If you plan on majoring in fire protection, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #118 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
College Factual looked at 179 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Fire Protection Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 13,766 degrees in fire protection during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Your choice of fire protection school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for fire protection schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
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 Schools list to help you make the college decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
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.
Best Schools for Fire Protection in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the fire protection degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student who is interested in fire protection needs to check out Columbia Southern University. Columbia Southern University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the fringe town of Orange Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #114 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia Southern University is a great university overall.
There were approximately 1037 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Columbia Southern University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the fire protection degree program at Columbia Southern University make $14,236 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Moreno Valley College is a great choice for students interested in a degree in fire protection. Moreno Valley College is a medium-sized public college located in the large suburb of Moreno Valley. This college ranks 111th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 133 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Moreno Valley College in the most recent data year.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in fire protection. SIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Carbondale. This university ranks 23rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 63 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent data year. Those fire protection students who get their degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale receive $49,469 more than the typical fire protection grad.
Valencia College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in fire protection. Valencia College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Orlando. This college ranks 14th out of 77 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were approximately 201 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Valencia College in the most recent data year.
Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #364 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SRJC is a great college overall.
There were about 121 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at SRJC in the most recent data year.
SAC is a very large public college located in the large city of Santa Ana. This college ranks 109th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 418 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at SAC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the fire protection major at Santa Ana College get $2,755 more than the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Honolulu, Honolulu CC is a public college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #221 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Honolulu CC is a great college overall.
There were approximately 87 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Honolulu CC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the fire protection program report average early career wages of $40,616.
Madison College is a large public college located in the large city of Madison. This college ranks 8th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were roughly 48 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Madison College in the most recent data year.
Located in the town of Stillwater, OSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #227 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means OSU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 16 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at OSU in the most recent year we have data available. Fire Protection degree recipients from Oklahoma State University - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $18,569 over the typical earnings of fire protection majors.
Located in the large suburb of Danvers, North Shore Community College is a public college with a small student population. This college ranks 32nd out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 33 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at North Shore Community College in the most recent data year. Those fire protection students who get their degree from North Shore Community College receive $25,147 more than the standard fire protection student.
Waldorf is a small private for-profit university located in the remote town of Forest City. This university ranks 13th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were approximately 110 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Waldorf in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the fire protection program at Waldorf University make $16,706 above the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
UVU is a very large public university located in the small city of Orem. A Best Colleges rank of #279 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UVU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 215 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at UVU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the fire protection program make around $53,328 in their early career salary.
Located in the city of Las Vegas, CSN is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 3rd out of 9 colleges for overall quality in the state of Nevada.
There were about 33 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at CSN in the most recent year we have data available.
American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the town of Charles Town. A Best Colleges rank of #144 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means American Military University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 104 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at American Military University in the most recent data year. Fire Protection degree recipients from American Public University System earn a boost of around $8,016 over the typical earnings of fire protection graduates.
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 21st out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were approximately 29 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at FVTC in the most recent data year.
Eastern Gateway Community College is a very large public college located in the city of Steubenville. A Best Colleges rank of #342 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Eastern Gateway Community College is a great college overall.
There were about 23 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Gateway Community College in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #166 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 14 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent data year.
Western Technical College is a small public college located in the city of La Crosse. This college ranks 10th out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were roughly 3 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Western Technical College in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the midsize city of Fort Lauderdale, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #176 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a great university overall.
There were approximately 14 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the fire protection program report average early career income of $52,031.
Macomb Community College is a large public college located in the city of Warren. A Best Colleges rank of #377 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Macomb Community College is a great college overall.
There were approximately 9 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Macomb Community College in the most recent year we have data available.
Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public college located in the large city of Indianapolis. This college ranks 13th out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were approximately 46 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Ivy Tech Community College in the most recent year we have data available.
Mt. SAC is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Walnut. This college ranks 105th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 84 fire protection students who graduated with this degree at Mt. SAC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the fire protection program state that they receive average early career income of $29,741.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
college factual
Your choice of fire protection school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for fire protection schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
