Hawaii Psychology Education Overview
Psychology Licensure in Hawaii
The beautiful state of Hawaii offers great job options for human services professionals who’ve earned their license in psychology. You could start a private practice on Oahu, apply for a job at a school on Waikiki, or work at a hospital in Honolulu.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average annual salary for clinical and counseling psychologists in Hawaii is $110,900.
If working in a medical setting sounds appealing, then consider a job at one of Hawaii’s 15+ major hospitals. If helping children in a school setting is your calling, especially if your degree had a concentration in child psychology, there’s always one of Hawaii’s 283 schools.
Finding the perfect niche for your specific skill set and desires is simply a matter of time. Consider our step-by-step guide for the psychologist licensure process in Hawaii below.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024. Salary figures for Clinical and Counseling Psychologists. Salaries based on state data not school specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed May 2025.
Required educational background
To be able to apply for your license in Hawaii you will first need to earn your Ph.D. in Psychology from an APA approved school. This of course presupposes that you have already earned both your Bachelor and Master of Psychology degrees.
While you need a Bachelor of Psychology in order to eventually become a licensed Psychologist in Hawaii, the degree itself is useful outside the context of it being a stepping stone on the path to becoming a licensed Psychologist. Indeed, a Bachelor of Psychology is one of the most useful Bachelor’s degrees to have in the human services field in terms of employment opportunities.
While it is true that Hawaii does not allow licensure for those who have not earned their doctorate in Psychology, this does not make this degree merely a step on the ladder to licensure. A Master of Psychology helps you narrow your focus of study in Psychology enroute to your licensure. However, a Master of Psychology is actually a tremendous asset to have in its own right in the human services job market. You will discover that your Master’s is a highly sought after degree for many human services jobs. So, even if you decided not to continue with your education to earn a doctorate and pursue licensure, your degree will be very useful in finding employment.
Once your doctorate in psychology from an APA approved school you will need to start accumulating your required hours of field experience.
Field Experience
To verify your field experience component, you will take the following actions:
- You will need to complete an APA approved internship
- Alternately, instead of an APA approved internship, you will need to accumulate 1900 hours of supervised fieldexperience. You will need to amass 1900 hours during a 1 year period. You will need to apply for licensure, get approval and take your examinations as explained below. You will need to be supervised by a Psychologist licensed in Hawaii.
You will want to familiarize yourself with the Hawaii specific rules and regulations for licensure. These laws change so it is good to make sure you have current information, you can find that information here:
Examination
Once you have completed your field experience you can apply to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).
- Pass the EPPP with a score meeting the Hawaii minimum
You can find some helpful information about your EPPP here: