• Find a bachelor's degree




    Bachelors Degree Center is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

Fire­fight­ers aren’t rich. They’re incred­i­bly brave, ded­i­cat­ed, and loy­al, but they are not rich. In many areas, they’re vol­un­teers. How­ev­er, as fire­fight­ing and fire pro­tec­tion ser­vices have become more com­plex — from new tech­nolo­gies to orga­ni­za­tion­al com­plex­i­ties in grow­ing cities — fire­fight­ing has become more pro­fes­sion­al­ized. Many cities now require a bachelor’s degree for entry-lev­el fire­fight­ers, and even in depart­ments that are staffed by vol­un­teers, admin­is­tra­tive posi­tions tend to need a col­lege degree to apply. That’s why afford­able fire sci­ence degrees are so important.

So back to the mon­ey — fire­fight­ers aren’t rich, but the pres­sure to earn a col­lege degree means that work­ing pro­fes­sion­als in the field need to find pro­grams that get them the cre­den­tials they need with­out putting them in debt. That’s why Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter has ranked the Most Afford­able Fire Sci­ence Degree Bach­e­lor Pro­grams for work­ing adults who have an asso­ci­ate’s degree or oth­er cred­its. Online pro­grams pro­vide flex­i­ble, con­ve­nient ways for fire­fight­ers to earn their degree and advance in their career, but afford­able pro­grams keep tuition costs rea­son­able and help pro­fes­sion­als make the most of their degree.

Methodology: How We Ranked the Most Affordable Online Fire Science Bachelor’s Programs

Like all Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter rank­ings, our rank­ing of the Most Afford­able Fire Sci­ence Bachelor’s pro­grams began strict­ly with accred­it­ed, rep­utable pro­grams offer­ing hybrid and online degrees. For putting the most afford­able rank­ing in order, how­ev­er, only one fac­tor real­ly mat­ters: cost. Pro­grams are in order of tuition rate, from cur­rent IPEDS data, begin­ning with the least expensive.

1. East Georgia State College

East Geor­gia State Col­lege offers low-cost BS in Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that can be earned entire­ly online. EGSC’s bac­calau­re­ate lev­el online fire admin­is­tra­tion degree is accred­it­ed by FESHE, the Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion ini­tia­tive set forth by the fed­er­al government’s Fire Admin­is­tra­tion. Course­work for the major’s 60 cred­it units includes Fire Research, Dis­as­ter Plan­ning, Pub­lic Ser­vice, Fire Inves­ti­ga­tion, a cap­stone project, and a practicum.

East Geor­gia State Col­lege is a mem­ber school of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Geor­gia sys­tem and was estab­lished in 1973. Through EGSC’s three rur­al cam­pus­es (Swains­boro, Augus­ta, and States­boro), the school serves res­i­dents along Georgia’s coastal plains and is home to more than 3,100 stu­dents. Speak­ers of note who have spo­ken at East Geor­gia State Col­lege include Maya Ange­lo, Pres­i­dent James Carter, Roslyn Carter, and a past UN ambas­sador Andrew Young.

Degree: BA in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate
Cost: $$$$$

2. Fayetteville State University

Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty offers an online BS in Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that is rec­og­nized among the most afford­able fire sci­ence degrees. The Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion (FESHE) ini­tia­tive and the Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion orga­ni­za­tion have award­ed Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty its accred­i­ta­tion cer­tifi­cate. Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty is among the top-ranked online and afford­able fire sci­ence pro­gram in the nation.

Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty is a his­tor­i­cal­ly black uni­ver­si­ty (HBCU) that was estab­lished in 1867. FSU holds the dis­tinc­tion as being a mem­ber school of Thur­good Mar­shall Col­lege Fund, the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na Sys­tem. Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty offers near­ly 80 undergraduate/graduate degree pro­grams to its 6,000+-student pop­u­la­tion. Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty is the 2nd Old­est state-fund­ed insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion in the state of North Carolina.

Degree: BS in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate
Cost: $$$$$

Learn more about the pro­gram here!

3. Utah Valley University

Utah Val­ley Uni­ver­si­ty offers an afford­able fire sci­ence degree in Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online. The Fire Ser­vice Accred­i­ta­tion Con­gress (FSAC) accred­its Utah Val­ley Uni­ver­si­ty at a nation­al lev­el. UVU’s fire sci­ence bachelor’s degree pro­gram offers stu­dents two aca­d­e­m­ic con­cen­tra­tions from which to choose — Emer­gency Care or Emer­gency Man­age­ment. Course­work includes Dis­as­ter Man­age­ment, Mas­ter Plan­ning, Pol­i­tics & Reg­u­la­tion, Human­i­tar­i­an Relief, a cap­stone and senior research project, to name a few.

