Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures (IPLL) provides instruction in the languages of the Indo-Pacific area to a broad spectrum of students at UH Manoa. The department’s coverage of these languages is unique in the U.S. This department is the only one to offer programs of study in four Polynesian languages, most of the national languages of Southeast Asia, as well as classical and modern Indian languages as well as Arabic and Urdu. Beyond language, the department offers courses in the literatures and cultures of the area, including literature in translation of South and Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and the Philippines. Opportunities are available for study abroad in certain areas. The department at UH Manoa provides an opportunity without parallel elsewhere in the country for students to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the languages and cultures of that part of the world that encompasses more than 25 percent of the Earth’s population and an unusual diversity of peoples.

Students of Indo-Pacific languages and cultures can also enhance their opportunities to find a career in international relations; provide service to the community in such fields as social work, public health, nursing, medicine, and law; perform research on Asia and the Pacific; and develop cross-cultural awareness and understanding in Hawai‘i’s multicultural environment.