Featured Schools
As you think about your career options in the criminal justice field, you will discover that one of the most significant benefits to the modern educational landscape is the ease of access to online learning. What Better place to explore this option than in Beautiful Hawaii.
There are a variety of criminal justice jobs in Hawaii and the pay tends to compare favorably with the national averages.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a location quotient of 0.97, Hawaii falls midrange among states with the highest concentration of criminal justice jobs. Therefore, graduates have an above-average chance of locating suitable jobs in the state. Overall, criminal justice jobs in the United States are growing at the same rate as all jobs at 7%.
It’s important to note that criminal justice jobs in Hawaii depend on more than education credentials. Students who already work in criminal justice or related fields are more likely to increase their salaries more quickly than those switching to criminal justice from another field. However, with a few years of experience, graduates may find that more lucrative job opportunities open up to them.
How We Ranked The Top Online Criminal Justice Programs
The Criminal Justice Degree Hub editors found schools offering online Criminal Justice programs. Then we ranked the programs based on cost, reputation, and future salary.
How we ranked The Best Online Criminal Justice Programs in Hawaii
To rank Hawaii’s best online criminal justice programs, Criminal Justice Degree Hub editors focus on trustworthy, accredited schools. We rank programs by practical factors such as tuition rate, student satisfaction, and graduate salary. Data comes from IPEDS and Niche.
1. Hawaii Pacific University
The Hawaii Pacific University (HPU Online) Department of Public Service offers a variety of the Aloha State’s best online criminal justice degree programs across various academic levels, many of which provide students the opportunity to study abroad in a number of internati
onal locations of Hawaii.
Hawaii Pacific University’s Master of Science in Criminal Justice Degree (MSCJ) Online Program
Hawaii Pacific University (Hawaii Pacific Online) offers one of the best criminal justice graduate degree online with its Master of Science degree program in Criminal Justice (MSCJ). HPU’s graduate degree online in criminal justice offers degree candidates a 1.5- to-2-year completion timeframe. Sample classes for HPU’s criminal justice degree graduate degree include real-world case studies, criminal law enforcement managerial techniques, and an introduction to the judicial system, delivered in 8-week modules over twelve months for full-time students or longer for degree candidates that finish the program on a part-time basis as a working learner.
Hawaii Pacific University’s Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Degree (BSCJ) Online Program
The College of Professional Studies – located at Hawaii Pacific University, also offers another of Hawaii’s best Bachelor of Science degree (BS) online criminal justice degree program in Criminal Justice that gives students the option of a three- or four-year academic plan of study. This undergraduate degree in criminal justice requires 120 undergraduate semester units, covering 120-semester units of coursework that may include basic criminology, ethics, and justice, justice systems, crime scene investigations theories and practices, criminal procedures – corrections – the process & progress, among others.
Hawaii Pacific University’s Associate of Science in Criminal Justice Degree (ASCJ) Online Program
Hawaii Pacific University’s College of Professional Studies/Public Service Department also offers a sixty-credit Associate of Science in Cybersecurity that requires degree candidates to complete at least sixty credit units in 1.5 to 2 years. Students enrolled in Hawaii Pacific University’s associate online criminal justice degree program complete classes in the fundamentals of network security, secure programming, digital literacy, and the global society, and the fundamentals of cybersecurity, to name a few.
2. Chaminade University of Honolulu
Chaminade University of Honolulu (CUH Online) School of Education & Behavioral Sciences offers the oldest and the largest of on-campus or online Criminal Justice Degree programs in Hawaii, with its Bachelor of Science online degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. In addition, Chaminade University has been ranked among the top, socially mobile schools by US News & World Report, which is also ranked as a ‘best value’ institution of higher education.
The featured classes and core curriculum for this criminal justice degree online include behavioral sciences statistics, juvenile deviance and juvenile justice, contemporary issues in criminal justice, law enforcement, society, and mental disorders, and corrections – prisons and community alternatives, to name a few. The undergraduate online degree from the Chaminade University of Honolulu provides a curriculum that aligns with that of the principles of the ACJS – the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences – including comprehensive legal courses and interactive crime scene investigation, among others.
3. The University of Hawai’i Maui College
The University of Hawaii Maui College (UHMC Online) is one of ten campuses operating under the University of Hawaii education umbrella. The University of Hawaii Maui College offers one of the leading online Criminal Justice Degree programs with its Associate of Applied Science in the Administration of Justice (AASAJ). This 63-credit associate degree online program prepares graduates for entry-level criminal justice positions in corrections, private security, courts, and law enforcement, among others. Students enrolled in this Associate of Applied Science online degree in criminal justice can finish the degree in only two years if students have the flexibility to study on a full-time basis.
The University of Hawaii Maui College’s online degree in criminal justice requires the completion of coursework that include criminal investigation, criminalistics, the correctional process, the principles of the Hawaii justice system, the correctional process, rules of evidence, the principles of loss prevention, stress in policing, and economic crimes, and the laws of arrest, and the principles of search, and seizure to name a few. In addition, students must complete a criminal justice internship equal to 75 clock hours per semester for one or two semesters.
4. The University of Hawai’i Community College
The Center for Legal Studies at the Hawaii Community College (UHCC CLS) offers one of the Aloha State’s leading paralegal certificate progra
ms that prepare students to pursue their online criminal justice degree at the baccalaureate or associate level. The coursework for this online degree certificate program is delivered in live lecture as well as text-only formatted seven-week modules from the University of Hawaii’s Community College in two divided sessions. This Community College offers students the opportunity to complete this certificate program in criminal justice (which includes all of the six topics) in as few twelve months.