Utah Val­ley Uni­ver­si­ty was char­tered in 1941 as a voca­tion school. The school’s six cam­pus­es are home to near­ly 40,000 stu­dents study­ing degrees offered in the Arts, Edu­ca­tion, Busi­ness, Health & Pub­lic Ser­vice, Social Sci­ences, and Engi­neer­ing & Tech­nol­o­gy. Utah Val­ley Uni­ver­si­ty is cur­rent­ly Utah’s largest insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion. The school is home to one of the pre­mier col­le­giate ball­room pro­grams in the country.

Degree: BS in Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion
Cost: $$$$$

4. St Petersburg College

The School of Pub­lic Safe­ty, Pub­lic Safe­ty, Pub­lic Pol­i­cy & Legal Stud­ies offers St Peters­burg College’s afford­able Bach­e­lor of Applied Sci­ence (BAS) degree pro­gram in Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion. Stu­dents grad­u­ate pre­pared for reward­ing careers in fire ser­vices, emer­gency admin­is­tra­tion, law enforce­ment or emer­gency med­ical ser­vices, among oth­ers. Stu­dents must com­plete 60 cred­it units of class­es direct­ly relat­ed to the dis­ci­pline of fire sci­ence, and course­work for this afford­able fire sci­ence degree can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online.

St Peters­burg Col­lege is a mem­ber school of the Flori­da Col­lege Sys­tem that was estab­lished in 1927. The school oper­ates with eleven cam­pus­es in St. Peters­burg, Largo, Clear­wa­ter, Semi­nole, Tar­pon Springs, and Pinel­las Park. SPC cur­rent­ly oper­ates with 11 cam­pus­es across cen­tral Flori­da in Tar­pon Springs, Clear­wa­ter, Largo, Semi­nole and Pinel­las Park. St. Peters­burg Col­lege part­ners with the Flori­da Nation­al Guard and the mul­ti-juris­dic­tion­al Counter-Drug Task Force Train­ing initiative.

Degree: BAS in Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion — Fire Sci­ence
Cost: $$$$$

Learn more about the pro­gram here!

5. Columbia Southern University

Colum­bia South­ern Uni­ver­si­ty offers an afford­able BS in Fire Admin­is­tra­tion that has received accred­i­ta­tion from the FESHE ini­tia­tive and is avail­able exclu­sive­ly online. Stu­dents are required to com­plete 132 cred­it units; which includes Prin­ci­ples of Fire Ser­vices, Com­bus­tion & Fire Behav­ior, Fire Research, and Fire Pro­tec­tion in Con­struc­tion, among oth­ers. Colum­bia South­ern University’s gen­er­ous trans­fer cred­it pol­i­cy allows for up to 90 eli­gi­ble credits.

Colum­bia South­ern Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1993 as a for-prof­it school that offers online edu­ca­tion exclu­sive­ly. The many qual­i­ty pro­grams offered by Colum­bia South­ern Uni­ver­si­ty have been received recog­ni­tion by the Board of Cer­ti­fied Safe­ty Pro­fes­sion­als, the Soci­ety for Human Resource Man­age­ment (SHRM) and the Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion over­sight agency. Colum­bia South­ern Uni­ver­si­ty offers pro­grams in part­ner­ship with Wal­dorf Uni­ver­si­ty locat­ed in For­est City, IA.

Degree: BS in Fire Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate
Cost: $$$$$

6. Eastern New Mexico University

East­ern New Mex­i­co Uni­ver­si­ty offers an afford­able Emer­gency Man­age­ment Bach­e­lor of Applied Arts & Sci­ences (BAAS) degree pro­gram that can be com­plet­ed exclu­sive­ly online. ENMU’s online fire sci­ence bach­e­lor’s degree program’s majors include Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices or gen­er­al Emer­gency Man­age­ment. East­ern New Mex­i­co University’s fire sci­ence bach­e­lor’s degree pro­gram is FESHE approved and requires the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it units and a cap­stone project that cov­ers one of the fol­low­ing: Pub­lic Health Emer­gen­cies, Home­land Secu­ri­ty or Top­ics in Emer­gency management.

East­ern New Mex­i­co Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1927. East­ern New Mex­i­co Uni­ver­si­ty holds the dis­tinc­tion as being the largest region­al insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in the state. The school oper­ates with five schools/college over three cam­pus­es locat­ed in Por­tales, Roswell, and Rui­doso. East­ern New Mex­i­co Uni­ver­si­ty is des­ig­nat­ed by the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment as a His­pan­ic Serv­ing Edu­ca­tion Organization.

