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While fire pro­tec­tion ser­vices have tra­di­tion­al­ly been a work­ing-class posi­tion, and often staffed by vol­un­teers, con­tem­po­rary fire ser­vices have become increas­ing­ly pro­fes­sion­al­ized. While an associate’s degree or diplo­ma has typ­i­cal­ly been the only stan­dard, many munic­i­pal­i­ties have begun set­ting min­i­mum edu­ca­tion stan­dards for fire­fight­ers, and admin­is­tra­tive posi­tions often require a high­er degree. Today, many entry-lev­el jobs in fire pro­tec­tion pre­fer a bachelor’s degree, and lead­er­ship posi­tions very often require at least a bachelor’s

For work­ing pro­fes­sion­als in the field, grow­ing stan­dards mean going back to school to keep pace and stay com­pet­i­tive on the job mar­ket. That is the ben­e­fit of fire sci­ence degrees online; for work­ing adults who already have an associate’s degree or some trans­fer­able col­lege cours­es, an only degree com­ple­tion pro­gram can be a con­ve­nient way to earn a degree. Stu­dents can work around their sched­ule — a must for fire­fight­ers, who have to be on-duty at odd hours — and apply what they are learn­ing to their cur­rent positions.

Methodology: How We Ranked the Best Fire Science Degrees Online

We began rank­ing the best online fire sci­ence degree pro­grams by research­ing all rep­utable, accred­it­ed col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties offer­ing a ful­ly online or hybrid pro­gram in fire sci­ence, fire ser­vice admin­is­tra­tion, or relat­ed area. From there, we used 5 cri­te­ria to rank pro­grams: Cost, Employ­ment Rate, Grad­u­a­tion Rate, Salary Poten­tial, and Stu­dent Reviews. For data, we con­sult­ed Col­lege Score­card, IPEDS, and Niche.

This com­bi­na­tion of fac­tors focus­es on rep­u­ta­tion, afford­abil­i­ty, and return on invest­ment, so stu­dents can feel cer­tain their degree will make an impact on their career.

1. Texas A&M University-San Antonio

When you want to study fire sci­ence, the Bach­e­lor of Applied Arts and Sci­ences in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion at Texas A&M Uni­ver­si­ty in San Anto­nio is a good option for your goals. The degree pro­gram focus­es on teach­ing fire­fight­ers and pro­fes­sion­als in emer­gency ser­vice enhanced knowl­edge of fight­ing dif­fer­ent fires based on the sit­u­a­tion and the type of fire. It also rec­og­nizes the val­ue of admin­is­tra­tion and man­age­ment skills, so stu­dents learn the lead­er­ship skills they need to advance in their career.

Fire sci­ence degrees online from Texas A&M Uni­ver­si­ty in San Anto­nio offer the oppor­tu­ni­ty to advance in your career. The degree pro­gram stands apart by offer­ing a FESHE Cer­tifi­cate through the online pro­gram and takes a mul­ti-dis­ci­pli­nary approach to fire sci­ence edu­ca­tion. Stu­dents can expect to learn use­ful skills to enhance their capa­bil­i­ties while still work­ing with emer­gency services.

What We Like: Texas A&M Uni­ver­si­ty in San Anto­nio stands apart by offer­ing an online pro­gram with a focus on lead­er­ship, man­age­ment, and admin­is­tra­tion skills that enhance a stu­den­t’s emer­gency ser­vice abil­i­ties.
Degree: BAAS in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Texas A&M University

2. Colorado State University

When you“re look­ing for a bach­e­lor in emer­gency man­age­ment, the BS in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion from Col­orado State Uni­ver­si­ty builds on your knowl­edge and helps you advance in your career. The degree pro­gram rec­og­nizes that fire­fight­ers and emer­gency per­son­nel have the tech­ni­cal skills to han­dle unex­pect­ed emer­gen­cies. The goal of the degree pro­gram is teach­ing stu­dents to take on a lead­er­ship role while think­ing crit­i­cal­ly about the sit­u­a­tion. It gives stu­dents the skills they need to act quick­ly in an emergency.

Col­orado State Uni­ver­si­ty offers an online degree pro­gram that teach­es effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion as a leader. It empha­sizes the impor­tance of qual­i­ty lead­er­ship in an emer­gency sit­u­a­tion and strives to help stu­dents advance in their career by act­ing quick­ly when an emer­gency aris­es. It also offers the oppor­tu­ni­ty to advance in a career by obtain­ing the right degree for long-term opportunities.

