The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has earned a spot on The Princeton Review’s “Best 390 Colleges for 2025” list, adding to its reputation as one of the nation’s top institutions of higher education. The list was announced on August 27.
The ranking is based on surveys completed by 168,000 students nationwide. The criteria include categories covering academics, amenities, campus services, extracurriculars and more. The schools included in “Best 390 Colleges for 2025” are not ranked from No. 1–No. 389, and feature the top 15% of four-year colleges in the U.S.
In addition, The Princeton Review placed UH Mānoa as one of the top 79 colleges in the west, and one of the top 522 “green” colleges, which recognizes the most environmentally responsible schools.
“We are honored to be recognized among the nation’s best colleges, a testament to the dedication of our faculty, staff and students,” UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno said. “These rankings reflect our commitment to providing a world-class education while fostering a vibrant, inclusive campus community that prepares students for success in an ever-changing world.”
“The colleges we profile in our book are truly a select group: they constitute about 15% of America’s four-year institutions. We chose them primarily based on our high opinion of their academic offerings,” said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review and author of The Best 390 Colleges. “The colleges that make our book’s ranking lists do so entirely as a result of the opinions of their customers—students attending the colleges—who complete our 89-question survey about their school.”
Student comments reported by The Princeton Review
- “When someone goes to UH Mānoa, they aren’t expecting to receive an education grounded in a Native Hawaiian place of learning but that is exactly what they get. Whether they are learning the Hawaiian language, Hawaiian culture, or about the Hawaiian ecosystem, there is a lot for everyone that goes along with their major. UH really incorporates how important Hawaiʻi really is.”
- Teachers are “always willing to go the extra mile to help students by offering office hours” and many professors challenge students while simultaneously “letting us know what content will be useful in our future careers and/or graduate level exams.”
- The student body is a “huge melting pot” that is just “filled with aloha.” An “incredible amount of culture is exhibited here.”
Other rankings
UH Mānoa also received these notable rankings:
- 2025 QS World University Rankings, June 5, 2024
- Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings, May 13, 2024
- 2024 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings, April 9, 2024
For more information on rankings, see the Mānoa Institutional Research Office website.
—By Marc Arakaki
