Chaminade University
3140 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
808-735-4735
800-735-3733
Fax: 808-739-4647
COSTS:
Tuition:
$18,330
Room and Board:
$6,500
Fees, books, misc.:
$900
Honolulu, Hawaii
Overview
Chaminade University of Honolulu, a private, coeducational institution, was established in 1955 by the Society of Mary (Marianists). Named after Father William Joseph Chaminade, a French Catholic priest who ministered to his people during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and who founded the Society in 1817, the University today continues the Marianist mission of educating leaders through faith and reason. To achieve this mission, Chaminade forms a community encompassing people from diverse cultural origins, both traditional and nontraditional, who hold a variety of religious beliefs. The University encourages learning through cooperation, self-discipline, caring, and mutual respect while offering individualized attention that promotes personal and intellectual growth. A major goal of the University is to educate and train students for leadership both within Chaminade and in communities beyond the campus. The University advocates a personal concern for social justice, ethics, responsibility, and service to the community and exerts institutional leadership by promoting Chaminade's ideals outside the University community.
At any one time, 2,600 to 2,800 students are enrolled in a range of daytime and evening classes. Of this number, approximately 1,100 are full-time undergraduates, 1,200 are part-time undergraduates enrolled in the evening program, and 500 are graduate students. Nearly 60 percent of the full-time undergraduates are from Hawaii, 24 percent are from the mainland, 13 percent are from U.S. trust territories, and 3 percent are from other countries. Thirty-four states and thirty-one countries are represented in the student body.
Chaminade University of Honolulu is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The University also has two sister universities on the mainland: the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, and St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.
Chaminade offers graduate degrees in business administration (M.B.A.), counseling psychology (M.S.C.P.), criminal justice administration (M.S.C.J.A.), education (M.Ed.), pastoral leadership (M.A.P.L.), and public administration (M.P.A.).
Location and Community
Honolulu, a multicultural community, is enriched by a great diversity of ethnic activities and traditions. Chaminade is located on a hillside with a spectacular view sweeping across Waikiki to downtown Honolulu, from Diamond Head to the blue Pacific Ocean. This idyllic site is only minutes from the city, cultural activities, and the beach. The University also operates ten off-campus sites, primarily at military installations on the island of Oahu.
Academic Life
The core curriculum at Chaminade is in liberal arts. The University is committed to a broad liberal education for its students and believes that such an education provides a basis for long-term personal growth, a foundation for a career that may encounter job changes, and a background that allows students to rise to leadership positions in their chosen fields and communities. Through undergraduate programs based on the liberal arts tradition, Chaminade seeks to heighten cultural awareness. Coupled with understanding diverse methods of inquiry and participation in Chaminade's multicultural interdependent community, cultural awareness prepares all students for lifelong learning—about themselves, each other, and the world in which they live.
The University is dedicated to teaching and to building the leadership skills of its students, and its major strengths lie in its relatively small size and its talented faculty. Classes are small, allowing faculty members to provide a significant amount of individual and small-group attention. Classes are taught by professors or professionals in their fields, not graduate students.
Undergraduate study is structured into four parts: practice in basic skills, liberal arts course work that provides a general education, intensive study in a chosen field of concentration (the major), and elective courses outside the major field to complement general and specialized knowledge. All baccalaureate degrees require a minimum of 120 credit hours of course work with a minimum of 45 hours in upper-division courses. Within these guidelines, the student selects a program of study appropriate to personal needs and interests. All appropriate courses at Chaminade require writing assignments from students. Upper-division courses in most fields train students to write in the style and format appropriate to the discipline.
In all fields of study at Chaminade, students are encouraged to apply their academic experience to on-the-job practice for academic credit. Faculty members may ask students to work with a specific organization, or students may develop internship possibilities on their own. Interns usually have at least junior-level standing, but in special cases sophomores are considered. Depending on the organization with which they work, students may or may not receive a salary for their internship experience.
The First Year Experience Seminar supports students in their transition from high school to college. The program provides an orientation to University functions and resources. This course also helps freshmen adjust to the University, gain a better understanding of the learning process and develop critical-thinking skills and provides a support group for students by examining problems that are common to the freshman experience.
Chaminade cooperates with two major programs that enable students to receive college credit prior to admission. These two programs, Advanced Placement and College-Level Examination Program, are sponsored by the College Board.
In 1990, Chaminade University and its sister universities signed an agreement through which any student at any of the three universities can enroll for their junior year at any of the other campuses. Full credit is given by Chaminade for approved courses taken at either university. Chaminade also encourages students to pursue part of their undergraduate education in another country.
