from 4:30 to 7:00 pm HST, which can accommodate working professionals.

Applied Behavior Analysis and Delivery-Mode Caution

A dedicated graduate ABA program is not listed within the Department of Psychology at this time. Students seeking behavior analysis training should confirm any ABA concentration directly with UH Mānoa, because it may sit within education or special education rather than the psychology department. For working professionals, the core psychology PhD itself offers limited scheduling flexibility, but evening and hybrid options are more common in adjacent education and school counseling programs. The department’s hybrid and online options at the bachelor’s level do not extend to the psychology PhD. The combined BA Psychology / MEd Educational Psychology³ and the Program Evaluation certificate⁴ follow a similar late-afternoon, one-to-two online or hybrid course pattern.

Tuition and Cost of Attendance for UH Manoa Psychology Graduate Students

UH Mānoa charges graduate students in its psychology degree programs $650 per credit for Hawaii residents and $1,402 per credit for nonresidents in the 2025-2026 academic year. Here is what that looks like across the main cost categories.

Tuition by Residency

• Hawaii resident: $650 per credit; full-time semester (12+ credits) is $7,800.
• Nonresident: $1,402 per credit; full-time semester is $16,824.
• Nonresident premium: $752 more per credit, or $9,024 more per full-time semester.

These are general graduate tuition rates. Psychology master's students are not charged the higher per-credit rates used by designated programs such as nursing or architecture. The same rates were listed for 2024-2025, so the current figures reflect a stable baseline rather than a one-year jump.

Fees and Estimated MA Costs

Mandatory campus fees add $451 to $951 per semester, depending on the student's fee package. No psychology-specific departmental fee appears in the current published schedules, but students should still confirm health insurance and any international student charges separately.

The Psychology MA requires 30 credits, so a precise total can be estimated from the published per-credit rate, but the department does not publish a single all-in cost figure. For planning purposes, a full-time student attending two semesters would pay roughly $15,600 in tuition as a resident and $33,648 as a nonresident. Adding the mandatory fee range would bring the two-semester total to about $16,500 to $17,500 for residents and $34,550 to $35,550 for nonresidents. That translates to an $18,048 tuition difference over two semesters before fees.

Housing and Living Costs in Mānoa

On-campus housing is one of the largest variable costs. Traditional halls Hale Aloha Towers and Johnson Hall were listed at $6,921 for 2025-26 and $7,477 for 2026-27. Graduate-focused Hale Wainani housing was $12,948 per person in 2025-26 and $13,854 in 2026-27. Single occupancy at Hale Laulima was $10,085 in 2025-26, and one-bedroom family units at Hale Wainani were $19,051 that year. Housing rates rose about 6% for 2025-26 and 7% for 2026-27, so future budgets should assume continued increases.

Students who live off campus in Honolulu should expect costs above the on-campus hall rates, especially for private rentals near Mānoa. The university has not published detailed off-campus living-expense line items in the available cost-of-attendance snapshots for 2025-26 or 2026-27, so treat these on-campus figures as benchmarks rather than a complete cost of living.

Admissions and Application Requirements for UH Manoa Psychology Programs

University of Hawaii at Manoa psychology graduate school admissions involve two connected steps. First, submit the UH Manoa Graduate Division online application. Then complete the Department of Psychology supplemental application, which asks for short essays, a resume or CV, and course information for prerequisite review. The department also requests three academic letters of recommendation separately. International applicants should plan to provide TOEFL or IELTS scores through the Graduate Division.

Deadlines follow a December 1 pattern for fall admission. For Fall 2027, UH Manoa had not published a separate deadline at the time of writing. Based on recent cycles, including the December 1, 2025 cutoff for Fall 2026¹, applicants should expect a December 1, 2026 deadline for Fall 2027 and should confirm it on the department's application page. Plan time for the supplemental essays and for recommenders to submit letters before the cutoff.

Competitive Profile and Prerequisites

UH Manoa does not publish a formal acceptance rate or average cohort size for its psychology graduate tracks. That makes program-level competitiveness harder to quantify from public data. The department does describe the typical successful applicant, and those benchmarks are high: a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above and one to two years of research experience. The formal minimum is lower: a bachelor's degree, a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, and 24 credit hours of undergraduate psychology coursework with specified course coverage. A 3.0 GPA is also the continuation standard for enrolled graduate students.

