56.8 percent of the applicants this year are women. That’s a record high for the sixth consecutive year.
We are now approaching the same rate of gender distribution we recognize from higher education in general. In higher education in Norway, the gender distribution has long been approximately 60 percent women and 40 percent men, says Ann-Lisbeth Framaas from the Police University College Politihøgskolen in a press release .
This is the sixth consecutive year with an increase in female applicants for the Police Academy. Of the 4284 applicants this year, 2432 are female.
The proportion of female applicants has increased from 47.9 percent in 2018 to 56.8 percent this year.
– The most important thing for the Police University College is that we are left with a solid number of qualified applicants in the end. We look forward to seeing well-qualified and motivated applicants become students this fall, says Framaas.
The Police Academy will admit 400 students in August, in Oslo, Bodø and Stavern.
They are also seeing an overall increase in the number of applicants – up 23.9 percent from last year, and the highest number since 2018.
– It is positive to see that even more people want to become police officers. Interest in our education has been high for many years, but the application numbers can fluctuate somewhat from year to year. We assume that somewhat better opportunities to get a job faster after graduation may be a factor that has affected the applicants’ interest now, says Framaas.