In Hawaii, Education is serious business.

Hawaii is one of the Asia-Pacific regions foremost learning destinations. The State has an impressive array of degree programs or specially designed short courses that offer the opportunity to advance career in business, law, public policy, science and technology and cross-cultural studies.

Higher education is offered through the University of Hawaii system -10 campuses, including seven community colleges, on Oahu and all the major islands. Private colleges include Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University, and Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Hawaii-based institutions such as the East-West Center and the Japan-America Institute of Management Science are well known in Asia and the Pacific for their contribution to regional progress and harmony.

Hawaii benefits from a combination of geography and the coming together of teachers and students from different cultures, each bringing special skills, knowledge, and experience. This has resulted in the development of institutions that are responsive to the needs of Asia-Pacific nations, and an environment conducive to mutual understanding and learning.

Both Business Week and US News and World Report have ranked University of Hawaii College of Business Administration (UH CBA) graduate level international business programs among the nation's best.

The UH CBA's highly acclaimed Pacific-Asian Management Institute (PAMI) and Advanced Management Program (AMP) draw executives from around the world for short-term training.

Specialized executives MBA programs - many the first of their kind - are offered at the University of Hawaii, including a health-care-focused MBA (in conjunction with John Hopkins School of Medicine), and China-focused (CHEMBA) and Japan-focused (JEMBA) executive MBA programs.

The Hilo campus of the University of Hawaii recently won Federal funding for a major new agricultural research center to serve all the Pacific Islands.

It is not just happening at the college level, either. The State Department of Education is creating "E-Academies" which will teach technology, science, math and engineering through "virtual" (but site-based) high schools in each district.

No matter where they come from, students from around the world feel "at home" in Hawaii. The State provides one one of the safest and most culturally diverse settings in the world to pursue specialized training opportunities and advanced degrees.

The University of Hawaii's English as a Second Language and Linguistics programs are ranked among the top programs in the world, and the College of Business Administration's international business program was ranked an impressive 24th out of the whole of the U.S.

The University's School of Travel Industry Management is respected worldwide for training and research in hotel, restaurant, tourism and transportation management, as designated by the World Tourism Organization as one of 14 international tourism education and training centers in the world.

The University of Hawaii teaches more Asian languages than any other U.S. university. Approximately 2,000 students are studying Japanese, the most popular language at the university. Additionally, the university is one of only two in the U.S. to offer a master's degree for Korean language studies.