With the launch of a new accelerated global business program, Hawai‘i Pacific University will be the first in the Islands to offer a three-year undergraduate degree.
HPU on Tuesday said its new bachelor of science in global business is a 90-credit baccalaureate that'll combine "interdisciplinary learning with hands-on experience." Housed at the university's Downtown Honolulu campus, the program is designed to be finished in 12 eight-week terms.
HPU Dean of the College of Business Amy Nguyen-Chyung said in Tuesday's announcement that the new three-year degree is not an alteration of its four-year program, but rather a "completely new and comprehensive curriculum that was designed by HPU in partnership with the Minerva Project, known globally for educational innovation. HPU will enable students to get real-world skills for real-world success and make their mark in the world a year earlier.”
Nguyen-Chyung told Aloha State Daily in an email that discussion about the program started about 18 months ago when changes in legislation created the opening for such an offering. The university has been actively working to develop the program for about a year.
"Today, research shows mastery of workforce-ready skills can be achieved through innovative methods like applied and experiential learning, without requiring 120 credits," she says. "Recent federal guidance and accreditor flexibility now allow universities to consider shorter time frames, focusing on learning outcomes and career readiness rather than 'seat time.' This change comes as public confidence in higher education declines and concerns about relevance, cost and debt rise.
"HPU’s accelerated degree addresses these concerns by reducing time and cost to graduation and embedding durable, in-demand skills aligned with global workforce needs. We are preparing graduates for a rapidly changing economy where, according to the World Economic Forum, 59% of workers will need upskilling or reskilling by 2030. This program reimagines the bachelor’s degree for today’s learners: skills-forward, efficient, affordable and outcome-driven."
Students will live with their cohorts the first year, HPU says. In that first year, they'll study topics like globalization, digital information and data science, accounting and strategic finance, applied financial economics, products, customers, and brands and multimodal business communication.
In the second year, students can take on two internships — both integrated into their semesters or the second can take place during spring break, the university noted in Tuesday's announcement.
"During the summers, students are encouraged to study away or work in locations like Japan, Singapore, China, Europe, or the continental U.S.," the announcement noted. "These transformative experiences are designed to keep students on track to graduate in three years — on time."
Nguyen-Chyung says that the three-year degree is a different product from the university's four-year business degree.
"We still need to offer a four-year degree since not all students want to learn at an accelerated pace, and a four-year degree is often a better fit for those that transfer into HPU," she says.
According to HPU, the curriculum of the new program also builds “durable skills,” like critical thinking, communication, collaboration and ethical leadership, through projects, global simulations and case challenges.
“Culturally, this program is unlike anything else at HPU,” HPU Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Allison Gough, who has been leading the effort on constructing the general education component, said in a statement. “It blends Hawaiian values with a global perspective, preparing students to navigate international business with cultural awareness and humility. Students get to explore international markets, learn how to lead with empathy, build relationships across cultures and approach business as a force for good.”
Applications are now open, with the first cohort of "global business scholars" expected to begin next fall, pending approval from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges' Senior College and University Commission.
Visit hpu.edu/global for more information or to apply.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