What We Like: Col­orado State Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart by pro­vid­ing an online pro­gram that focus­es on effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion as it applies to lead­ers. That focus on com­mu­ni­ca­tion and deci­sion-mak­ing allows stu­dents to act quick­ly in an emer­gency.
Degree: BS in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Administration

Col­orado State University

3. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Embry-Rid­dle Aero­nau­ti­cal Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Emer­gency Ser­vices that help stu­dents advance in their career. The degree pro­gram focus­es on crit­i­cal tasks and areas of study as it applies to fire-relat­ed emer­gen­cies. It rec­og­nizes the role of fire­fight­ers in dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions and strives to ensure that stu­dents under­stand the tasks they may face when they respond to dif­fer­ent situations.

Embry-Rid­dle Aero­nau­ti­cal Uni­ver­si­ty stands out by offer­ing a cer­tifi­cate of recog­ni­tion from Fire Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion, or FESHE. The cer­tifi­cate rec­og­nizes that stu­dents are knowl­edge­able and have the skills to pro­vide emer­gency ser­vices in dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions. The online degree pro­gram also offers stu­dents the flex­i­bil­i­ty to work on their degree at a pace that fits their schedule.

What We Like: The way Embry-Rid­dle Aero­nau­ti­cal Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams is its focus on excel­lence. Stu­dents who com­plete the degree pro­gram receive FESHE cer­ti­fi­ca­tion as well as a Nation­al Fire Acad­e­my cer­tifi­cate, which means they are qual­i­fied to work in emer­gency ser­vices at the high­est lev­el of ser­vice.
Degree: BS in Emer­gency Ser­vices
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Embry-Rid­dle Aero­nau­ti­cal University

4. UNC Charlotte

The online BS in Engi­neer­ing Tech­nol­o­gy in Fire Safe­ty at UNC Char­lotte offers the train­ing and edu­ca­tion stu­dents need to under­stand fire and the safe­ty pre­cau­tions asso­ci­at­ed with fire. The degree pro­gram empha­sizes the tech­ni­cal and non-tech­ni­cal aspects of fire and safe­ty, which allows stu­dents to work in fire­fight­ing and fire safe­ty occu­pa­tions with­in pri­vate com­pa­nies. The engi­neer­ing tech­nol­o­gy approach to the top­ic pro­vides a well-round­ed set of skills and knowl­edge that helps stu­dents advance in their career.

UNC Char­lotte dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams by empha­siz­ing fire safe­ty tech­nol­o­gy and sys­tems. It does not only empha­size the val­ue of effec­tive lead­er­ship. It also rec­og­nizes that stu­dents will need to under­stand the dif­fer­ent active and pas­sive solu­tions for fire safe­ty in dif­fer­ent envi­ron­ments. That ensures that stu­dents are aware of the options when work­ing on a fire safe­ty system.

What We Like: UNC Char­lotte stands out by offer­ing an engi­neer­ing tech­nol­o­gy approach to fire and fire safe­ty. It rec­og­nizes that stu­dents will need to under­stand the dif­fer­ent pro­tec­tion sys­tems avail­able as part of the process of mak­ing deci­sions about a sit­u­a­tion.
Degree: BS in Engi­neer­ing Tech­nol­o­gy — Fire Safety

UNC Char­lotte

5. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Wis­con­sin in Oshkosh offers a BS in Fire and Emer­gency Response Man­age­ment online that gives stu­dents the skills they need to han­dle fire-relat­ed emer­gen­cies. The degree pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents for their role as a leader in fire emer­gency response by ensur­ing they know how to han­dle a vari­ety of sit­u­a­tions. It rec­og­nizes that fire­fight­ers may work in pub­lic health sit­u­a­tions and pro­vides stu­dents the well-round­ed edu­ca­tion they need to act as lead­ers based on the emergency.

The way the Uni­ver­si­ty of Wis­con­sin in Oshkosh stands apart is their focus on lead­er­ship at an accel­er­at­ed rate. Stu­dents can trans­fer as many as 60 cred­its to the pro­gram and grad­u­ate with­in two years. The pro­gram also gives stu­dents FESHE cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, which helps with their long-term goals in emer­gency response man­age­ment and lead­er­ship roles.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Wis­con­sin in Oshkosh offers an accel­er­at­ed online pro­gram for stu­dents who want to work in fire and emer­gency response man­age­ment posi­tions. The pro­gram allows stu­dents to trans­fer as many as 60 cred­its.
Degree: BS in Fire and Emer­gency Response Man­age­ment
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Uni­ver­si­ty of Wis­con­sin in Oshkosh

6. Adelphi University

The BS in Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion from Adel­phi Uni­ver­si­ty takes a mul­ti-dis­ci­pli­nary approach to fire safe­ty and emer­gency ser­vices. The degree pro­gram rec­og­nizes that stu­dents are fac­ing a vari­ety of haz­ards and sit­u­a­tions when they work in fire­fight­ing careers. By focus­ing on teach­ing stu­dents the meth­ods to han­dle dif­fer­ent emer­gen­cies, the degree pro­gram allows stu­dents to focus on their career goals.