GRE Policy

Current department guidance states that GRE General scores are not required. For the clinical psychology PhD program, the GRE Psychology Subject test is optional. The community, cultural, and developmental track and the cognition, neuroscience, and social track do not require a GRE Subject test. Some older pages and catalog language still reference GRE requirements, so treat those as outdated and follow the current application instructions.

Required Materials

• Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts are typically accepted with the Graduate Division application; official copies are required later if admitted.
• Letters of recommendation: Three letters are required, and the department expects them to be academic recommendations.
• Personal statement and short essays: The departmental supplemental form includes brief essays that ask about research interests, fit, and career goals.
• Resume or CV: Include research experience, presentations, publications, and relevant clinical or volunteer work.
• English proficiency: International applicants submit TOEFL or IELTS scores. Commonly cited minimums are TOEFL 600 paper or 100 internet, and IELTS 7, but confirm the current departmental threshold before applying.

Treat the supplemental essays as a primary chance to show research fit and a clear direction for doctoral study. Applicants should log into the departmental application portal after completing the Graduate Division application to track missing items and verify that recommendation letters have arrived. Early submission is wise because the department reviews files only after all materials are complete.

Competition for UH Manoa's clinical psychology PhD is intense. Apply early with a clear research fit to stand out, since small cohorts and holistic review mean deadlines matter.

counselingpsychology.org admissions analysis

Funding, Assistantships, and Financial Aid for Psychology Graduate Students

Most UH Manoa psychology graduate students fund their degrees through graduate assistantships rather than paying full tuition out of pocket or relying primarily on federal graduate student loans. A half-time assistantship, typically 20 hours per week, anchors the funding package and carries specific benefits that reduce the real cost of graduate study.

Assistantships and Tuition Waivers

The main routes are teaching assistantships and research assistantships, both structured as 0.50 FTE graduate assistant appointments. At that appointment level, UH Manoa provides a 100 percent exemption on regular tuition, but students still pay student fees in full. To keep the exemption, assistants must be employed at UH Manoa for at least 12 weeks of the semester. If a student resigns or is terminated before that point, the tuition charge for the term can revert to the student. Enrollment must remain full time in degree-related credits, with some units specifying 6 to 9 credits, and graduate assistants must maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Stipend Ranges and Minimums

Campus minimum stipends are not the ceiling. For 2025-2026, the nine-month minimum is $24,912 and the 11-month minimum is $28,026. The nine-month minimum rises to $28,026 for 2026-2027, while the new 11-month figure is not fully published. Psychology labs can pay above the minimum. One UH Manoa psychology research lab lists nine-month stipends from $24,000 to $27,000 and 11-month stipends from $28,000 to $31,500, with tuition fully covered and health insurance provided. Actual pay varies by lab, funding source, and research grant.

Health Insurance and Other Benefits

Half-time assistants with at least three months of service are generally eligible for employee health plans. Lower FTE appointments or shorter service periods are not guaranteed coverage, so students should confirm eligibility with the hiring unit. The psychology lab noted above includes health insurance as part of its package, but plan options, premiums, and enrollment details are not published centrally.

Fellowships, Scholarships, and MA vs PhD Funding

Doctoral students are more likely than standalone master's students to hold assistantships that carry tuition waivers and health insurance, but UH Manoa's psychology department does not publish a formal funding guarantee for either group. The master's is typically embedded in the PhD sequence, so applicants should ask the department directly about assistantship availability rather than assuming funding parity. Competitive university fellowships can supplement assistantships, including a $30,000 graduate fellowship with a $15,000 tuition and health insurance allocation and a $25,000 dissertation fellowship. External awards such as the SMART Scholarship can provide $25,000 to $41,000, a $1,200 health insurance reimbursement, and a $1,000 book allowance, while counseling scholarships for graduate students offer another route to offset costs. Department-level aid includes the Kuaʻana UH Tuition Waiver for Native Hawaiian students, which is need-based and requires a 3.0 GPA.

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Career Outcomes and Return on Investment for Psychology Graduates

UH Mānoa College of Social Sciences alumni report a 4.2% unemployment rate and a median annual wage of $69,798, but those figures cover all social science graduates, not psychology majors specifically. Psychology-level placement and employment-rate data at UH Mānoa are not consistently published for the embedded MA versus the PhD. Instead of treating this section as a data report, use it as a step-by-step research plan for finding the outcomes that matter to your planned role.

