UH Hilo launches online pathway for law enforcement officers to earn bachelor’s degree in administration of justice
Inaugural cohort includes 10 from Hawaiʻi County Police Department, Honolulu Police Department, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is launching a new online pathway this fall for law enforcement officers across the state to earn a bachelor of arts in administration of justice. The pathway program is created through a partnership with the Hawaiʻi Police Department for police officers to continue serving their communities full-time while pursuing their degree from UH Hilo’s College of Arts and Sciences.
The inaugural cohort of the program includes 10 students from the Hawaiʻi County Police Department, Honolulu Police Department, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.
Katherine Young, professor of administration of justice and chair of the department — the program was launched in fall of 2023 — says she believes the collaboration empowers officers to build on their knowledge and skills and further excel in their existing roles.
“We really want to be there for our law enforcement partners to develop workforce readiness, and we see that as beneficial, not just to our law enforcement partners, but to our AJ students and our communities,” says Young. “That educational enrichment is beneficial to everyone involved.”
UH Hilo’s administration of justice program is the only standalone AJ bachelor’s degree in the 10-campus UH System. Students study, through online classes, how societies implement justice in both theory and in practice; courses include policing and punishment, global crime, Indigenous justice, advocacy and criminal justice, and justice and the environment, among other topics.
Workforce partnership for Hawaiʻi Island
Acting Hawaiʻi Police Chief Reed Mahuna is excited to see the new pathway into the program. “Our officers, the more well-rounded they are, the more professionally developed they are, the more that they’ve experienced things outside of the department, the better their service to the community.”
UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin is hoping this type of community partnership is one of many more to come.
“It’s the first of what I hope will be many workforce partnerships here on Hawaiʻi Island with the county and various sectors of our economy,” says Chancellor Irwin.
The pathway program is open statewide, and there is still room for more students to enroll. The deadline for students to apply for the upcoming semester is Aug. 15; applications for spring 2026 are due by Dec. 1
“UH Hilo is not only a university for Hawaiʻi Island, it is the university of Hawaiʻi Island,” says Chancellor Irwin. “And so to have these kinds of community partnerships is demonstrating to our broader community that you created us, and we are here to serve you, and that can take all kinds of different forms as we move forward.”
Related story
Student engagement is number one priority at UH Hilo’s new administration of justice program
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
