There is a common perception that studying abroad can delay a student’s graduation. However, with proper planning, a student is able to incorporate studying abroad into their academic plan without experiencing any delay. As seen in the chart below, students from recent academic years who study abroad graduate at the same rate as students who do not.

As seen on the graph, during the 2018-19 Academic year, freshmen who did not study abroad graduated in four years, while during the same time those who studied abroad graduated in 4.33 years. Since then, through 2021 both cohorts graduated in 3.67 years. The time to graduation has been reduced further to 3.66, indicating that studying abroad does not negatively impact graduation rates. In other words, mapping out of classes in Study Abroad programs and planning ahead by the student concerning the applicability of classes toward their Mānoa degrees with the help and guidance of SAC Advisers facilitates a four-year graduation. The time to graduation initiative has worked tremendously by embedding Study Abroad Advisers in Colleges.

Study Abroad advisors embedded in different UHM colleges can help incorporate our study abroad programs in the different major fields. We encourage students to participate in Study Abroad programs during their sophomore year to graduate within four years. This way, there are many General Education and Major requirements left to make studying abroad have more flexibility in classes and location.

Students are encouraged to look at our Course Equivalencies lists on the linked page or on the individual program pages to best incorporate studying abroad into their academic plan.