In 1915 Keller went on sabbatical leave and at the end of the year came back with two earned Master's degrees in engineering, one from M.I.T. and one from Harvard. In 1918 Keller was called to active duty as a captain in the Army Engineer Corps. World War I created many problems for the College of Hawai`i. The Student Army Training Corps was more popular than the draft, and College enrollment increased by fifty percent to 68 regular students and 77 special students. Part of the engineering testing laboratory was turned into a SATC mess hall. Nevertheless Professor Young, with the help of temporary appointments from local engineers, managed to carry on, and graduated one engineer each war year. In 1920 when Keller returned from the war the College of Hawai`i had become the University of Hawai`i, and Keller became the first Dean of the College of Applied Science.

The College of Applied Science was responsible for curriculums in Engineering, Agriculture, Home Economics, and Sugar Technology. The College of Arts and Sciences, under Dean Arthur L. Andrews, was responsible for all liberal arts and science curriculums. These two colleges, with the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Agricultural Extension Service constituted the University of Hawai`i until the College of Education was incorporated in 1930. For the 1919-21 biennium the legislature appropriated a total of $281,500 for the University (including $142,000 for a physics, chemistry, and sugar technology building -- Gartley Hall). This exceeded the total ($279,000) appropriated to the College of Hawai`i during the entire ten years of its existence. The University was off to a flying start. Enrollment promptly increased to 106 regular students plus 136 special students.

During the years between two world wars, the University steadily increased in stature. By 1940 the enrollment of the University was over 2000 regular students, already exceeding the most optimistic projections. The annual operating expenses of the University, including the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Extension Service, was about one and a quarter million dollars. The faculty numbered 142 individuals.

Engineering participated in this growth, but not proportionately. In 1928 four one-story concrete buildings of the Engineering quadrangle were built around the engineering testing laboratory, at the cost of $64,971. This increased to 15,840 square feet the floor space assigned to engineering, although one of the four new buildings was used for many years as the University carpenter shop. In 1936 fourteen engineering degrees were awarded, but on the average, University graduating classes, between the two wars, included only about seven engineers each.

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