Degree: BAAS in Emer­gency Man­age­ment — Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate
Cost: $$$$$

7. American Public University

Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Fire Sci­ence Man­age­ment that has received accred­i­ta­tion by IFSAC — the Inter­na­tion­al Fire Ser­vice Accred­i­ta­tion Con­gress. Amer­i­can Pub­lic University’s online fire sci­ence bachelor’s degree pro­gram is con­ve­nient, flex­i­ble and afford­able. APUS’ fire sci­ence bac­calau­re­ate pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it hours across a four-year time peri­od. Amer­i­can Pub­lic University’s cred­it pol­i­cy allows for up to 90 trans­fer cred­it units if the cred­it units are eligible.

Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1991 and oper­ates as a for-prof­it insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing that offers online edu­ca­tion exclu­sive­ly. APUS is orga­nized into two schools — The Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty and the Amer­i­can Mil­i­tary Uni­ver­si­ty. The school’s online stu­dent enroll­ment exceeds 48,000 stu­dents. US News rec­og­nizes Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty among top tier schools offer­ing an online bac­calau­re­ate program.

Degree: BS in Fire Sci­ence Man­age­ment
Cost: $$$$$

Learn more about the pro­gram here!

8. Northwestern State University

North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana’s Glob­al Cam­pus offers NSU’s BS in Uni­fied Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion. North­west­ern State University’s fire sci­ence bach­e­lor’s degree pro­gram offers stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to select from three con­cen­tra­tions — Emer­gency Man­age­ment Admin­is­tra­tion, Law Enforce­ment, and Fire & Emer­gency Med­ical Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion. NSU’s fire sci­ence major requires the com­ple­tion of 49 cred­it units; while the bac­calau­re­ate degree requires the com­ple­tion of 123 cred­it hours, which can be com­plet­ed 100% online

North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1884 as a nor­mal teacher’s school. NSU oper­ates with cam­pus­es in Natchi­toches, Alexan­dria, Shreve­port, and Leesville. The school’s rur­al cam­pus­es are home to more than 11,000 stu­dents. The North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana is one of the first 6 schools to be a mem­ber of the Joint Ven­ture Pro­gram (JOVE) — a NASA part­ner­ship. Stu­dents at NSU par­tic­i­pat­ed in ana­lyz­ing data regard­ing the Space Shut­tle Columbia.

Degree: BS in Uni­fied Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion
Cost: $$$$$

Learn more about the pro­gram here!

9. Eastern Kentucky University

The Online Degree Pro­gram Divi­sion offers East­ern Ken­tucky University’s afford­able BS in Fire, Arson & Explo­sion Inves­ti­ga­tion — a degree pro­gram that offers its course­work 100% online. EKU’s fire sci­ence bachelor’s spe­cial­ty degree pro­gram is one of only a few pro­grams of its kind in the coun­try. East­ern Ken­tucky University’s online fire admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it hours, how­ev­er, EKU accepts up to 90 trans­fer cred­it hours, if eli­gi­ble. Note: there are sum­mer res­i­den­cy require­ments, so stu­dents are advised to review pro­gram details online.

East­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1874. East­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty oper­ates in Rich­mond, Haz­ard, Lan­cast­er, Corbin and Man­ches­ter, KY. More than 16,000 stu­dents study from East­ern Kentucky’s six schools/colleges. Mil­i­tary Times rec­og­nizes East­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty among the top “best vet col­leges” in the coun­try. US News ranks EKU among the top 30 region­al uni­ver­si­ties in the south­ern por­tion of the Unit­ed States.

Degree: BS in Fire, Arson and Explo­sion Inves­ti­ga­tion
Cost: $$$$$

Learn more about the pro­gram here!

10. University of Maryland Global Campus

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus offers an afford­able BS in Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that is avail­able exclu­sive­ly online. Class­es in the 120 cred­it unit fire sci­ence bachelor’s degree require­ments include Pub­lic Safe­ty Legal issues, Pub­lic Safe­ty Lead­er­ship, Pub­lic Safe­ty Ethics, Deci­sion Mak­ing, and Man­age­r­i­al Finance, among oth­ers. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus’ fire sci­ence bac­calau­re­ate degree pro­gram has received accred­i­ta­tion from the Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion (FESHE) initiative.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus is a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing that focus­es on online edu­ca­tion. UMGC’s online stu­dent body totals more than 90,000 stu­dents, world­wide. UMGC is one of eleven mem­ber schools of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Sys­tem. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus is con­sid­ered a pio­neer in dis­tance edu­ca­tion, as it orig­i­nal­ly offered dis­tance-learn­ing pro­grams using dial-up access.

