by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Fire Protection is the 118th most popular major in the country with 13,766 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, fire protection graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $53,963 and had an average of $19,479 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major” ranking looked at 431 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in fire protection. To top this list, a school must have a successful fire protection program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
The fire protection school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for fire protection students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia Southern University. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major. Columbia Southern University is a fairly large school located in Orange Beach, Alabama that handed out 1,037 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Fire Protection at Columbia Southern University
Out of the 431 schools in the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University Global landed the #2 spot on the list. Purdue University Global is a public institution located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 242 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Utah Valley University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major list. UVU is located in Orem, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 215 ’s fire protection degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Waldorf University. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major. This small school is located in Forest City, Iowa, and it awarded 110 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rio Hondo College. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major. Rio Hondo College is a fairly large school located in Whittier, California that handed out 309 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
American Public University System landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. This large school is located in Charles Town, West Virginia, and it awarded 104 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%.
Anna Maria College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Anna Maria is a small school located in Paxton, Massachusetts that handed out 74 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Palomar College ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major list. Palomar College is located in San Marcos, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 223 ’s fire protection degrees to qualified students.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 63 diplomas to qualified ’s fire protection students in 2020-2021.
Valencia College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking, coming in at #10. Valencia College is a large public school situated in Orlando, Florida. It awarded 201 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Sierra College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Sierra College is a fairly large school located in Rocklin, California that handed out 174 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Santa Ana College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Santa Ana, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s fire protection degrees to 418 students in 2020-2021.
Mt. San Antonio College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Mt. SAC is a public institution located in Walnut, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 84 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Fire Protection at Mt. San Antonio College
Eastern Kentucky University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Eastern is a public institution located in Richmond, Kentucky. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 50 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Florida-Online ranked #14 on this year’s Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major list. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this medium-sized public school awarded 50 diplomas to qualified ’s fire protection students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #16, Honolulu Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major list. Honolulu CC is a small public school situated in Honolulu, Hawaii. It awarded 87 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #17, Fayetteville State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major list. Fayetteville State University is a medium-sized school located in Fayetteville, North Carolina that handed out 44 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Fire Protection at Fayetteville State University
Oxnard College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Oxnard, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s fire protection degrees to 140 students in 2020-2021.
Los Medanos College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Located in Pittsburg, California, this medium-sized public school handed out 74 degrees to qualified ’s fire protection students in 2020-2021.
Moreno Valley College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking, coming in at #19. Moreno Valley College is a public institution located in Moreno Valley, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 133 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Fire Protection at Moreno Valley College
Allan Hancock College ranked #21 on this year’s Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major list. Santa Maria, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s fire protection degrees to 134 students in 2020-2021.
Eastern Oregon University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking, coming in at #22. This small school is located in La Grande, Oregon, and it awarded 39 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Long Beach City College landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Located in Long Beach, California, this large public school handed out 36 degrees to qualified ’s fire protection students in 2020-2021.
Lone Star College System came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. North Harris Montgomery is a large public school situated in The Woodlands, Texas. It awarded 63 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
California State University - Los Angeles landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s fire protection degrees to 33 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Fire Protection at California State University - Los Angeles
With a ranking of #25, North Shore Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major list. This small school is located in Danvers, Massachusetts, and it awarded 33 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Fire Protection at North Shore Community College
Ivy Tech Community College landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Fire Protection Major ranking. Ivy Tech Community College is a large school located in Indianapolis, Indiana that handed out 46 ’s fire protection degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Fire Protection at Ivy Tech Community College
Not only did these schools make the top 49 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | Mission College | Santa Clara, CA |
| 52 | Southern Maine Community College | South Portland, ME |
| 52 | Eastern Gateway Community College | Steubenville, OH |
| 52 | Cincinnati State Technical and Community College | Cincinnati, OH |
| 52 | El Paso Community College | El Paso, TX |
| 52 | College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita, CA |
| 58 | Butte College | Oroville, CA |
| 58 | Guilford Technical Community College | Jamestown, NC |
| 58 | Fresno City College | Fresno, CA |
| 61 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green, OH |
| 61 | Fox Valley Technical College | Appleton, WI |
| 61 | Bates Technical College | Tacoma, WA |
| 64 | Madison Area Technical College | Madison, WI |
| 64 | Las Positas College | Livermore, CA |
| 64 | Cleveland Community College | Shelby, NC |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 64 | East Los Angeles College | Monterey Park, CA |
Read more about our data sources and methodologies