Bachelor of Science in Fire and Emergency Management

Description and Outcomes

The Bachelor of Science in Fire and Emergency Management program is designed for emergency services personnel and addresses the new challenges in technology, human resource management, and fiscal responsibility. The general public and government appointees are demanding higher levels of training and education for those who lead our nation's first response teams during catastrophic disasters, terrorist incidents, and typical emergencies. This bachelor's degree is designed to empower you to pursue leadership roles that include managing all aspects of modern fire, EMS, and emergency preparedness agencies. Additionally, this program could help increase your administrative and management knowledge as well as occupational and life safety awareness.

Purdue Global is recognized by the U.S. Fire Administration as an official Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) institution. Since 1999, FESHE leaders labored to produce, through consensus, a standardized undergraduate curriculum that is national in scope, content, and outcome. Fire-related and EMS management courses were developed for colleges and universities to use as a model when developing curriculum. All the courses share common titles, catalog descriptions, outlines, and content, which provide a national core of knowledge and competencies as suggested by FESHE. This degree program closely follows the FESHE model.

If you have already completed an associate’s or bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, you may be eligible for degree requirements to be waived and replaced with advanced start credit. Refer to Advanced Start Credit in Bachelor’s Degrees for details.

Concentration

You can personalize your degree with a concentration in business foundations. The business foundations concentration will allow you to gain competencies in the fundamental concepts of business administration. You will develop an understanding of the four functions of management, the components of a marketing strategy, and the financial performance of an organization.

Graduate Program Pathways

If you are interested in earning both a bachelor's and master's degree, consider a graduate program pathway.

Program Length

The Bachelor of Science in Fire and Emergency Management program consists of a minimum of 180 quarter credit hours. Upon successful completion of the program, you will be awarded a bachelor of science degree.

Program Outcomes

Discipline-Specific Outcomes

  1. Ethics: Evaluate ethical, social, civic, cultural, and political issues as they relate to the management of emergency services, safety, and survival.
  2. Global Awareness: Analyze the social, cultural, behavioral, and economic characteristics of global emergency and disaster planning.
  3. Knowledge Base: Develop a comprehensive program for operational and strategic emergency management decisions and materials management.
  4. Operations: Apply project management strategies that illustrate the design and management of disaster and fire defense planning.
  5. Psychology: Appraise issues that deal with the psychological effects of emergency services, safety, and survival.
  6. Research Methods: Demonstrate critical thinking to perform research about the management of disaster and fire defense planning using commonly accepted quantitative and qualitative analytical tools to understand and evaluate fire and emergency situations and scenarios.
  7. Technology: Evaluate the use of technology to inform and enhance operational and strategic emergency management decisions.

General Education Literacies and Professional Competencies

In addition to the discipline-specific outcomes, general education literacies and professional competencies are integrated throughout your academic program. You can review the general education literacies and professional competencies associated with your academic program in the General Education and Professional Competency Requirements section of this Catalog.

Program Availability

For program availability, please refer to the U.S. State and Other Approvals section and Program Availability Information.

Policies

Please refer to school-specific policies and the Policy Information section for general Purdue Global policies.

Certification, State Board, and National Board Exams

Certification and licensure boards have state-specific educational requirements for programs that lead to a license or certification that is a precondition for employment. Prospective and current students must review Purdue Global’s State Licensure and Certifications site to view program and state-specific licensure information.

Licensure-track programs may limit enrollment to students in certain states; please see Purdue Global’s Program Availability Information to determine enrollment eligibility.

You are responsible for understanding the requirements of optional certification exams. Such requirements may change during the course of your program. You are not automatically certified in any way upon program completion. Although certain programs are designed to prepare you to take various optional certification exams, Purdue Global cannot guarantee you will be eligible to take these exams or become certified. Your eligibility may depend on your work experience, completion of education and/or degree requirements, not having a criminal record, and meeting other certification requirements.