The Psychology Department is located on the second floor of a  modern, 3-story building constructed in 2002, which is officially referred to as the "University Classroom Building" (UCB).  This multi-purpose building incorporates classrooms, faculty and administration offices, meeting rooms, student resource rooms, computer and research labs.  Open, breezy patios on every floor, some with ocean and mountain views, provide space for socializing and rest, whereas spacious, air-conditioned classrooms and offices with tinted glass windows ensure comfortable conditions for work and study.  In addition to regular and tiered classrooms equipped with sophisticated computer and multimedia technology, the Department of Psychology has specialized training facilities designed to accommodate undergraduate and graduate courses, which include experiments and observations.  All of the Psychology faculty have offices in UCB with easy and convenient access to classrooms, conference rooms, and college and division administration.  Whereas some research labs are located in different buildings, those are within a short walking distance (3-5 minutes).  The campus is small, and most of its facilities are situated in close proximity to each other.  Besides, UCB is centrally located on campus and connected with the Campus Center, Library, and many other buildings via covered walkways.  The later can be particularly handy when it rains much, which is not uncommon in Hilo.  The building has many open computer labs for students, which provide access to the Internet, UH services, library resources, and specialized software utilized in various classes.  Additionally, UCB has an extensive wireless network, which allows for connecting to the Internet from virtually anywhere.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo is a small state university with approximately 200 faculty and 3500 students in 33 undergraduate and 5 graduate programs and a rapidly growing program of significant research.  It combines the friendliness and intimacy of a small college and small class sizes (40% of all classes have less than 20 students) with access to some of the research resources and opportunities that are typically available at much larger universities. Compared with institutions of similar size, UHH has a 120% higher than average rate of extramural research funding.  For example, UHH faculty obtained over $18,000,000 in extramural grants in 2006. Another attraction of UHH is the diversity of both the local and student populations. According to the U.S. Census, the Big Island of Hawaii, home to the UH Hilo, is the most diverse county in the United States, whereas UHH has been consistently named one of the most diverse American universities.  Diversity is celebrated and embraced here: Hawaii and UHH are both known for their welcoming “aloha spirit” and for harmonious relations between people from different ethnic backgrounds.  UHH is a growing educational institution.  It is currently undergoing a transformation from a 4-year, liberal arts college into a comprehensive university with Master's and Doctoral level programs.  For the past few years, there has been a slow, but steady growth in student enrollment, which is expected to reach 5,000 by 2010. The campus infrastructure is also expanding.  This year, a state-of-the-art Astronomy Education Center has been added to UH Hilo attractions.  In the next few years, a new Science and Technology building and School of Pharmacy will complement the existing campus facilities.  However, there is a considerable shortage of research space and facilities, particularly specialized research labs.  Insufficient space is a growing problem, which has not been adequately addressed so far and is likely to become worse as the university expands in the future.

The UHH campus is situated in Hilo, a peaceful town with a population of about 50,000, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 200 air miles from Honolulu and 2500 miles from the West Coast of the United States.  First and foremost, Hilo is known for its natural beauty: Spectacular ocean and mountain views, picturesque waterfalls and lush vegetation make it one of the most attractive areas in Hawaii.  Known as the “rainiest city in the United States”, Hilo, nevertheless, is characterized by a generally pleasant weather, because most rainfall is in the evening and at night.  The daytime temperature stays within a comfortable range of 75-85 degrees year round.  Despite its relatively small size, Hilo is the second largest city in Hawaii and administrative center of the County of Hawaii.  It has a major harbor and airport and offers all of the modern technological amenities and social services available elsewhere.  The university is conveniently located in town, close to the downtown area, shopping malls, and cultural centers.  At the same time, many major attractions of the island, such as Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Mauna Kea International Astronomy Center, Akaka Falls, etc. are within a short driving distance.  The cost of living in Hilo is higher than that of many similar size towns on the U.S. mainland, but it is considerably lower than almost anywhere else in Hawaii and many popular metro areas in the United States, such as San Francisco and the Bay Area in California, Great Boston area in Massachusetts and New York City.  Job opportunities in the area are limited, since there are no large corporate businesses based in Hilo.  Major employers are tourist businesses and the government. There are, however, many job openings in health care, education, and human services, such as counseling and social work.

A major advantage of UHH is that it is positioned on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii, the largest in the Hawaiian Archipelago. With an area of 4,060 square miles, it has more land than all the other Hawaiian islands combined. With its great variety of physical features, including peaks that are snowcapped in winter, pasture lands, tropical rain forest, active volcanoes, and deserts, the Big Island of Hawaii has been described as a tropical mini continent.  Due to its unique location and geological features, the Big Island of Hawaii is the only place in the world, where one can visit 11 different climate zones (out of 13 on Earth) in one day.  Not surprisingly, UHH was named one of the top 20 outdoor universities in America by Outside Magazine because of the many opportunities for year-round outdoor recreational activities that are available.  Popular forms of pastime in Hawaii include surfing, fishing, hunting, swimming, snorkeling, spelunking, scuba diving, sea kayaking, Hawaiian canoe paddling, hiking, biking, tennis, golf, beach volleyball, soccer, baseball, and even winter skiing and snow boarding on Mauna Kea.  Winter months are also notable for whale watching opportunities, whereas Spring is celebrated with a popular Merrie Monarch Festival, a week-long cultural event held annually in Hilo.  Every October, the Big island hosts one of the most  prestigious triathlon competitions in the world, Ironman Hawaii, which attracts thousands of top athletes and dozens of thousands of spectators.  The Big Island is also known for its international astronomy center.  The geographic location, air quality, and accessibility make Hawaii arguably the best spot for astronomical observations in the world.  Thus, it is not a surprise that with over a dozen of observatories located on top of Mauna Kea, at 14,000 feet elevation, and numerous facilities on the UHH campus the Big Island is considered the astronomers' Mecca.