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2025 Best Fire Protection Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

13 Colleges in the Southeast Region
991 Associate Degrees
$60,492 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your associate degree in fire protection, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #36 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 13 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Fire Protection Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 991 associate degrees in fire protection during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Fire Protection School for Your Associate Degree

Best Fire Protection Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region The fire protection associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality fire protection program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for fire protection students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Fire Protection Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Fire Protection Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Fire Protection in the Southeast Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for fire protection students seeking a an associate degree.

10 Top Southeast Region Schools for an Associate in Fire Protection

1

It is hard to beat Columbia Southern University if you wish to pursue an associate degree in fire protection. Columbia Southern University is a large private for-profit university located in the town of Orange Beach.

Fire Protection associate degree recipients from Columbia Southern University receive an earnings boost of around $14,835 above the average income of fire protection graduates.

More information about a associate in fire protection from Columbia Southern University

2
17 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in fire protection needs to check out Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale. Located in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a associate in fire protection from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

3
63 Annual Graduates

American Public University System is a great decision for individuals pursuing an associate degree in fire protection. American Military University is a very large private for-profit university located in the fringe town of Charles Town.More information about a associate in fire protection from American Public University System

4
13 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Hillsborough Community College if you want to pursue an associate degree in fire protection. HCC is a very large public college located in the city of Tampa.More information about a associate in fire protection from Hillsborough Community College

5
SPC crest
St Petersburg College
St. Petersburg, FL
19 Annual Graduates

SPC is a very large public college located in the city of St. Petersburg.More information about a associate in fire protection from St Petersburg College

6
Valencia College crest
Valencia College
Orlando, FL

Valencia College is a very large public college located in the city of Orlando.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the fire protection program earn about $45,657 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in fire protection from Valencia College

7
30 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Fort Pierce, Indian River State College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in fire protection from Indian River State College

8
15 Annual Graduates

Cleveland Community College is a small public college located in the town of Shelby.More information about a associate in fire protection from Cleveland Community College

9
30 Annual Graduates

Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a large public college located in the city of Lexington.More information about a associate in fire protection from Bluegrass Community and Technical College

10
13 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Jamestown, Guilford Technical Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in fire protection from Guilford Technical Community College

Best Fire Protection Colleges by State

Explore the best fire protection colleges for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 143 1
Georgia 121 27
Florida 121 182
North Carolina 120 187
Arkansas 105 7
Tennessee 102 43
Virginia 97 16
West Virginia 92 54
Kentucky 90 22
Louisiana 80 19
South Carolina 77 3
Alabama 69 493

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One of 4 majors within the Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting area of study, Fire Protection has other similar majors worth exploring.

Fire Protection Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Fire Science 645
Fire Prevention & Safety Technology/Technician 301
Fire Services Administration 45

Related Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice & Corrections 3,766
Security Science and Technology 348
Homeland Security 162
Other Homeland Security 38

Notes and References

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