A new initiative will allow public high school students interested in engineering careers to work toward direct acceptance into the College of Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The state Department of Education has entered into a partnership with UH to create a “college-focused pathway” for high school students who want to pursue engineering degrees.

The College of Engineering, which offers undergraduate programs in civil, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering, typically requires high school students to first complete trigonometry, physics and chemistry before applying.

But under the academic pathway, two engineering technology courses have been developed under the DOE’s Career and Technical Education program. The high school courses were developed to be consistent with the college’s entry-level course objectives, DOE officials said.

“This partnership falls in line with our goals to provide more college-level courses for high school students that will hopefully nurture students’ interests in future professions,” schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said in a statement. “Working with the College of Engineering will ensure that our high school engineering courses correspond to college-level standards, and help to ease the transition for our graduates into higher level courses towards future success.”

Song Choi, assistant dean at UH-Manoa’s College of Engineering, added: “With the increase in interest in engineering from scholastic robotics, innovation competitions, design competition, etc., creating a ‘direct’ pathway to an engineering education from high school is a necessity. The agreement … will help high school students maintain their interest and enthusiasm in engineering by manifesting an early indication of acceptance to the college.”

The pathway initiative was funded through a grant administered by the Office of Naval Research and the Educational Leadership Program at Chaminade University.