University of Hawaii at Manoa

What you'll study

The programme blends core journalism skills with specialised investigative techniques. You will study news reporting and writing, feature and enterprise reporting, multimedia storytelling (audio, video and digital), and editing. Investigative-specific modules typically include data journalism and statistics for reporters, public records and freedom of information, advanced interviewing and source development, media law and ethics, and long-form investigative practicum.

Coursework is designed around a combination of classroom instruction, lab-based production and field reporting. Typical components include:

• Core reporting skills: beat reporting, newsroom workflow, deadline writing and multimedia production.
• Investigative methods: data analysis, public-records requests, court and documents research, covert and open-source techniques.
• Law and ethics: defamation, privacy, reporters’ privilege and ethical decision-making in investigations.
• Technical skills: database tools, spreadsheets, data visualisation, digital forensics and multimedia editing software.
• Practicum and capstone: semester-long investigative projects, editorial internships and collaborative newsroom assignments.
• General education: humanities and social science courses that build critical thinking and regional knowledge, including Pacific and Indigenous studies options relevant to reporting in Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific.

Entry requirements

Admission to the bachelor’s programme follows the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa undergraduate application procedures. Typical requirements include a completed high-school diploma or equivalent with an academic record demonstrating readiness for university‑level study, and submission of official transcripts. Prospective students should demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills.

Additional requirements or recommended materials for the journalism programme often include a personal statement and a writing sample or portfolio showcasing reporting, news writing, or other related work. Standardised tests may be optional depending on the University’s admissions policy; applicants should check the current guidance. International applicants must demonstrate English proficiency through accepted test scores or prior English-medium study.

Career prospects

Graduates with an investigative journalism emphasis are prepared for roles in a wide range of news, nonprofit and public-interest organisations. Common career paths include investigative reporter, data journalist, beat reporter, newsroom editor, multimedia producer, fact‑checker and research journalist.

Alumni also move into adjacent roles that value investigative skills, such as communications and public affairs for non‑profits or government agencies, compliance and transparency roles, freedom-of-information officers, and specialised research positions. The practical, skills-based nature of the programme supports freelance investigative work and independent journalism projects as well.

Why study at University of Hawaii at Mānoa

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa offers a distinctive journalism education shaped by its location in the Pacific. Students benefit from learning about reporting in multicultural and Indigenous contexts, gaining experience covering issues that matter to island communities, regional governance and trans‑Pacific affairs.

The campus provides hands-on newsroom and multimedia facilities and opportunities for internships and collaborations with local news organisations and nonprofit media in Honolulu and the region. Small class sizes in upper-level courses allow close faculty mentorship for investigative projects and capstone reporting. Field reporting opportunities across the islands and Pacific territories help students build a portfolio of substantive, place‑based investigative work.