Adel­phi Uni­ver­si­ty teach­es stu­dents in the Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion pro­gram to han­dle a vari­ety of emer­gency sit­u­a­tions. It does not only focus on fire-relat­ed emer­gen­cies. It also rec­og­nizes that stu­dents may face nat­ur­al dis­as­ters, health epi­demics, or oth­er emer­gency sit­u­a­tions. It pre­pares stu­dents for the chal­lenges they may face and pro­vides the train­ing to work as a leader in a chaot­ic emergency.

What We Like: The online degree pro­gram at Adel­phi Uni­ver­si­ty offers stu­dents flex­i­ble and up-to-date edu­ca­tion they need to han­dle emer­gen­cies in dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions. It pro­vides a strong foun­da­tion in emer­gency ser­vices a stu­dent needs to work in a myr­i­ad of sit­u­a­tions.
Degree: BS in Emer­gency Ser­vices Administration

Adel­phi University

7. University of Cincinnati

The BS in Fire and Safe­ty Engi­neer­ing Tech­nol­o­gy at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Cincin­nati gives stu­dents a well-round­ed view of emer­gency ser­vices. It does not lim­it stu­dents to the study of fire safe­ty. It also rec­og­nizes that stu­dents may face dif­fer­ent types of emer­gen­cies in their careers and pro­vides the edu­ca­tion to han­dle the emer­gen­cies that may arise. Stu­dents learn to pro­vide emer­gency care and to han­dle occu­pa­tion­al haz­ards as part of their degree.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cincin­nati offers a degree pro­gram that helps stu­dents reach their long-term goals as a pro­fes­sion­al in fire­fight­ing or emer­gency ser­vices. The degree pro­gram rec­og­nizes that stu­dents may work in dif­fer­ent emer­gency ser­vices and pro­vides a strong foun­da­tion to address occu­pa­tion­al haz­ards, para­medic ser­vices, or chal­lenges with fires. The pro­gram gives stu­dents a FESHE cer­tifi­cate when they fin­ish their degree.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cincin­nati offers an accel­er­at­ed online pro­gram that focus­es on dif­fer­ent areas of emer­gency ser­vices. It takes a mul­ti-dis­ci­pli­nary approach to edu­ca­tion with­in fire safe­ty.
Degree: BS in Fire and Safe­ty Engi­neer­ing Tech­nol­o­gy
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Uni­ver­si­ty of Cincinnati

8. Northern Arizona University

North­ern Ari­zona Uni­ver­si­ty offers a bach­e­lor in emer­gency man­age­ment that allows stu­dents to focus on devel­op­ing the skills they need to work in fire­fight­ing and relat­ed emer­gency ser­vices. The BAS in Emer­gency Man­age­ment offers lead­er­ship train­ing and pro­vides stu­dents with the flex­i­bil­i­ty to focus on their career with­out giv­ing up on their cur­rent posi­tion. Stu­dents work at their own pace and accom­plish their goals when they fin­ish their degrees.

North­ern Ari­zona Uni­ver­si­ty allows stu­dents to trans­fer up to 90 cred­its into the pro­gram. That flex­i­bil­i­ty com­bined with the online pro­gram allows stu­dents to com­plete their degrees at an accel­er­at­ed pace. It also ensures that stu­dents are able to main­tain their oblig­a­tions and respon­si­bil­i­ties while work­ing on their lead­er­ship skills.

What We Like: North­ern Ari­zona Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams by allow­ing stu­dents to trans­fer up to 90 cred­its and to work on their degree at their own pace. It also focus­es on lead­er­ship with­in emer­gency ser­vices.
Degree: BAS in Emer­gency management

North­ern Ari­zona University

9. Purdue Global University

Pur­due Glob­al Uni­ver­si­ty offers fire sci­ence degrees online that help stu­dents improve their career oppor­tu­ni­ties. The school offers two pro­grams for fire­fight­ers and emer­gency work­ers. The BS in Fire Sci­ence focus­es on top­ics relat­ed direct­ly to fire­fight­ing skills and fire safe­ty. The pro­gram ensures that stu­dents under­stand the dif­fer­ent fire safe­ty sys­tems and the meth­ods of han­dling fire-relat­ed emer­gen­cies. The BS in Fire and Emer­gency Man­age­ment takes a mul­ti-dis­ci­pli­nary approach and pro­vides stu­dents with the man­age­ment and lead­er­ship skills to han­dle emer­gency situations.

The way Pur­due Glob­al Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams is its focus on dif­fer­ent aspects of fire sci­ence. The degree pro­grams give stu­dents a focused approach to their career. It ensures that stu­dents have options to keep up with their aspi­ra­tions and goals.

