Certified peace officers employed by a Utah law enforcement agency can apply for a state grant that covers up to tuition and fees at Southern Utah University, capped at $5,000 per year, and you apply through SUU’s financial aid office. The grant is for officers working toward a criminal justice-related degree.
The grant is a Utah state program, not something SUU funds on its own. It’s called the Public Safety Officer Career Advancement Grant, or PSOCAG, and the Utah System of Higher Education runs it. SUU is one of eight public Utah institutions on the state’s list, and SUU’s own scholarships page lists PSOCAG under Other Miscellaneous Scholarships.
How To Get The Southern Utah University First Responder Discount
- Check that you’re a certified peace officer currently employed by a Utah law enforcement agency.
- Pick a criminal justice-related degree program at a credit-granting institution on the state’s list. SUU is on it.
- Complete the FAFSA. The state page lists it as a requirement.
- Contact the financial aid office at SUU, where you’re enrolled or plan to enroll. The state page says that’s how you apply.
- Ask the office what the grant will cover for your term, since the amount depends on available funding.
The state page doesn’t print an application form or a deadline, so the call to SUU’s financial aid office is the real first step.
Who Qualifies, In The State’s Words
The page’s eligible students line reads certified peace officers. The first requirement is being currently employed by a Utah law enforcement agency. You also need to be seeking a degree in a criminal justice-related program, and you can’t be a recipient of the Karen Mayne Public Safety Officer Scholarship for that same degree.
The page doesn’t name firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers or corrections officers, and it doesn’t mention spouses or children. If you work in one of those jobs, the question for SUU’s financial aid office is whether the grant applies to you. Don’t assume either way.
What The Grant Covers And Where It Stops
The page says the award is up to tuition and fees, with a maximum of $5,000 per year, based on available funding. Tuition and fees are the only eligible use the page lists.
The award runs up to four academic years. That count includes any earlier awards from the program PSOCAG replaced, which was called PSOCAR. An officer who used the older reimbursement program should add those years up before planning a four-year degree around this.
A Different Grant For A Different Degree
The state’s scholarship page also lists a First Responder Mental Health Services Grant for full-time or retired first responders seeking a degree or certificate to become a mental health therapist. That’s a separate program with its own rules, and the state page for PSOCAG doesn’t say how the two interact. If counseling is the career you have in mind, ask SUU’s financial aid office about both.
Q&A
Q: How much does the grant pay?
A: The page says up to tuition and fees, with a maximum of $5,000 per year, based on available funding.
Q: Do I have to be working as an officer to qualify?
A: The page says you must be a certified peace officer currently employed by a Utah law enforcement agency.
Q: Does the degree have to be in criminal justice?
A: The page says a criminal justice-related program. Ask SUU’s financial aid office whether your specific major counts.
Q: Is there a form I can fill out online?
A: The state page doesn’t link one. It says to contact the financial aid office at the institution where you’re enrolled or plan to enroll.
Q: Does SUU have to be where I go?
A: No. The state’s list has eight public institutions, SUU among them, so you can compare schools.
Q: Are there other schools that offer first responder savings?
A: Yes, our page on Liberty University covers one that works online.
More Information:
The state can change this grant’s funding or rules, so check the USHE page before you plan around it. For more ways to stretch your budget, browse our money discounts. You can also see it alongside other options in How First Responders Can Save Thousands on College Tuition: The Best Schools Offering Tuition Discounts.