Majors Offered:
The University offers twenty-one major programs of study at the undergraduate level as well as two associate degree programs. The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree is offered in biology, chemistry, communication, English, historical and political studies, humanities, international studies, management, philosophy, psychology, religious studies, and social studies; the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree is offered in interior design; and the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree is offered in accounting, behavioral sciences, biology, computer information systems, criminal justice, early childhood education, elementary education, environmental studies, and forensic science. The Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree is offered in management; the Associate in Science (A.S.) degree is offered in computer science and criminal justice.
Preprofessional programs are offered in law, health sciences, nursing, and engineering.
Students may elect to pursue a minor program in most major programs as well as in anthropology, history, physics, political science, sociology, and studio art.
Campus Life
Clubs and associations offer all Chaminade students a chance to pursue interests and extend their activities beyond the classroom. Student publications include the Aulama, a literary and art magazine; the Silverword, the monthly student newspaper; and Ahinahina, the Chaminade yearbook. Chaminade also sponsors chapters of Delta Epsilon Sigma, the national scholastic honor society for students at colleges and universities with a Catholic tradition; Phi Alpha Theta, the history national honor society; Delta Mu Delta, a national honor society in business administration; Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society; Pi Sigma Alpha, a national honor society in political science, and Alpha Phi Sigma, a national honor society for criminal justice.
The Chaminade University Student Association is the official representative of the student body. Each full-time student of Chaminade becomes a member upon payment of fees. Membership is open to all students at all instructional sites. The Senate, chaired by the student body president and composed of elected representatives, focuses on improving the quality of undergraduate student life and represents the needs, interests, and concerns of its constituents.
The Dean of Students, through the Assistant Dean of Students, initiates all disciplinary action. The committee is composed of administrators, faculty and staff members, and students. Chaminade does not condone activities on campus that violate state or federal regulations, including illegal possession of drugs or the illegal consumption of alcoholic beverages. Students found to be in violation of these regulations are subject to immediate disciplinary action.
Facilities and Resources
Located in Henry Hall, Sullivan Library occupies three floors and houses a collection of approximately 74,000 volumes and 874 periodicals. Special collections include the Oceania Collection, the Catholic Authors Collection, the Julius J. Nodel Judaica Collection, and the David L. Carlson Japan Collection. Services offered include reference consultation, computerized information retrieval, and instruction in library use. Also in Henry Hall, the Computer Center provides students and faculty members with a variety of microcomputers, software programs, and reference materials for instruction, word processing, and programming. The multipurpose Audio Visual Media Resource Center provides instructional media technology support to all divisions of the University, student activities, special programs, and other events. The center is also a resource for films, slides, records, and videotapes.
Sports / Varsity Athletics
Intercollegiate athletic teams are currently sponsored in men's basketball and water polo, women's softball and volleyball, and men's and women's cross-country and tennis. Intramural competitive and noncompetitive sports and recreation programs are open to all students, faculty and staff members, and alumni.
Financial Aid / Scholarships
Those with a high school GPA between 3.5 and 4.0 are eligible for a $6000 yearly scholarship; between 3.0 and 3.49, a $5000 yearly scholarship; between 2.5 and 2.99, a $4500 yearly grant; and between 2.25 to 2.49, a $3000 yearly Father Chaminade Grant. The Hawaii Grant for new full-time day session students from Hawaii is $1500 per semester. Scholarships and grants, available to regular full-time undergraduate students, are renewable for four years and are awarded without regard to financial need. Students may obtain only one of the Chaminade scholarships or grants. When a first member of a family pays full-time day undergraduate tuition, additional members who are concurrently enrolled in the day undergraduate program may receive a tuition discount of 20 percent.
Admission Requirements / Application
Applications for admission are reviewed for specific majors or, when applicable, for “undecided” status. Chaminade considers several factors when assessing students' preparation for a selected area of study: grades throughout high school, selection of courses in preparation for college, scores from either the SAT or ACT, and an essay that provides information about the applicant's character and record of leadership and service.
Chaminade University has a rolling admission process. As soon as all required information is received by the Admission Office, the application is reviewed by an application committee. Students are notified of the committee's decision usually within three to four weeks. Applications are accepted throughout the year. A $50 fee is payable upon application. Web site applications are also available for a $25 fee. All students desiring housing must file an application along with a $300 deposit applicable to the total cost per semester. Space and placement are not guaranteed without this deposit. A housing damage deposit of $100 is also required. Evidence of health insurance coverage from a U.S. insurer is required of all dormitory residents and international students.
To ensure full consideration for scholarships or grants, students are urged to complete the appropriate application by April 1. Award notices are mailed by April 30.