What We Like: Pur­due Glob­al Uni­ver­si­ty offers two online degree pro­grams for fire­fight­ers and emer­gency ser­vice providers. The pro­grams allow stu­dents to obtain a FESHE cer­tifi­cate by pro­vid­ing the skills and knowl­edge they need for their career goals.
Degree: BS in Fire Sci­ence or BS in Fire and Emer­gency Man­age­ment
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Pur­due Glob­al University

10. Bowling Green State University

Bowl­ing Green State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Fire Admin­is­tra­tion that pre­pares stu­dents for the role of a chief offi­cer. It rec­og­nizes that stu­dents will need to take on lead­er­ship roles with­in their field and it pro­vides stu­dents with the knowl­edge to han­dle chal­lenges as a leader. It also focus­es on ensur­ing stu­dents know the foun­da­tion­al skills they need to main­tain a suc­cess­ful fire­fight­ing unit.

Bowl­ing Green State Uni­ver­si­ty stands out by offer­ing a ful­ly online degree pro­gram. The stu­dents are able to work around their sched­ule and fin­ish their degree at their own pace. The degree pro­gram allows stu­dents to trans­fer cred­its and only requires 30 cred­its at Bowl­ing Green State University.

What We Like: Bowl­ing Green State Uni­ver­si­ty allows stu­dents to trans­fer cred­its and fin­ish their degree online. The pro­gram only requires 30 cred­its at the uni­ver­si­ty to qual­i­fy for grad­u­a­tion, so stu­dents can fin­ish the pro­gram in a short amount of time.
Degree: BS in Fire Administration

Bowl­ing Green State University

11. American Public University

Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Fire Sci­ence Man­age­ment pro­vides stu­dents with a well-bal­anced edu­ca­tion in fire sci­ence. The pro­gram pro­vides stu­dents with the tech­ni­cal knowl­edge and skills they need to han­dle fire oper­a­tions and fire safe­ty. It also ensures that stu­dents have the lead­er­ship skills to take on tasks as a chief offi­cer when they advance in their career.

The way Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart from oth­er pro­grams is its focus on a well-bal­anced edu­ca­tion. Stu­dents gain a com­pre­hen­sive edu­ca­tion in the behav­ior of fire in dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions and sce­nar­ios. That allows them to act quick­ly in an emer­gency and make deci­sions with­out hes­i­ta­tion. That lead­er­ship skill pro­vides an oppor­tu­ni­ty to advance in a career.

What We Like: Amer­i­can Pub­lic Uni­ver­si­ty offers an online pro­gram with a focus on qual­i­ty cur­ricu­lum and bal­anced knowl­edge. It allows stu­dents to trans­fer up to 90 cred­its to accel­er­ate their edu­ca­tion.
Degree: BS in Fire Sci­ence Management

Amer­i­can Pub­lic University

12. Eastern Kentucky University

East­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Fire, Arson and Explo­sion Inves­ti­ga­tion that pre­pares stu­dents for the rig­ors of work­ing in fire­fight­ing and emer­gency ser­vices. The degree pro­gram rec­og­nizes that mod­ern fire­fight­ers take on more tasks that putting out a fire. They are called on to inves­ti­gate the cause of a fire or to address the cause of an explo­sion. The degree pro­gram focus­es on ensur­ing stu­dents have the skills and knowl­edge to rec­og­nize arson and the cause of fires.

The way East­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart is its focus on pro­vid­ing stu­dents with the foun­da­tion­al skills they need to han­dle dif­fer­ent fire emer­gen­cies. It rec­og­nizes that stu­dents may need to work in fire safe­ty, occu­pa­tion­al fire safe­ty, or fire pre­ven­tion, as well as fire­fight­ing. It pro­vides the skills and infor­ma­tion stu­dents need to han­dle the chal­lenges of their career.

What We Like: East­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty takes an inves­tiga­tive and com­pre­hen­sive approach to fire sci­ence and safe­ty. Stu­dents can also trans­fer up to 90 cred­its to accel­er­ate their degree.
Degree: BS in Fire, Arson and Explo­sion Investigation

East­ern Ken­tucky University

13. Neumann University

The BS in Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion from Neu­mann Uni­ver­si­ty pro­vides a struc­tured pro­gram that helps stu­dents accom­plish their career goals. The online degree pro­gram allows stu­dents to focus on their career while build­ing and enhanc­ing their admin­is­tra­tive skills. The pro­gram cre­ates oppor­tu­ni­ties in every class to address the chal­lenges in emer­gency ser­vices and active­ly builds rela­tion­ships among dif­fer­ent orga­ni­za­tions and pub­lic safe­ty dis­ci­plines. It rec­og­nizes that stu­dents will face dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions through­out their career and pro­vides the oppor­tu­ni­ty to take a lead­er­ship role when they fin­ish their degree.

Neu­mann Uni­ver­si­ty allows stu­dents to gain cred­it for pro­fes­sion­al train­ing and to trans­fer up to 90 cred­its into the pro­gram. The accel­er­at­ed pro­gram is an online degree that gives stu­dents the flex­i­bil­i­ty to work on their edu­ca­tion when it fits their work schedule.

