Tuition, Fees, and Financial Support

For the 2006 -2007 academic year (comprising the fall 2006 and spring 2007 semesters), University of Hawai'i at Manoa full-time graduate tuition is $6,852.00 per semester for nonresidents of Hawai'i; residents pay $2,916.00 per semester. Summer session tuition in 2006 is $200.00 per credit hour for residents and nonresidents taking courses at the 500-level and above. Summer session tuition in 2006 is $146.00 per credit hour for residents and nonresidents taking courses at the 400-level and below. Although non-citizens of the United States generally cannot qualify for resident status, the non-resident portion of tuition may be waived for citizens of the following countries: the People's Republic of China, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam (refugee status) and a Pacific island served by the University of the South Pacific. Thus, applicants from these countries may pay the same tuition as Hawai'i state residents. The waiver of the non-resident portion of tuition is granted by the Graduate Division in the form of a Pacific Asia Tuition Differential Exemption (APTDE). If the Graduate Division awards an applicant an APTDE, it will be done automatically. Applicants for admission should not apply for it. For the 2005-2006 academic year, students are charged fees of about $106 for student activities, the Campus Center, and the Graduate Student Organization.

There are several sources of financial assistance available to graduate students in economics at UHM. These include:

Graduate Assistantships. Each year several graduate assistantships (GAs) are made available to the Department of Economics. Graduate assistants typically assist faculty members who instruct principles and other courses in economics; they read problem sets and meet with students; occasionally they serve as research assistants or in other capacities. A new graduate assistant without an MA degree begins in 2005 at $13,296. Graduate assistants also receive full tuition waivers and health insurance benefits. Since graduate assistants usually engage in verbal instruction, a high premium is placed on their facility in English as well as their knowledge of economics. The University requires that all foreign GA applicants take the TOEFL exam and score 600 or better on the paper version, 250 or better on the computer version, or 100 or better on the internet version. You may download an application form in PDF format: click here. Send your completed application, plus a copy of your current transcript, to the Economics department office at the following address:

University of Hawaii at Manoa
Department of Economics
2424 Maile Way
Saunders Hall Room 542
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. 96822

Phone: (808) 956-8496
Fax: (808) 956-4347

East-West Center Fellowships. The Department of Economics maintains strong links with the East-West Center (EWC) adjoining the Manoa campus. The EWC currently makes available graduate fellowships to individuals interested in participating in the educational and research programs at the EWC while pursuing a master's or doctoral degree at the University of Hawai'i. At present, about one-third of the graduate students in economics at UH Manoa are also EWC degree fellows. Some Department of Economics faculty members have joint appointments or other affiliations with East-West Center programs, and some EWC senior fellows are affiliate faculty of the Department, thereby facilitating the long-standing cooperation between the EWC and the Department of Economics. EWC fellowships are available to students from the United States and other countries of the Pacific Rim and Asia having formal ties with the East-West Center. Note that EWC applications are due earlier than UH applications. The deadline for EWC applications is currently November 1. Students are encouraged to request application forms between July and September to insure adequate time for completion and submission. Nonetheless, the EWC will send out applications for financial aid up to two weeks before the deadline to applicants in most countries. Those interested in applying can download an application from the following website: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/education/student-programs/ . Or you can request via e-mail that an application be e-mailed or mailed to you: EWCUHM@EastWestCenter.org. Or by writing to the following address, an application be mailed to you:

GRADUATE DEGREE FELLOWSHIPS
EWC-UHM Scholarship Office, Burns Hall 2066
East-West Center
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96848-1601 USA

Tuition waivers. A modest number of full and partial tuition waivers are available to assist students who are able to defray part but not all of the costs of their graduate education in economics at the University of Hawai'i. They are awarded on the basis of need and/or merit.
All need-based tuition waivers are available to Hawai'i residents who are applying for admission or are continuing students. These waivers are awarded by the Financial Aid Office in the Student Services Center, not by the Department of Economics. Interested applicants and students should contact UHM Financial Aid Services at http://www.hawaii.edu/fas/.

Merit-based tuition waivers are also available to applicants for admission and continuing students, regardless of country or state of residence. These waivers are awarded by the Department of Economics. All admitted applicants and continuing students are automatically considered for tuition waivers.

Hung Family Fellowships. Each year one fellowship in Chinese economic policy is funded by the Hung Family Endowment at a minimum level of $10,000, along with a full tuition waiver provided by the University of Hawai'i. Residents of China and Taiwan are eligible. The fellowship is awarded on a competitive basis to a doctoral student in the UH Department of Economics who has defended a dissertation proposal on Chinese economic policy. At the discretion of the Department, the one-year award can be renewed for a second year. The application must include a letter of recommendation from the chair of the dissertation committee and a copy of the dissertation proposal. The deadline for application submission is March 15. Please send application materials by e-mail to the Graduate Chair.

Asian Development Bank/Government of Japan Scholarships. The Asian Development Bank, as part of its Scholarship Program funded by the Government of Japan, offers opportunities to talented individuals from its developing member countries to pursue post-graduate studies. Scholarships to study economics are awarded through the East-West Center. The awards cover full tuition and fees, a monthly subsistence allowance, housing in East-West Center dormitories (except for students with accompanying children), medical insurance, and airfare. Students from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and Brunei are not eligible. Although these countries are members of the Asian Development Bank, they do not meet the criteria of being developing nations. Questions regarding eligibility should be directed to the scholarship coordinator at the address below. The deadline for ADB/Government of Japan scholarships is November 1 of each year. Please note that this deadline is earlier than the University of Hawai'i deadline. Those interested in applying can download an application from the following website: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/edu-sp.asp. Or you can request via e-mail that an application be e-mailed to you: adbjsp@ewc.hawaii.edu.

Other sources. U.S. citizens may obtain "A Guide to Financial Aid at the University of Hawai'i" from the Financial Aid Office in the Student Services Center. This pamphlet contains a description of many sources of financial aid available to U.S. citizens. A guide to financial aid can be downloaded from the Financial Aid Office: http://www.hawaii.edu/fas/. Or you can request a copy of the pamphlet by e-mail: finaid@hawaii.edu.
Financial aid information for foreign students is available on the website of the International Student Services office: http://www.hawaii.edu/issmanoa. Non-U.S. citizens may also obtain financial aid information from the International Student Services office by sending an e-mail to the ISS office: issmanoa@hawaii.edu.

Information about financial aid sources can also be found on the UHM Economics website: www.economics.hawaii.edu.

Professors with research grants advertise for research assistants on an irregular basis. Advertisements for research assistants, along with advertisements for other on- and off-campus jobs, are usually posted on the student employment's website at: http://sece.hawaii.edu/.