Native Hawaiian students pursuing STEM-related degrees (science, technology, engineering and math) at Chaminade University will be eligible for full scholarships starting next fall under a new partnership announced Friday between the private university and Kamehameha Schools.

Once launched, the scholarship program — called Ho‘oulu, which can mean “to grow or sprout” in Hawaiian — will provide financial aid and other academic supports to approximately 20 Native Hawaiian undergraduate students a year.

Chaminade, a Catholic Marianist university, would cover 50 percent of tuition costs, and Kamehameha Schools, the private educational trust founded and endowed by the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, would cover 50 percent. Regular undergraduate tuition is approximately $22,000 for the 2015-16 school year.

Chaminade offers several undergraduate degrees in STEM-related fields, among them biochemistry, biology, environmental studies, forensic sciences and nursing.

“At the start it’s a scholarship program, an incubator program,” RaeDeen Keahiolalo-Karasuda, director of Chaminade’s Office of Native Hawaiian Partnerships, said in an interview. “It’s about preparing students to really be leaders in STEM and be a voice at the table in their communities. In the big picture it’s to support the lahui,” or Hawaiian people.

In addition to financial support, the Ho‘oulu program will provide “both academic and nonacademic support such as tutoring, mentoring, internships and research opportunities … to ensure programmatic strength and student success,” said Lauren Nahme, vice president of strategy and innovation for Kamehameha Schools.

Nahme said Chaminade was seen as an attractive partner because the university can provide students “a more intimate setting and on-the-ground individualized attention.”

“Our biggest hope is to have students be able to complete STEM degrees in four years at a success rate much higher than the norm,” Nahme said. “We want to see 85 percent in four years. That’s the goal.”

Nationally, 59 percent of full-time students pursuing a bachelor’s degree graduate within six years, on average, while 39 percent graduate within four years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Jack Wong, CEO of Kamehameha Schools, said in a statement that “collaborating with a Native Hawaiian-serving institution like Chaminade aligns with our strategic direction to improve post-high outcomes for Hawaiian students. Together, we see a workforce, prepared and poised to contribute to and lead their communities — locally and globally.”

Chaminade enrolls approximately 2,500 students, with 13 percent of its student body made up of Native Hawaiian students.

With a memorandum of understanding in place, the schools are now working to finalize the program, including an application process. Until then inquiries can be sent to Keahiolalo-Karasuda at raedeen.karasuda@chaminade.edu.