At least ten police officers around the state will be working towards college degrees this fall.
The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, in partnership with the Hawai‘i Police Department, is launching a new degree program this fall specifically targeted toward law enforcement officers.
Participating students — in this case, two officers from the Hawai‘i County Police Department, five from the Honolulu Police Department, and three from the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement — will be able to take online courses toward a bachelor’s degree in Administration of Justice while still working full-time as law enforcement officers.
Katherine Young, program chair for UH Hilo’s Administration of Justice Program told Aloha State Daily that the Administration of Justice degree gives officers a better understanding of “crime and society and the criminal justice system.”
The cohort takes place year-round, with students taking two courses each semester and during summer sessions. Students with an associate degree can finish the course as soon as two years, depending on how many credits they can transfer, but those with no prior college credits can finish in five, Young said.
Students can also earn credit for their police academy training.
The courses are also streamlined specially to accommodate officers’ work schedules. All classes are fully online and will be offered in a “carousel” model that allows students to take extended periods off — such as for training — and return to the course later while staying on track to complete the degree.
One of the participating students, HPD officer Ryan Barrett, said the degree will help him make better-informed decisions while on the job.
“As a patrol officer right now, sometimes there are questions of, ‘What's the best way to do this? Or, you know, what does case law say? How can I go about this in the best approach?’” Barrett said in a statement. “And I think using these next couple of years to get a degree in Administration of Justice will help me better equip myself to better help the community.”
The program is open statewide, and officers still have time to apply for the fall semester, as the cohort is capped at 25 students per year. Students can apply until August 15, and applications for the Spring 2026 semester are due Dec. 1.