What We Like: Neu­mann Uni­ver­si­ty offers an accel­er­at­ed online degree for pub­lic safe­ty. The pro­gram can take as lit­tle as 20 months to com­plete and stu­dents can trans­fer up to 90 cred­its when they have tak­en class­es from oth­er col­leges or uni­ver­si­ties.
Degree: BS in Pub­lic Safe­ty Administration

Neu­mann University

14. Utah Valley University

Utah Val­ley Uni­ver­si­ty’s offers a BS in Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online. Stu­dents explore the relat­ed fields of emer­gency man­age­ment, home­land secu­ri­ty, and crim­i­nal jus­tice. UVU is home to a 53″ Mobile Com­mand Cen­ter that offers fire train­ing to the school’s Bach­e­lor in Emer­gency Man­age­ment stu­dents and many Utah fire agen­cies through­out the state. UVU’s emer­gency man­age­ment online degree can be com­plet­ed in 2 to 3 years and accred­it­ed by the Inter­na­tion­al Fire Ser­vice Accred­i­ta­tion Con­gress (IFSAC).

Utah Val­ley Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1941. The school’s main 225+-acre cam­pus is locat­ed in Orem; how­ev­er, UVU oper­ates sev­er­al satel­lite cam­pus­es in Span­ish Fork, North Orem, Heber City, Lehi, and the Pro­vo Munic­i­pal Airport.

What We Like: Utah Val­ley Uni­ver­si­ty’s library has been rec­og­nized and award­ed as the most ener­gy effi­cient “green” pub­lic build­ing in Utah.
Degree: BS in Emer­gency Ser­vices Administration

Utah Val­ley University

15. Northwestern State University

North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana’s Glob­al Cam­pus offers a BS in Uni­fied Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that can be com­plet­ed exclu­sive­ly online. NSU’s fire sci­ence degrees online include sev­er­al con­cen­tra­tions — Fire & Emer­gency Man­age­ment Admin­is­tra­tion, Law Enforce­ment Admin­is­tra­tion, and Emer­gency Man­age­ment Admin­is­tra­tion. Stu­dents must com­plete 123 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. Each con­cen­tra­tion requires a min­i­mum of 21 cred­it hours ded­i­cat­ed to the spe­cif­ic major. North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a gen­er­ous trans­fer cred­it pol­i­cy for pre­vi­ous earned eli­gi­ble cred­it hours.

North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1884 as a teacher’s train­ing school by the state’s leg­isla­tive body. NSU is a mem­ber school of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana sys­tem. North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana’s rur­al cam­pus is home to more than 11,000 students.

What We Like: North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a gen­er­ous trans­fer cred­it pol­i­cy for pre­vi­ous earned eli­gi­ble cred­it hours.
Degree: BS in Uni­fied Pub­lic Safe­ty Administration

North­west­ern State Uni­ver­si­ty of Louisiana’s Glob­al Campus

16. Columbia Southern University

Colum­bia South­ern Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Fire Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram has received an accred­i­ta­tion cer­tifi­cate from the Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion orga­ni­za­tion (FESHE). Addi­tion­al­ly, the Board of Cer­ti­fied Safe­ty and the orga­ni­za­tion, Qual­i­ty Mat­ters have rec­og­nized CSU’s fire sci­ence degrees online. Stu­dents are required to com­plete 120 cred­its; how­ev­er, CSU offers a gen­er­ous trans­fer cred­it pol­i­cy, up to 90 eli­gi­ble cred­its. Stu­dents find gain­ful employ­ment in the fields of Munic­i­pal, or For­est Fire Fighting/Prevention, Reg­u­la­to­ry Admin­is­tra­tors, Loss Pre­ven­tion Direc­tors, or Com­pli­ance Man­agers, among others.

Colum­bia South­ern Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1993 as an online edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. CSU has received accred­i­ta­tion from the Dis­tance Edu­ca­tion Accred­i­ta­tion Com­mis­sion (DEAC); an over­sight agency rec­og­nized by the US Depart­ment of Education.

What We Like: Colum­bia South­ern Uni­ver­si­ty is one of about 100 schools that have been approved to offer up-front tuition help through Go Army Ed.
Degree: BS in Fire Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Colum­bia South­ern University

17. Fayetteville State University

Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online. FSU’s Bach­e­lor in Emer­gency Man­age­ment degree pro­gram that is rec­og­nized among the most afford­able fire sci­ence degrees online in the nation. Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty’s emer­gency ser­vices degree has been rec­og­nized the Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion over­sight agency. Stu­dents expe­ri­ence hands-on train­ing at Fayet­teville Fire Sta­tion 14.

Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1867 and a rec­og­nized HBCU (his­tor­i­cal­ly black college/university) insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. FSU is a mem­ber of the Thur­good Mar­shall Col­lege Fund and the North Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem. FSU’s Fayet­teville cam­pus is home to more than 6,000 students.

