2025-2026 UH Mānoa Catalog [DRAFT]
Department of Political Science
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College of Social Sciences
Saunders Hall 640
2424 Maile Way
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-8357
Email: polisci@hawaii.edu
Web: www.politicalscience.hawaii.edu
Faculty
*J. Grove, PhD (Chair)—critical war studies, complexity theory and system theory
*N. S. Grove, PhD (Graduate Chair)—international relations, gender and sexuality, political theory, media, Middle East politics
*K. Ferguson, PhD (Undergraduate Chair)—feminist theory and methods; political theory
*J. Goldberg-Hiller, PhD—law and society, law and philosophy, sexuality politics, indigenous politics
*J. N. Goodyear-Kaʻopua, PhD—Hawaiian politics, Indigenous politics, politics of education and culture
*D. Halbert, PhD—public policy, political futures, law and politics, and politics of intellectual property
*K. Heyer, PhD—law and society, disability politics, comparative law, social movement and civil rights
*E. Kimura, PhD—comparative politics, political change, Southeast Asia
*S. Krishna, PhD—comparative politics, international political economy, South Asian Studies, and postcolonial studies
F. Mantz, PhD—international political economy, political ecology, anti/decolonial studies, Africa and MesoAmerica
*L. Nitz, PhD—American government; methodology; political economy; public policy; research methods; topics in political theory
*J. H. Osorio, Ph.D—Kanaka Maoli Moʻolelo, politics and history; Indigenous theory and politics; ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi; and translation theory
*D. Samaniego, PhD—international relations, migration and borders, decolonial and post colonial theory and Latin America
*D. Saranillio, PhD—settler Colonialism, labor, militarism, empire
*N. Silva, PhD—Hawaiian politics, indigenous politics
*N. Soguk, PhD—international relations theory, comparative politics; international organization; international migration and diasporas, human rights, Middle East
*C. M. Stephenson, PhD—international relations; international organization; international environmental politics; international security; peace studies, conflict resolution
*K. Zhou, PhD—comparative politics; Chinese & Asian politics; women and development, and public policy
Affiliate Graduate Faculty
H. Aikau, PhD—contemporary Native Hawaiian identity and politics
Cooperating Graduate Faculty
L. Basham—Native Hawaiian and Indigenous politics
K. O. Kane, PhD—philosophy and theory, pedagogy, film and media studies, women’s studies
S. Kikiloi, PhD—Hawaiian studies, societal development, Indigenous resource management, archaeology, ethnohistory
M. MacKenzie, JD—Native Hawaiian rights, advanced legal studies in Native Hawaiian law
Emeritus Faculty
R. Chadwick, PhD—international relations, global modeling, methodology
J. Dator, PhD—futures studies, media, Asian politics
M. Henningsen, Ph.D—political theory, European politics, genocide/Holocaust
G. Kent, PhD—human rights, international relations, peace, development, environmental mental issues
C. R. Lawrence (emeritus)—anti-discrimination law, educational law and policy, Constitutional law
N. Milner, PhD—constitutional law, law & policy
D. Neubauer, PhD—public policy, politics of education and health
M. J. Shapiro, PhD—American politics; interpretive methods; politics of culture; media and popular culture; political theory; public policy
* Graduate Faculty
The Academic Program
Political science (POLS) examines politics not only in government and among nations but also in private organizations, businesses, universities, families, language, and daily life.
Various methods are used to do this, ranging from the interpretive and historical to the quantitative and statistical. Political science graduates enter numerous professions: journalism, foreign service, social services, government, law, law enforcement, teaching, civil service, business, librarianship, and research. Undergraduate majors have done all of these and more. So have the department’s graduate students, many of whom come from abroad and return to their home countries to become leaders in their fields. The Department of Political Science provides a sound undergraduate education that helps prepare people to think critically and constructively about the world and to be active, concerned citizens in whatever walk of life they choose. Its internship program permits undergraduates to earn academic credit while working in community or governmental institutions and processes.
At the graduate level, the department stands out in the fields of Asian politics, comparative politics, futures studies, indigenous politics, international relations, law and society, policy analysis, and political theory. The department is an open, informal place where students, staff, and faculty alike are encouraged to participate in departmental affairs and governance. For further information, call (808) 956-8357 or write to the department, polisci@hawaii.edu.
Advising
Students may write to, or make appointments to see, either the graduate chair or the undergraduate chair, who will discuss the options available and assign students, if necessary, to a faculty member who specializes in a field of study.
Undergraduate Study
Please see “Programs” section below for more information about our undergraduate programs.
Graduate Study
The department has three different graduate degree programs: master’s degree Plan A, for which a master’s thesis is required; master’s degree Plan B, for which a culminating experience is required; and the doctor of philosophy (PhD) program. The department offers specializations in alternative futures, Asian and Pacific politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, indigenous politics, and public policy.
Further information regarding the requirements for all three programs is available at www.politicalscience.hawaii.edu.
The application deadline is early January for admission in the fall semester. No Spring semester admissions are taken.
Honors and Awards
The department has several teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and scholarships that are awarded to deserving qualified students.
Undergraduate
- Thomas Hamilton Memorial Scholarship—$600 for a student with outstanding scholarship and all-around performance who has completed at least two courses in political theory.
Graduate
- Norman Meller Award—$1,500 for fall semester to a graduate student with an outstanding academic record.
- Harry J. Friedman Memorial Scholarship—$700 for outstanding work in comparative politics.
- Jorge Fernandes Memorial Fellowship and Award—for spring semester to aid an outstanding graduate student to support the completion of his/her dissertation.
- Glendon Schubert and James Neal Schubert Political Science Endowed Scholarship—for spring to a graduate student who specializes in public law, law and society.
ProgramsBachelor’sMaster’sDoctorateUndergraduate CertificateMinorCombined
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