Start with UH Mānoa's internal data and staff

Begin with the Psychology Department website. Review the graduate program pages, alumni pages, and any outcomes or first-destination posts. Then contact the department's graduate coordinator or program director directly. Ask these specific questions: - Does the program separate first-destination outcomes for students who complete the embedded MA versus those who finish the PhD? - Where do recent MA-level and PhD-level graduates place in education, ABA therapy, clinical settings, and industry? - Are there psychology-specific first-destination surveys, postgraduate reports, or alumni outcome summaries available, or are the only figures college-wide?

If the department cannot provide psychology-specific data, request the same information from the Mānoa Career Center and the UH Mānoa Office of Institutional Research. These offices sometimes keep first-destination or postgraduate reports by program or degree level, even when those reports are not posted publicly. If no MA-exit placement data exists, that gap is itself useful information: it often reflects the program's non-terminal MA structure, where the MA is an internal milestone on the way to the PhD.

Add national and state labor market context from BLS

BLS.gov is the best public source for occupational outlook data. Use the Occupational Outlook Handbook entries for psychologists, mental health counselors, and behavior analysts or ABA therapists. These pages show employment projections, median pay, and typical education requirements for each occupation. They do not provide UH-specific alumni placement rates. Use BLS to check whether the roles you want in Hawaii or elsewhere typically require a master's, a doctorate, or state licensure requirements.

Map the credential path for your target role

Professional associations and credentialing bodies can clarify the career paths available with MA-level or PhD-level training. Check APA's apa.org career resources for doctorate in counseling psychology pathways. For ABA, review abainternational.org and bacb.com for BACB certification sequences, exam eligibility, and behavior-analyst job boards. State licensing boards explain current rules for mental health counseling, psychology licensure, and behavior analysis in your intended state.

Run this checklist when comparing MA-level and PhD-level options: - Education: Does the position require a doctorate, or does a master's plus a state credential suffice? - ABA therapy: Does the program offer BACB-aligned coursework, supervision, or a verified course sequence? - Clinical settings: Does the program satisfy licensure prerequisites for supervised practice and exams in your state? - Industry: Are there applied research, data, or behavioral science roles that accept an MA, or do employers expect a doctorate?

Earnings Comparison: UH Manoa Psychology Programs

College Scorecard does not currently report median earnings separately for the three psychology-related programs at UH Manoa, so a direct grouped bar chart cannot be built from verified public data. The closest published outcome benchmark is the median federal student loan debt for UH Manoa graduates.

How UH Mānoa's MA Compares to Terminal Master's Programs

Is the master's degree in psychology at UH Mānoa a standalone credential, or is it mainly a milestone on the way to a PhD? The answer matters more than the title suggests. UH Mānoa's psychology MA is a non-terminal degree. The department states that it "does not offer terminal master's degrees." The 30-credit MA, including a master's thesis, is built into the PhD sequence, and students are expected to continue to the PhD "pending satisfactory performance." For anyone evaluating the MA as a final credential, that distinction changes the calculation.

What the Non-Terminal MA Means for Hawaii Licensure

Hawaii's psychologist license requires a doctoral degree, one year of postdoctoral supervised health-service experience, an exam, and an APA-approved internship or one year of supervised internship or residency.¹ The UH Mānoa MA alone does not meet that threshold. A mental health counselor license is a separate route open to master's or doctoral graduates, with its own practicum and supervised experience expectations. Hawaii's mental health counselor license, for example, requires 300 client-contact practicum hours and 3,000 post-graduate supervised hours, among other conditions.² UH Mānoa does not present its psychology MA as automatically satisfying those clinical training hours. If your goal is independent practice as a licensed psychologist in Hawaii, treat this MA as preparation for psychology PhD programs, not as a practice credential.

Transferability Beyond UH Mānoa

Because the MA is embedded in a PhD-oriented program, its courses and thesis may function as internal progression rather than a stand-alone transferable package. That does not mean credits cannot transfer, but there is no general rule that they will cleanly count toward another psychology master's program. Prospective transfer students should confirm course-by-course acceptance with the receiving program. If you leave before completing the PhD, the value of the earned MA as a marketable terminal master's is not clearly established. The strongest use of this MA is as a doctoral stepping stone.