What We Like: When estab­lished, Fayet­teville State Uni­ver­si­ty was the South’s first state-fund­ed insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing ded­i­cat­ed to edu­cat­ing African Amer­i­can stu­dents as teach­ers.
Degree: BS in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Fayet­teville State University

18. Point Park University

Point Park Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Pub­lic Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram, with a Fire Ser­vice Admin­is­tra­tion, spe­cial­ty can be com­plet­ed exclu­sive­ly only. Stu­dents explore the fun­da­men­tals nec­es­sary to become lead­ers in the many facets of the fire ser­vice indus­try. PPU’s Bach­e­lor in Emer­gency Man­age­ment degree pro­gram is has received an accred­i­ta­tion cer­tifi­cate from the indus­try over­sight agency FESHE.

Point Park Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1960 as a train­ing col­lege for busi­ness pro­fes­sion­als. Point Park Uni­ver­si­ty’s urban cam­pus is locat­ed in down­town Pitts­burgh’s Gold­en Tri­an­gle, and home to more than 4,000 stu­dents. The school is orga­nized into four schools/colleges in the areas of Busi­ness, Arts & Sci­ences, Per­form­ing Arts, and Com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Point Park Uni­ver­si­ty’s loca­tion places it near much of Pitts­burgh’s nightlife, parks, are­nas, and Heinz Field.

What We Like: PPU part­ners with the Nation­al Fire Acad­e­my, which offers stu­dents unique oppor­tu­ni­ties as they earn the required 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate.
Degree: BS in Pub­lic Admin­is­tra­tion — Fire Ser­vice Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Point Park University

19. Park University

Park Uni­ver­si­ty offers a Bach­e­lor of Pub­lic Admin­is­tra­tion (BPA) in Fire Ser­vice Man­age­ment that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online. Stu­dents must com­plete 45 cred­it units of cours­es specif­i­cal­ly required by the Fire Ser­vice Man­age­ment degree pro­gram. Course­work includes a Fire Ser­vices Sem­i­nar, Pub­lic Ser­vice Val­ues, Pub­lic Lead­er­ship, Admin­is­tra­tive Law, and the Geog­ra­phy of Ter­ror­ism. Park Uni­ver­si­ty’s Bach­e­lor in Emer­gency man­age­ment pro­gram is accred­it­ed by ACBSP — The Accred­i­ta­tion Coun­cil for Busi­ness Schools & Programs.

Park Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1875. This pri­vate school’s cam­pus over­looks the Mis­souri Riv­er and is home to near­ly 11,500 stu­dents. Park Uni­ver­si­ty oper­ates with more than 40 cam­pus­es in 22 states — most cam­pus­es are locat­ed on or near US mil­i­tary bases.

What We Like: Park has been rec­og­nized by Wash­ing­ton Month­ly as a best adult learn­ing 4‑year school and by Mil­i­tary Times as the 2nd best non-tra­di­tion­al, online school.
Degree: BPA in Fire Ser­vice Management

Park Uni­ver­si­ty

20. St Thomas University

St Thomas Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices Man­age­ment degree pro­gram, offered by the Bis­cayne Col­lege, is rec­og­nized by Col­lege Fac­tu­al among the top, most focused pro­grams in fire­fight­ing, law enforce­ment, and home­land secu­ri­ty. Course­work includes Emer­gency Per­son­nel Man­age­ment, Res­cue Oper­a­tions, Fire Sup­pres­sion Train­ing, and Fire & Emer­gency Ser­vices Tech­nol­o­gy. Stu­dents grad­u­ate ready for careers in FEMA, the Emer­gency Med­i­cine, State/Local Gov­ern­ments, or the many facets of Busi­ness & Insurance.

St Thomas Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1961. St Thomas Uni­ver­si­ty is affil­i­at­ed with the Arch­dio­cese of Mia­mi as well as the Roman Catholic Church St Thomas Uni­ver­si­ty offers stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to study abroad in Spain, India, Croa­t­ia, Israel, and Italy. Miami’s famous beach­es & famed nightlife, Fort Laud­erdale, the keys, the Wyn­wood Art Dis­trict, are locat­ed near St Thomas University.

