Stress is damaging if it is continual, overwhelming. and prolonged. Law enforcement officers face stressful events daily. A relationship exists between stress levels and the physical and psychological effects to the human body. Although there is a general understanding of the damage stress can do physically and psychologically, many elements that can increase or decrease stress levels have not been researched. There has been limited research pertaining to the relationship between education level and stress and even less research pertaining to whether education mitigates stress levels by altering the perception of law enforcement officers. The problem is that job-related stress is a critical and hazardous for law enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies if not managed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether education mitigates stress levels for law enforcement officers by altering the perception of stress employing a non-experimental, quantitative study. A convenience sample comprised of 115 male and female law enforcement officers in South Carolina, with differing levels of education participated in the research. Data was collected using the Job Stress Survey (JSS). Education and stress were chosen because of the influence both have on individuals. The data was used to explore (a) whether education mitigates stress by altering the perception of stress; and (b) whether education levels had a linear relationship to stress levels in law enforcement officers. Two research questions and hypotheses were developed. The hypotheses were tested utilizing the Analysis of Variance and Spearman's Rank-Order correlation. Findings from this research can be used to determine if officers with college degrees experience a lower level of stress. The final results of the study revealed there was no significant difference among law enforcement officers with differing levels of education and stress levels. Recommendations for future research should include participants from various law enforcement agencies both small and large and included agency such as federal, state, and local departments. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]