Connecting Learning, Life and Aloha
‘O ka ‘imi na‘auao, ke ola a me ke aloha kā kākou e huliāmahi ai

UH Hilo Filipino Studies Program

Filipino Studies at UH Hilo

The Filipino Studies Program started formally in Fall 2012 with two language courses and 20 students. As of today, it has attracted many students including non-Filipinos to the number of almost 200 students per academic year. Its number of courses has grown to include culture, heritage, migration, and the Philippine institutions.

A group of students dressed for a performance The program has developed further to include community engagement and internationalization. Students have been given the chance to engage extramurally through cultural performances in the community, donation campaign for the needy schoolchildren in the Philippines, and getting involved in the planning and managing of conferences, to name a few.

Scholarship and Research

A group of students dressed for a performance The department is bound to release the first volume of the Hawaiʻi Filipino Studies Journal in the year 2021. This journal will be focused on the current trends and issues related to the Filipino Studies from various perspectives and theoretical backgrounds. It also published the first volume of the Hawaiʻi Journal of Humanities in December 2020. View the journal online.

The future of the Filipino Studies Program is certain of its sustained growth and development through the help of the affiliate faculties, its international allies in the field, the civic-minded and supportive members from the community, and the studentry irrespective of their cultural identity and affinity.

Filipino Studies Certificate

Several people smiling

The Filipino Studies Certificate provides a better understanding of the Filipino American community while allowing Filipino American students the opportunity to explore their heritage and non-Filipino American students an opportunity to learn about the Philippines. The Certificate requirements include 11 credits of core classes and 6 credits in electives.

UH Hilo Filipino Studies in the News