How Standalone Master's Programs Differ

A typical terminal master's in psychology is designed for direct workforce entry or a specific license pathway, often with a clinical or applied focus. UH Mānoa's MA is not that. The tradeoff is depth inside a research-oriented PhD pipeline versus job-ready, terminal training. Standalone programs may offer more immediate career utility, while UH Mānoa's MA serves doctoral-bound students best. For immediate employment in mental health, a master's in counseling hawaii is usually a more direct route, but the exact advantage depends on the program's clinical hours and licensure alignment. We do not have verified 2026 cost, duration, or employment outcome figures for a direct side-by-side comparison, so treat broad claims with caution.

Accreditation and Program Quality at UH Mānoa

For psychology students, the real decision often sits between institutional reputation and program-specific credentials, and at UH Mānoa both layers matter. Understanding accreditation tells you whether a degree will meet licensure and employment expectations.

Regional Accreditation: The Foundation

UH Mānoa is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). The university has held that status since 1955, and a 2022 reaffirmation granted the maximum 10-year cycle, meaning institutional accreditation runs through roughly 2032. This foundation matters for federal aid eligibility, credit transfer, and recognition by employers and state boards.

Clinical Psychology: APA Accreditation Is the Key

The Clinical Psychology PhD, also known as Psychological Clinical Science, has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1972; prospective students can confirm that status in the APA accredited program database. In 2025, APA reaccredited the program through 2035, another maximum term. That is the credential Hawaii requires: state licensure as a psychologist requires an APA-accredited doctoral program. APA accreditation also qualifies graduates for VA and federal health systems. Note that APA accreditation applies to doctoral clinical and counseling programs, not to undergraduate majors, terminal master's programs, or non-clinical doctorates. The clinical respecialization certificate is described as APA-approved, but that approval attaches to the doctoral program.

Behavior Analysis and Educational Psychology: Verify the Pathway

The M.Ed. in Behavior Analysis is institutionally accredited through WSCUC and has a Verified Course Sequence aligned with BCBA requirements. Independent ABAI programmatic accreditation is not established in public 2024 to 2026 documents, so students should check the VCS Directory, compare applied behavior analysis masters programs, or confirm directly with the program. Educational Psychology is also WSCUC accredited but does not have a separate specialized accreditation identified in available materials, so students evaluating masters in educational psychology should confirm program-level details before enrolling. For any pathway that leads to licensure or board certification, confirm the specific accreditation before enrolling.

Frequently Asked Questions About UH Mānoa Psychology Programs

These answers cover the most common questions about UH Mānoa's psychology graduate programs. They are based on public program and university materials available as of September 2026.

Is the Psychology MA at UH Mānoa fully non-terminal, and what does that practically mean for applicants who only want a master's degree?

The Psychology MA is embedded in the PhD and is not presented as a standalone terminal degree. Applicants who only want a master's degree should not assume a finish-with-MA option. Public materials describe the MA as part of the PhD structure, so choosing this program generally means entering a doctoral track rather than a separate master's-only path.

What is the total estimated cost of completing the embedded MA portion of the psychology PhD at UH Mānoa?

A total estimated cost for the embedded MA portion is not published. UH Mānoa provides general graduate cost of attendance, but the psychology PhD credit requirements, MA duration, and program-specific tuition total are not specified in available public materials. Prospective students should work through Questions to Ask Before Enrolling in a Counseling Program and request a current cost estimate from the department or Graduate Division.

Are there funding packages, assistantships, or tuition waivers commonly offered to psychology graduate students?

UH Mānoa offers graduate assistantships, achievement scholarships, intramural fellowships, and external funding opportunities; applicants can also review counseling graduate school funding to understand how assistantships and waivers fit together. A 0.50 FTE assistantship generally carries 100% tuition exemption, and a 0.25 FTE assistantship generally carries 50% tuition exemption, but student fees remain payable. Waivers require a form each semester and are not automatic.

What are the career outcomes for graduates who stop after the MA versus those who continue to the PhD?

Psychology-specific outcome data for master's-level completers is not available in public sources. The department distinguishes between terminal master's students and the embedded psychology MA, but it does not publish career results for students who stop after the MA versus those who continue to the PhD. No comparative earnings or employment figures are provided.

Are online, hybrid, or evening-course options available for working professionals seeking graduate-level psychology training?

The available program and university materials do not specify online, hybrid, or evening-course options for the psychology PhD or its embedded MA. Working professionals should contact the Department of Psychology directly to confirm current delivery formats, scheduling, and whether any flexible arrangements are possible.