To gain admission to Shidler College of Business' BBA majors as an upper-level/transfer* student, all 4 admissions requirements (below) plus an application to Shidler** must be completed before the semester of desired start:

1. 60 earned semester-hour credits (i.e., junior standing) - credits must be acceptable to UH Mānoa, so must be non-repeated, college-level courses
2. Minimum cumulative Grade-Point Average (GPA) of 2.50 in all course grades (if any courses have been attempted at UH Mānoa, the applicant must also have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all UH Mānoa courses)
3. Computer Competency: Completion of ONE of the following two computer-competency course options with a minimum grade of "C" or better (i.e., "C-" grade will not be accepted).:
   • Option 1: complete BOTH LTEC 112 "Technologies for Academic Success" AND LTEC 113 "Technologies for Academic Success- Business"; or
   • Option 2: complete ICS 101 "Digital Tools for the Information World"
4. Completion of 7 pre-business core courses (see below) with a minimum combined GPA of 2.50 and with a minimum grade of "C" in each (i.e., "C-" grade or below will not be accepted)

Pre-Business Core Courses^

1. English Composition (ENG 100/190/ESL 100, OR ENG 200)
2. Calculus (BUS 250; NREM 203; OR MATH 203, 215, 241, OR 251A)
3. Speech (COMG 151 OR COMG 251)
4. Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 130)
5. Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 131)
6. Introduction to Accounting I (ACC 200)^^
7. Introduction to Accounting II (ACC 210)^^

^See the University of Hawaii at Mānoa Catalog for course descriptions and prerequisites.

* high-achieving high-school seniors seeking entry to Shidler College of Business as a first-year/freshman student should consider the Direct Admit Program

** applicants who are not currently UH Manoa degree-seeking students must also apply to UH Manoa

^^Notes about the required Accounting sequence

Effective Fall 2020, the course number and topic ordering of the 200-level Accounting courses was changed at UH Manoa:

• ACC 200 (Introduction to Accounting I)
• ACC 210 (Introduction to Accounting II) (formerly ACC 201)

Because of this change, applicants are required to complete either of the following two options:

1. both ACC 200 and ACC 210 courses at UH Mānoa or Windward Community College, or
2. both ACC 201 and ACC 202 courses outside of UH Mānoa

there are no exceptions to this.

• For example, if ACC 200 is completed at UH Mānoa, ACC 210 would need to be completed at UH Mānoa or Windward CC.
• If ACC 201 (a Financial Accounting course) is completed outside of UH Mānoa, ACC 202 (a Managerial Accounting course) should also be completed outside of UH Mānoa.
• If you are transferring into the UH system from another college, you may be asked to submit detailed course syllabi for your Accounting coursework, so please hold on to them.

If you have already successfully completed ACC 201/ACC 202 (outside of UH Mānoa) or ACC 200/ACC 201 (at UH Mānoa) with a "C" grade or higher, prior to Fall 2020, this change is not applicable to you. If you have any questions, email mark.nakamoto@hawaii.edu

Explanatory Notes/FAQ on Admission Requirements:

• When do I need to have admission requirements completed? / When do I apply? V

  • All Shidler College of Business admission requirements (credits, GPA, grades, coursework) must be completed by the end of the fall/spring semester before you plan on entering the College. Thus, most students are still enrolled in their final requirement(s) when they apply for the upcoming semester

    Coursework: A student planning to start Shidler College in Spring, must complete all admission requirements by the end of Fall; a student planning to start Shidler in Fall, must complete all admission requirements by the end of the Spring semester*. 

    • Example of someone who should apply for fall admission
      • It is February and you are taking 15 credits including ACC 210. 
      • In your previous 3 semesters, you earned 45 credits (incl. A's and B's in ENG 100, ICS 101, COMG 251, ECON 130, ECON 131, and ACC 200 and a "C+" in Calculus), and you have a 3.4 cumulative GPA
      • You should be applying before March 1 for fall admission because you are on track to complete all requirements by end of spring semester (i.e., grades, GPA, coursework, credits)
    • *Fall admission-requirement course exception: Students applying for fall admission are expected to fulfill all admission criteria by the end of spring semester; however, we currently allow certain summer courses to count toward an applicant's consideration for fall admission IF the student meets both of the following conditions:
      • (1) the student files an application for fall (to Shidler for UH Mānoa students, or to both UH Mānoa and Shidler for non-UH Mānoa students) by the final deadline, and
      • (2) the summer course(s) is both (a) taken at UH Mānoa, and (b) taken and completed during Summer Session I (this session is usually May through end of June/beginning of July).
      • Notes on summer: 
        • (i) no other exceptions will be made; 
        • (ii) not all admission-requirement courses are guaranteed to be offered; 
        • (iii) not all summer courses will be online (even if online, they may not be asynchronous); 
        • (iv) applicants are not guaranteed a seat in a summer course; 
        • (v) students must complete a separate form (linked on the application page) to notify us if they plan to take a summer course that they want considered for their fall admissions application

    Incompletes: Students with an "Incomplete" grade may not be admitted to the Shidler College of Business. Any Incompletes must be changed to final grades before admission.