What We Like: STU’s accel­er­at­ed fire sci­ence degrees online pro­gram can be com­plet­ed in only fif­teen months.
Degree: BS in Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices Management

St Thomas University

21. University of Maryland University College

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Uni­ver­si­ty Col­lege’s Glob­al Cam­pus offers a BS in Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion (PSA) that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online and is ful­ly accred­it­ed by FESHE. Stu­dents study­ing for their Bach­e­lor of Emer­gency Man­age­ment degree must com­plete 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. UMUC’s PSA pro­gram is flex­i­ble and con­ve­nient because it is designed for fire safe­ty pro­fes­sion­als reach­ing for advanced posi­tions of lead­ers and pub­lic pol­i­cy-mak­ing. UMUC offers a gen­er­ous trans­fer pol­i­cy of up to 90 eli­gi­ble credits.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus was estab­lished in 1947. The school focus­es pri­mar­i­ly on dis­tance learn­ing options but oper­ates phys­i­cal cam­pus­es in Mary­land, Bal­ti­more, Wash­ing­ton, Italy, and Asia. UMUC’s domes­tic and inter­na­tion­al stu­dent enroll­ment exceeds 90,000.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Uni­ver­si­ty Col­lege pro­vides degree pro­grams in more than 125 mil­i­tary oper­a­tions across the world.
Degree: BS in Pub­lic Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Uni­ver­si­ty College

22. Liberty University

Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Fire Admin­is­tra­tion that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online. Stu­dents study their 120 cred­it units in eight-week class­es, and the aver­age com­ple­tion time of the pro­gram is 30 months. Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty’s trans­fer pol­i­cy offers up to 90 eli­gi­ble cred­it units to be applied to the fire sci­ence degrees online. To reduce stu­dent expens­es, the school pro­vides elec­tron­ic text­books to stu­dents, rather than requir­ing the pur­chase of textbooks.

Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1971 and holds the dis­tinc­tion as being one of the biggest Chris­t­ian insti­tu­tions of high­er edu­ca­tion in the world. The school’s 7,000-acre sub­ur­ban cam­pus is home to more than 15,000 stu­dents; how­ev­er, the school’s total enroll­ment is about 110,000 stu­dents, when includ­ing online stu­dents. The school’s 170,000 square foot Jer­ry Fal­well Library proud­ly fea­tures a robot­ic retrieval sys­tem capa­ble of retriev­ing 250,000 items.

What We Like: Cur­rent first respon­ders are offered a 25% tuition dis­count and option­al cred­it for expe­ri­ence and ser­vice in Lib­er­ty’s online pro­gram.
Degree: BS in Fire Administration

Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty

23. Anna Maria College

Anna Maria Col­lege offers a BS in Fire Sci­ence that can be fin­ished on an accel­er­at­ed track and entire­ly online. AMC’s fire sci­ence degrees online pro­gram holds a FESHE cer­tifi­cate, which allows degree grad­u­ates to find reward­ing careers as a Fire Pre­ven­tion Edu­ca­tor, a Fire Cap­tain or Mar­shall, an Arson Spe­cial­ist, an Insur­ance Adjuster, or Fire Ser­vice Train­ing. Anna Maria Col­lege’s fire sci­ence bac­calau­re­ate degree is designed for income stu­dents to already pos­sess 60 cred­it units.

Anna Maria Col­lege was estab­lished in 1946. AMC is a pri­vate insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing affil­i­at­ed with the Roman Catholic Church that was found­ed by the Sis­ters of Saint Anne. The school’s 175+-acre rur­al cam­pus is home to near­ly 1,500 under­grad­u­ate and grad­u­ate stu­dents. The school oper­ates with six Schools/colleges in the areas of Edu­ca­tion, Fire & Health Sci­ences, Per­form­ing Arts, Human­i­ties, Busi­ness, and Jus­tice & Social Sciences.

What We Like: Anna Maria Col­lege is locat­ed in the heart of New Eng­land and with­in dri­ving dis­tance of Cape Cod, Con­necti­cut, Boston, the Berk­shires, and Ver­mont.
Degree: BS in Fire Sci­ence
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Anna Maria College

24. Idaho State University

Ida­ho State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Fire Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram is avail­able 100% online. Ida­ho State Uni­ver­si­ty’s, fire sci­ence degrees online pro­gram is accred­it­ed by the Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion orga­ni­za­tion (FESHE). Course­work includes Fire Pro­tec­tion, Fire Research, Haz­ardous Mate­ri­als, and Fire Pro­tec­tion Sys­tems, among others.

Ida­ho State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1901. The school’s Pocatel­lo cam­pus sits at an ele­va­tion of more than 4,500 feet above sea lev­el and is home to more than 13,500 stu­dents. Ida­ho State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a Career Path Intern­ship (CPI) pro­gram where stu­dents can apply their stud­ies to real-world sit­u­a­tions while receiv­ing com­pen­sa­tion for their work per­formed. Wash­ing­ton Month­ly rec­og­nizes Ida­ho State Uni­ver­si­ty among the top 160 nation­al pub­lic universities.

