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Key Infor­ma­tion:

  • East Geor­gia State Col­lege offers the #1 school for an afford­able bach­e­lor’s degree in fire sci­ence.
  • Pro­grams typ­i­cal­ly fea­ture accred­i­ta­tion from respect­ed bod­ies like the Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion (FESHE) initiative.
  • The cur­ricu­lum usu­al­ly cov­ers essen­tial top­ics like fire pre­ven­tion, emer­gency ser­vices admin­is­tra­tion, dis­as­ter plan­ning, and fire inves­ti­ga­tion.
  • Accel­er­at­ed fire sci­ence degrees are aimed at cur­rent fire ser­vice pro­fes­sion­als look­ing to advance their careers, par­tic­u­lar­ly into admin­is­tra­tive and lead­er­ship roles.

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, accord­ing to Salary.com. 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 accord­ing to Ziprecruiter, 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 accord­ing to Salary.com.

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

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