Featured classes for this undergraduate certificate in criminal justice (from this space-grant institution of higher education) includes Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Legal Documentation and Prep, Federal Rules of Evidence, Uniform System of Citation, Introduction to Para legalism, and legal Research, Secondary sources & Finding Tools, to name a few. Graduates of this non-degree online certificate program include one of the many essential legal support roles – in demand across sectors and industries, to name just a few.
5. The University of Hawaii West OAHU
The West Oahu campus @ the University of Hawaii (UH WO) is a member school of Hawaii’s university system that was founded in the mid-1970s. The West Oahu campus at the University of offers a Bachelor of Science degree program in Cybersecurity (BSC) that ranks among the leading online criminal justice degree programs in the marketplace. The University of Hawaii’s West Oahu online degree in criminal justice is available as an entry-level starting point for four-year students or a pathway for those students who have previously earned an Associate of Science degree in a number of related fields with its those community colleges for which the University of Hawaii has existing partnership agreements across the Aloha State.
The West Oahu campus @ the University of Hawaii’s criminal justice baccalaureate degree online also offers an academic concentration in cyber operations. The cyber operations concentration from UH’s criminal justice program explores special topics that include wireless technologies, cyber detection & response, industrial systems, and proactive & defensive activities in cyber security, to name a few. In addition to a criminal justice capstone requirement, plus digital forensics, modern cyber conflicts, the fundamentals of security software programming, and supervisory control & data acquisition, among others.
6. Windward Community College
Windward Community College (Winward @ a Distance) is a public two-year higher learning institution that operates within the University of Hawaii system and is located in Kaneohe – with a student enrollment that exceeds 2,700 students each year. Windward Community College offers a certificate of competence in information and computer sciences – with a specialty as an information security specialist that is among the leading programs that allow students to further pursue more advanced education by earning one of the many qualities online criminal justice degree programs available in the Hawaiian educational marketplace.
Windward Community College’s certificate of competence in information security mandates the completion of four classes (for a total of twelve undergraduate credit units) as follows – computer forensics, ethical hacking, an introduction to computer security, and introduction to networking. Windward Community College has been serving working learners and students for the past five decades, since 1972. Facilities available to students at WCC include the Lanihulli Observatory, the Iolani Art Gallery, an Aerospace Exploration Lag, and the Paliku Theater and Hokulani Imaginarium and Planetarium, to name a few.
7. Kapiolani Community College
Kapiolani Community College (KCC at a Distance) is a member school of the state’s university system offers a two-year degree as well as certificate programs in criminal justice that prepare graduates for rewarding careers in a variety of industries and sectors – including its leading Associate of Science (AS) degree in Information Technology that requires 60 to 62-semester units to meet KCC’s defined graduation criteria. Featured classes for this information technology associate online criminal justice degree include network connectivity, cyber security, programming fundamentals, including hands-on practical applications and projects in database management, cyber security, and front-end graphical user interface, to name a few. Kapiolani Community College’s criminal justice online degree program.
Kapiolani Community College was founded as a technical school in the mid-1940s and now operates as Hawaii’s largest comprehensive community college specializing in certificate programs and degrees in the areas of business, nursing, criminal justice, hospitality management, and STEM-related programs. Potential careers for students who graduate from Kapiolani Community College’s criminal justice associate degree program find rewarding careers that include a technical support specialist, a front-end GUI interface programmer, a database developer, a local area network (LAN) administrator, or a help desk technician, to name a few.
Why Should I Get My Degree Online in Hawaii?
There are many benefits to getting a degree online. First, students have greater access to education. Without worrying about geography, they can choose the school that best meets their career objectives. Additionally, studying online gives learners much more flexibility in their work life balance. Whether learners have children, work a full-time job, or have other commitments, online criminal justice degrees provide the greatest freedom to determine their own study schedule.
Accessibility
Many people in Hawaii live in remote areas, making it difficult to pursue higher education without moving to urban centers. However, earning a degree online allows students to choose the school with the best program for their specialization without uprooting their lives. This is especially important for adult learners who may already have family obligations such as young children at home or caring for aging parents.
Affordability
Getting an online criminal justice degree can also prove more affordable than attending classes in person. That’s because students won’t have to pay to commute to school or pay higher rents and living expenses typically associated with university communities. Instead, learners can continue working or maintaining their lifestyle while completing their education from the comfort of home. Gas, tolls, parking, and other fees quickly add up. Additionally, online education tends to be cheaper than taking in person classes, which involves many overhead costs.
New Skills Development
Often, pursuing a degree involves more than academic learning. Going to college usually involves a period of tremendous personal growth. Some students may feel that getting their degree online will take away from the experience of growth and personal discovery associated with in-person classes. However, students who take classes online have to learn many skills in order to succeed in courses. Fortunately, these skills transfer well into careers in criminal-justice.
Some of the new skills developed during online learning include the following:
- Self-motivation
- Self-discipline
- Time management
- Task management
- Communication, written and verbal
- Technology mastery including virtual conference platforms
Learning to manage oneself is the first step to learning to manage others. Therefore, online learning provides the perfect format to develop important skills necessary to succeed in the workplace.
How Much Can I Make With a Criminal Justice Degree in Hawaii?
Criminal justice salary in Hawaii compares very favorably with comparable salaries in other states. According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for criminology jobs in Hawaii is $52,000. That’s about $25 per hour or a weekly take home pay of approximately $1,000. On ZipRecruiter, some postings offer as high as $127,307 or as low as $18,261. However, most criminology jobs in Hawaii fell between $31,000 and $64,000.
With such a huge range of salaries, it’s very important for students to carefully curate the type of job that they would like to secure and take steps to make their resumes more attractive to hiring managers. Criminal justice salaries in Hawaii can prove lucrative for those who stick with it beyond the first few years when salaries tend to remain low.
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