What We Like: Ranked fire offi­cers teach live class­es online to fire sci­ence degree can­di­dates study­ing at Ida­ho State Uni­ver­si­ty.
Degree: BS in Fire Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

Ida­ho State University

25. Eastern Oregon University

East­ern Ore­gon Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Fire Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion degree pro­gram that can be com­plet­ed exclu­sive­ly online. East­ern Ore­gon Uni­ver­si­ty’s Bach­e­lor in Emer­gency Man­age­ment degree has been accred­it­ed by the Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion orga­ni­za­tion (FESHE). BestColleges.com rec­og­nizes the East­ern Ore­gon Uni­ver­si­ty fire ser­vices degree among the top fire sci­ences degree online.

East­ern Ore­gon Uni­ver­si­ty is a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing that was estab­lished in 1929 as a nor­mal school. EOU is one of only a few state-fund­ed uni­ver­si­ties in the state. The school’s cam­pus in La Grande, OR and is home to more than 3,700 stu­dents and sit­u­at­ed with­in the beau­ti­ful Blue Moun­tain range — between Boise, ID and Port­land Oregon.

What We Like: East­ern Ore­gon Uni­ver­si­ty has respond­ed to region­al needs by cre­at­ing a degree in Fire Ser­vice Admin­is­tra­tion and Glob­al Foods.
Degree: BS in Fire Ser­vices Admin­is­tra­tion
FESHE Cer­tifi­cate

East­ern Ore­gon University

Can I Get a Job with an Online Fire Science Degree?

Many peo­ple are inter­est­ed in the best degrees for fire­fight­ers, and their research leads them to the top fire sci­ence col­leges online. There are many fire sci­ence bach­e­lor degree col­leges, but are these online degrees tak­en seri­ous­ly? The answer is yes, as long as the degree has been obtained from one of the accred­it­ed top fire sci­ence colleges.

Some peo­ple with an old-fash­ioned men­tal­i­ty may say that the best degrees for fire­fight­ers and the best col­leges for fire pro­tec­tion engi­neer­ing must be attend­ed in-per­son, How­ev­er, most fire chiefs these days have no prob­lem with online fire sci­ence bach­e­lor degree col­leges. This means that a search for “fire pro­tec­tion jobs near me” will like­ly return poten­tial job open­ings that you may be con­sid­ered for. The com­pe­ti­tion for these open­ings is fierce, and an online fire sci­ence degree may just pro­vide appli­cants with the edge they need.

Many online fire sci­ence bach­e­lor degree col­leges are actu­al­ly among the best col­leges for fire pro­tec­tion engi­neer­ing over­all. Are you ask­ing your­self “Can I get fire pro­tec­tion jobs near me with an online degree?” The answer is yes, you cer­tain­ly can.

What Does it Mean to be a FESHA Recognized School?

FESHE stands for the Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices High­er Edu­ca­tion. FESHE rec­og­nized schools are respect­ed through the fire sci­ence and fire­fight­ing pro­fes­sions. If a school has this recog­ni­tion, this guar­an­tees that the edu­ca­tion is com­pre­hen­sive and that the stu­dents leave with con­sid­er­able sci­en­tif­ic knowl­edge and prac­ti­cal expe­ri­ence. Many fire­fight­ing and fire sci­ence job list­ings require a degree from one of the many FESHE rec­og­nized schools. Even fire­fight­ing and fire sci­ence jobs that don“t require this degree will often pre­fer that the can­di­dates for the posi­tion have a degree from one of the grow­ing num­ber of FESHE rec­og­nized schools. Hav­ing a degree from a rec­og­nized pro­gram will cer­tain­ly give you a leg up on can­di­dates that don“t have a degree. It will also give these appli­cants an advan­tage over oth­er peo­ple apply­ing to the job who have a degree, but did not get it from a rec­og­nized school.

When prospec­tive fire sci­ence stu­dents are look­ing for an online pro­gram, they should always look for a school that has been rec­og­nized by FESHE. There are quite a few online fire sci­ence pro­grams. How­ev­er, many of these pro­grams are not rec­og­nized by FESHE and would not count for as much on job applications.

Do I Need a Bachelor’s in Fire Science to Become a Fire Chief?

Those who are already work­ing as fire­fight­ers and prospec­tive fire­fight­ers look­ing to enter the field are often inter­est­ed in learn­ing how to become a fire chief. First, you must answer the ques­tion “What does a fire chief do?” A fire chief is respon­si­ble for man­ag­ing and orga­niz­ing the fire­fight­ers under them. They are also respon­si­ble for many of the strate­gies and tac­tics that their men and women use to fight fires.

A bach­e­lor’s in fire sci­ence is part of the usu­al path for those won­der­ing how to become a fire chief, as a fire sci­ence degree will edu­cate stu­dents in the duties of a fire chief. It will go much more in-depth than sim­ply answer­ing “What does a fire chief do?” A degree in fire sci­ence is not nec­es­sary for stu­dents who want to become fire chiefs, but it will help their chances of a quick pro­mo­tion. Of course, stu­dents will have to start as reg­u­lar fire­fight­ers and work their way up to a fire chief posi­tion, even if they do have a fire sci­ence degree.

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