This option is for students who are unable to declare their major for Fall 2025. Appointments for purposes other than Mandatory Advising will not satisfy your Mandatory Advising requirement.

To utilize this option:

1. Schedule an appointment on STAR Balance. Make sure that you have “Manoa Advising Center” selected under “Academic Advising” on the left menu bar. When scheduling your appointment, select “Mandatory Advising” as your “Appointment Reason”.
2. Attend your advising appointment.

A tutorial video on how to schedule an appointment through STAR Balance may be viewed here.

There is no deadline for this option.

For students who know which major they plan to pursue and would like to speak with an advisor in their intended department.

To utilize this option:

1. Meet with the college/school/departmental advisor for advising to review your requirements and answer your questions. See below for special instructions by college/school/department.
2. Request that your advisor notify MAC (via Google Form or email) that you have completed your Mandatory Advising appointment.

Special Instructions by College/School/Department:

• School of Architecture: To schedule an advising appointment, contact the School of Architecture Student Services office via email at arch@hawaii.edu. Provide your name and UH ID number. For additional information on the School of Architecture, please visit their website.
• College of Arts, Languages and Letters (see list of departments here): For Mandatory Advising and information about the major, meet with the Major Advisor in your department; for all other advising, see the Advising Center or email them at advising@hawaii.edu.
• Shidler College of Business: Visit the Shidler College of Business website for more information.
  • If you have 45 or more earned credits, you may schedule an appointment with the Shidler College of Business Admissions Advisor. To schedule an appointment, please visit STAR Balance. After logging in, in the left menu bar, click “Back to all Categories”, then select “Specialized Academic Services”, then select “Shidler Admissions” to view available appointments. Appointments may be scheduled up to one week in advance.
  • Students who applied to the Shidler College of Business for Fall 2025 entry and received a “Pending” letter may submit a copy of their letter as fulfillment of their Mandatory Advising option (see the “Declare Your Major“ section below) via email to macadv@hawaii.edu. “Initially unable” and “Unable to offer you admission” letters do not count toward mandatory advising option fulfillment.
• College of Education: Please refer to the College of Education website for information on how to make a virtual appointment with the Office of Student Academic Services.
• Prospective Engineering: Students may schedule appointments by emailing the College of Engineering Student Academic Services office at engr@eng.hawaii.edu or using the following link: http://star.hawaii.edu/appointment/login.jsp?groupId=engr. The requirements to declare directly into one of the Engineering majors is on their website under the Transfer Student Admissions Requirements. If students do not meet these requirements yet, they may declare the Pre-Engineering major first if they are in good academic standing. To declare into an Engineering or Pre-Engineering majors students should follow the instructions under the Current UHM students (changing majors within UHM) section of the website.
• Hawai’inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge: Meetings with an academic advisor are by appointment only. To request an appointment for:
  • Hawaiian Language: Please contact Pōhaikealoha Bell, Advisor at the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language, by email at bell7@hawaii.edu or telephone (808) 956-4321.
  • Hawaiian Studies: Please contact Lehua Nishimura, Advisor at the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies by email at lehua.nishimura@hawaii.edu or telephone (808) 956-0642.
• Interdisciplinary Studies: Contact an IS advisor at isp@hawaii.edu to discuss your academic interest and the process for declaring IS as your major. Students interested in pursuing one of the IS online degree programs should email ocadvise@hawaii.edu. For more information, visit the IS website.
• Medical Technology: Students may call (808) 956-8557 or visit BIOMED C206 to schedule an appointment. Students should seek major advising before they finalize their decision to major in Medical Technology. Refer to their website for more information.
• College of Natural Sciences: To schedule an appointment with an advisor, please visit the Natural Sciences Student Academic Success Center website.
• Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing:
  • Nursing: Appointments with a Pre-Nursing advisor may be scheduled here.
  • Dental Hygiene: To schedule an advising appointment, please contact Pam Sunahara (pshimizu@hawaii.edu, (808) 956-5706), Kristine Osada (kmsato@hawaii.edu), or Dr. Martin Oishi (oishim@hawaii.edu).
• School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology: To schedule an appointment with an advisor, please visit the SOEST Student Academic Services website.
• School of Pacific and Asian Studies: To schedule an advising appointment, those interested in an Asian Studies major should contact Patricia Dunn (pdunn@hawaii.edu). Appointments are usually scheduled between 08:00 AM and 12:00 PM for undergraduates. Those interested in the Pacific Islands Studies major should contact Julie Walsh (jwalsh@hawaii.edu) to schedule an appointment. For more information on their programs, visit their website.
• Public Health: Students may schedule an advising appointment for Public Health with the Academic Advisor, Bailey Holly, or Mānoa Peer Advisor. You may contact Bailey by email at phadvise@hawaii.edu. Please schedule appointments here.
• College of Social Sciences: Students may schedule an appointment with A.C.C.E.S.S. online here or meet with individual major departments for advising (see list of departments here).
• Social Work: Students who are interested in Pre-Social Work, but have not yet declared, may meet with a SW Mānoa Peer Advisor here: Book an Appointment or contact the Department of Social Work at bswadvis@hawaii.edu.
• School of Travel Industry Management: Visit the TIM School website for more information (You may also follow them on IG or Facebook: @uhmtimschool). If you know your TIM major requirements, have at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA and good academic standing (not applicable to first-semester freshmen), and just need to declare your TIM major to starting in Fall, complete this online form (preferably by March 1). If you are an Exploratory student interested in the TIM major (with a concentration in Hospitality Management, Tourism Management, or Transportation Management), you may schedule a Zoom or in-person advising appointment with a TIM advisor through STAR Balance. Appointments may be scheduled up to 7 days in advance.
• College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience: Current UHM students who want to update their major to a major within CTAHR may send an email request to ctahradv@hawaii.edu. If eligible to enter, the advisors will submit the form to update the student’s major. After the major is updated, students may make an appointment with CTAHR Advising here. The CTAHR Advising website also has a wealth of information on the majors and requirements (see Major Handbooks). Email ctahradv@hawaii.edu if you have any questions.

The deadline for this option is determined by the individual colleges/schools/departments listed above.

To qualify for this option, you must meet the admission criteria for your intended major and be eligible to officially declare the major for Fall 2024 (the deadline to declare for Fall 2024 was September 3, 2024). Declaring an Exploratory pathway (e.g., Exploratory Business, Exploratory Health Sciences, etc.) will not fulfill this option. Declaring Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medical Technology, Pre-Nursing, Pre-Psychology, or Pre-Social Work will fulfill this option.

*** YOU MUST SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION OF YOUR DECLARATION TO MAC AT MACADV@HAWAII.EDU IN ORDER TO SATISFY YOUR MANDATORY ADVISING REQUIREMENT. We are not notified of changes in your major. ***

Example of acceptable documentation:

• Declared Program on STAR’s Academic Essentials page

To utilize this option:

1. Declare your major.
2. Email macadv@hawaii.edu once your declared program is showing on your STAR. MAC will not be automatically notified that you declared your major; hence, submission of documentation is your responsibility

There is no deadline for this option.