Degree: BS in Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate
Cost: $$$$$

Learn more about the pro­gram here!

Can I Get a Degree in Fire Science for Free?

Unfor­tu­nate­ly, the answer here is usu­al­ly no. How­ev­er, if you’re already employed in fire safe­ty, your employ­er may have a pro­gram that can pay for your edu­ca­tion. Of course, just because you may not be able to get a free degree does­n’t mean that you don’t have free options. For exam­ple, you can find fire safe­ty online train­ing free. These inter­net cours­es will pro­vide prac­ti­cal tips that you can use in your job. You can even find free online fire cours­es with cer­tifi­cate options. These pro­grams let you earn a cer­tifi­cate instead of a degree. Start by look­ing up “fire safe­ty online train­ing free” and see what you come up with. Whether you just take a few cours­es or you seek free online fire cours­es with cer­tifi­cate pos­si­bil­i­ties, you can expand your fire safe­ty knowl­edge and use that knowl­edge on the job.

Will I Make More Money with a Bachelor’s in Fire Science?

In short, yes. Hav­ing a Bach­e­lor’s degree will qual­i­fy you for high­er-paid posi­tions in your field, depend­ing on the spe­cial­iza­tion you choose. If you’re ready for a pro­mo­tion and a big­ger salary, get­ting a Bach­e­lor’s degree is a vital step. Read on to take a clos­er look at some of the posi­tions and salaries that you might obtain with a degree.

First, take a look at the aver­age fire inspec­tor salary. A fire inspec­tor exam­ines build­ings to make sure that they’re up to cur­rent fire codes. The aver­age fire inspec­tor salary is $62,703. This job requires a lot of train­ing, and it starts with get­ting a Bach­e­lor’s degree.

Next, check out the aver­age fire cap­tain salary. Fire cap­tains gen­er­al­ly over­see activ­i­ties at a fire sta­tion. They also direct fire crews dur­ing emer­gen­cies. Since fire cap­tains must be con­fi­dent in their knowl­edge and have lots of lead­er­ship and crit­i­cal think­ing skills, he or she must have a degree. The aver­age fire cap­tain salary is rough­ly $89,735. How­ev­er, these salaries vary wide­ly depend­ing on where you live and how much expe­ri­ence you have. Fire cap­tains who work in major cities often make much more than average.

Then there’s the fire inves­ti­ga­tor salary. Fire inves­ti­ga­tors exam­ine the con­di­tions that led to the fire. They help law enforce­ment offi­cers deter­mine how a fire got start­ed. They usu­al­ly enter the mix when law enforce­ment sus­pects arson. The aver­age fire inspec­tor salary is just over $72,362. This job requires a lot of crit­i­cal think­ing and ana­lyt­i­cal skill, so train­ing is espe­cial­ly vital.

Next, look at the aver­age fire safe­ty offi­cer salary. A fire safe­ty offi­cer often helps fire inspec­tors in their work, mak­ing sure that build­ings stay up to fire code. A fire inspec­tor will also respond to fire emer­gen­cies and help exam­ine the cause of cer­tain fires. The aver­age fire safe­ty offi­cer salary is about $53,000, with oppor­tu­ni­ties for com­mis­sions and bonuses.

Now, look at the aver­age fire admin­is­tra­tion salary. A fire admin­is­tra­tion offi­cer over­sees the orga­ni­za­tion of a fire sta­tion or a fire depart­ment. Fire admin­is­tra­tors are often for­mer fire­fight­ers. They stay on top of bud­gets, employ­ment, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and more. The aver­age fire admin­is­tra­tion salary is just under $105,577.

Final­ly, how much does a fire chief make? A fire chief is the head of a fire depart­ment. They over­see their teams and main­tain lead­er­ship. Becom­ing a fire chief is a major hon­or that does­n’t hap­pen with­out a lot of train­ing and expe­ri­ence. In fact, most fire chiefs have advanced degrees. There­fore, those who want to become a fire chief must start with a Bach­e­lor’s degree. So, how much does a fire chief make? On aver­age, a fire chief will make about $93,719.

Relat­ed Rank­ings:
25 Best Online Fire Sci­ence Degree Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams
15 Best Bach­e­lor’s in Fire Sci­ence Degree Pro­grams
10 Fastest Online Fire Sci­ence Degree Bach­e­lor’s Programs

15 Best Online Train­ing and Devel­op­ment Programs