Religious Education

Fourteen hours of religion credit is the standard requirement for students to graduate with a bachelor's degree from BYU–Hawaii. Fewer than 14 hours may be required for transfer students depending on the amount of transfer credit accepted.

The Faculty of Religious Education administers all religion courses sponsored by the university. Courses are available in ancient and modern scripture, Church history and doctrine, and related subjects. Undergraduate majors or minors are not offered in religion because religious education is part of all students' experience at Brigham Young University–Hawaii.

Fourteen hours required as follows:

• REL 200 The Eternal Family
• REL 225 Foundations of the Restoration
• REL 250 Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel
• REL 275 The Teachings and Doctrine of the Book of Mormon (OR REL 121 + REL 122)
• +3 Rel electives (one of which must be a scripture course) - See table below
  

All four cornerstone courses (or their equivalent) are required for graduation from any of the Church Universities or from Institute.

All students must fulfill both residency hours and the required content classes to graduate. For students that transfer to BYU– Hawaii it is assumed that they will have fulfilled some of the Religion core requirements from Institute or another Church Education System (CES) university and will be transferring them in. If they have completed the core they should not repeat those classes.

ALL students must complete:

• 4 cornerstone classes (8 credits)
• 3 elective courses (6 credits)
  
  • Total = 14 credits
• No more than 6 religion credits per academic year.

Cornerstone courses

• Must be completed by all students
• Must be taken at:
  
  • BYU-Hawaii
  • Other CES Institutions (BYU, BYU-Idaho, Ensign College, Pathway Worldwide)
  • CES Institutes of Religion (up to 4 credits max for both core and electives)
  • Transfer as direct course equivalents

Elective Courses

• Must total at least 6 credits
• One course must be a scripture course
• May be completed at:
  
  • BYU-Hawaii
  • Other CES Institutions (BYU, BYU-Idaho, Ensign College, Pathway Worldwide)
  • CES Institutes of Religion (up to 4 credits max for both core and electives)

Transfer Credit

• Students transferring academic credits from all other institutions of higher education (non-CES) may have their 14-credit requirement reduced based on the table below:

Religion credit from non-LDS universities and colleges will not satisfy the religion requirement at BYU–Hawaii. The transfer credit may, however, apply as elective credit toward the total hours required for graduation.

Do courses offered at BYU–Hawaii that deal with religion or are related to religion count for BYU–Hawaii religion credit?

No. Only courses with the REL designation receive religion credit.

Why can’t I take more than one religion class in a given semester?

The Board of Trustees and Administration of BYU–Hawaii maintain that a student should be engaged with religious education throughout their undergraduate career. To prevent students from taking all their religion classes at once to “get them over with,” the general policy is that students may only register for one religion class per semester. Exceptions may be granted for special circumstances, when requested by the academic advisors.

How many religion hours are required to graduate from BYU–Hawaii? 

If you have taken all your coursework at BYU–Hawaii or transferred fewer than 30 hours of credits from any other institution, you are required to take a minimum of 14 hours of religion at BYU–Hawaii (residency hours) to graduate. 

If, however, you have transferred 30 or more hours of credit from another institution to BYU–Hawaii (or from BYU–Hawaii Distance Learning classes offered by BYU–Hawaii to students not pursuing a bachelor's degree), the number of religion hours required to take at BYU–Hawaii (residency hours) is listed above (see Transfer Credit section).  

What if I am not a transfer student but I take an institute course while I am at home during the summer? Will this course fulfill my residency requirement? 

Yes. Inform their Institute instructor of intent to receive CES transfer credit at the start of the semester/term. Complete attendance and additional readings, assignments, and assessment requirements. Institute custom courses and workshops do not receive Institute credit and cannot be transferred.   

Do institute credits transferred to BYU–Hawaii affect my GPA? 

No. All institute credits transferred to BYU–Hawaii are accepted only as pass/fail grades.