Indigenous Planning, Graduate Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Planning offers students and professionals an in-depth understanding of Indigenous Peoples, processes, and practices to enrich urban and regional planning. Designed for both standalone study or concurrent enrollment with a UH Mānoa graduate degree, the program prepares participants to: 

• Engage respectfully with Indigenous worldviews, knowledge systems, and methodologies. 
• Apply Indigenous and Hawaiian-informed approaches to land use, sustainability, housing, and community development. 
• Center planning practices around core values such as pilina, kuleana, and aloha, with a focus on ethics, equity, and inclusion. The certificate equips students and professional planners with culturally grounded tools to navigate complex land-use, social and environmental challenges.  

The GCERT in Indigenous Planning is housed in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) and offered in partnership with the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies. Applicants without a planning degree must complete PLAN 600 : Public Policy and Planning Theory as a prerequisite, unless they have at least three years of relevant planning/planning-related work experience, in which case PLAN 600  is recommended but not required. A minimum grade of B is required in PLAN 600  before enrolling in the required courses for the GCERT.