• How are the various GPAs calculated? V
  • Cumulative GPA is: Combined UH Mānoa + Transfer GPA from all other institutions attended (if applicable)
    • Students who earn 30 credits or more at UH Mānoa would use the Mānoa-earned GPA in place of transfer GPA or combined GPAs
  • Pre-business Core GPA: Is the GPA in the 7 pre-business core courses alone.
  • Advanced business course GPA: If three or more business courses (or transferred equivalents) beyond the pre-business core courses (e.g., business law, Management, Marketing, etc.) have been attempted before admission to Shidler College of Business, a combined GPA in such courses of at least 2.5 is required for admission (this is in addition to meeting all other requirements listed above). Students admitted for fall should be aware of this requirement because summer courses are considered "before admission."
  • Official grades required: Take admission requirements for letter grades (i.e., not "Pass/Fail"). Grades must be reflected on official transcripts (for Spring 2020, we recognize many universities allowed CR/NC/P/NP grading systems, but we must be able to determine if you earned a "C" or better to be able to count the course for admission).
  • Repeating courses: If a course is repeated, credit is only counted once for the purpose of meeting the total minimum credit requirement.
    • Grade replacement in the GPA calculation: Starting with Spring 2023 admission, the principles of UH Mānoa's grade replacement policy will be used to calculate the admission cumulative GPA for courses from any previous institution, not just courses from UH Mānoa (previously, grades from all attempts were counted in calculating admission GPAs for courses taken outside UH Mānoa).
      • Courses in the pre-business core may be repeated only if the grade earned is a "C-" or below (i.e., any attempt to repeat a pre-business core course where a "C" or better has already been achieved would NOT be factored into the pre-business GPA.)
• I took courses outside of UH Mānoa. How do I know if courses I took meet the admission requirements? V
  • If you are within the UH System (UH Community College, UH West Oahu, UH Hilo): Course numbering is mostly the same. The exceptions are COMG (most other campuses have the department code as SP instead of COMG), and Accounting (see the section on Accounting, above).
  • If you are a transfer from outside the UH system:
    • Official evaluation: After you apply to UH Mānoa using an official transcript and are accepted, Mānoa Admissions will generate a transfer transcript in 3-5 weeks showing UH Mānoa course and credit equivalencies to the courses you took.
      • If a Business-type admission-requirement course (i.e., ICS 101, ACC 201, ACC 202, BUS 250) is listed as "Elective" either in your official transfer transcript from Mānoa Admissions or in the Course Transfer Database: 
        An accepted student may need to submit both a syllabus and a Petition for Course Equivalency to the Shidler College OSAS (e.g., you took a course called "Financial Accounting" at your college, but it is listed as transferring as "Elective" ---or is not listed at all---in the Course Transfer Database.) 
        In some cases, you may also be asked to submit a transcript with your petition.
      • If a NON-business/liberal arts-type admission-requirement course (e.g., COMG 151/251, ECON 130/131, MATH 203/215/241/251)  is listed as "Elective" either in your official transfer transcript from Mānoa Admissions or in the Course Transfer Database: 
        Non-business courses are evaluated by Mānoa Admissions (not Shidler College). You should contact Mānoa Admissions if you have a question.

    • Estimate transfer credits: In general, non-remedial, college-level, liberal arts courses should at least transfer credits to UH Mānoa. If you are concerned about a specific course, you can consult the course transfer database. Two caveats about the database: (1) The database is not a comprehensive listing of all courses at other colleges/universities; it only lists courses that previous transfers have had evaluated, and (2) it may not list UH equivalencies for upper-level (300+ numbered) courses for professional programs (e.g., business) as other than "elective"---the professional schools sometimes have separate processes to determine course equivalency.

       

• Are there limits on the number/types of courses I can transfer?
  • Residency requirements: To earn a BBA degree from UH Mānoa---in addition to completing all general education requirements, all Focus/Graduation requirements, and all major requirements---students also must complete a certain number and types of credits at UH Mānoa (i.e., "residency requirement"). Students must complete 30 credit hours at UH Mānoa and a minimum of eight courses (24 credit hours) in upper division business courses at UH Mānoa, which must include a minimum of three courses (9 credit hours) in a studentʻs major, after the semester of admission to the Shidler College of Business.

  • Advanced business courses: Students who took advanced business courses from a college/university that is not accredited by AACSB International may have limits on the number of courses/credits they can transfer. In general, Shidler College of Business will not accept more than 2 courses of advanced business toward our major requirements if they come from a business college that is not accredited by AACSB International. 

     

• Are there other recommended courses for admission?
  • Focus on completing the listed admission requirements (and general education requirements). Taking courses "above and beyond" the admission requirements does not impress the admissions committee and do not offset or replace the need for fulfilling all admission requirements, so do not feel the need to take advanced Calculus II/III, intermediate or advanced Economics, etc. unless you have a natural interest in such areas. Sometimes courses that you perceive to be "harder"/"higher-numbered" than the listed requirements may not fulfill the admission requirement at all, so it is usually safest to complete the requirement as listed (or an equivalent from another college/university).
  • While not required for admission, the prerequisite to BUS 315 (a required business core course for all majors) is completion of PSY 100 or SOC 100 with a "C-" grade or higher. Taking either course to satisfy the social sciences (DS) requirement is highly encouraged before admission, but not required (i.e., if you do not take PSY 100/SOC 100 before admission, you may take it after admission).
• Are applicants with certain majors or minors not admissible to Shidler College of Businessʻs BBA majors? V

  • Prospective students are ineligible for admission if they fall into these categories:

    • Applicants who have already completed a bachelor's degree in business (or related majors or extensive coursework) from UH Mānoa or any other institution cannot be admitted to Shidler College of Business to pursue a second bachelor's degree.
    • Applicants who have completed a business minor through the Shidler College of Business (or who have applied for the minor) or through another University, are not eligible to pursue either the business minor or a BBA degree/major with the Shidler College of Business.