Those who have worked in public safety for years know the benefits of having a career where you can make a direct impact in the lives of others.
Public safety administration is the study of disaster relief, response, preparedness, and recovery. The people you call in an emergency, such as police officers or firefighters, are often the first careers you may think of when you think of public safety. Public safety is not just made up of the men and women you see on the streets in uniform, but also consist of the behind-the-scenes careers that are working on prevention.
A career in Public safety administration may be an ideal career if you wish to develop new strategies for protecting your community.
What kind of Public Safety Administration degree should you get?
The most common degree at the undergraduate level is the bachelor of science in public safety administration. Some programs will allow students to specialize in a particular type of public safety (for example, fire safety). However, most of the time the program will consist of a wide variety of classes.
A very similar degree related to public safety is criminal justice. Some schools combine the two degrees or have the option of taking additional courses in criminal justice for credit. Although both fields focus on public service, criminal justice is more related to the systems that work to analyze patterns and prevent crime.
Clickhere for a list of College Choice's 35 best online criminal justice degrees.
How much money do people make with a degree in public safety administration?
According toPayScale, the median salary for someone with a BS in Public Safety Administration is $61,365. Within the field, medical and health services managers made the most money, with the median salary as of May 2015 being $94,500. Emergency management directors made $67,330, while law enforcement officers such as police or detectives made $58,320.
What can you do with a degree in public safety administration?
An undergraduate degree in this field prepares graduates for entry-level positions in public safety agencies. This can include federal government bureaus, police departments, fire departments, or wildlife protection agencies. In general, once graduates determine the specific area they would like to work in, they may study for any certificates necessary to perform their job.
Other careers within public safety are correctional officers, health educators, counselors, or security guards. Because the curriculum is very broad, students may wish to pursue a master's in public safety administration after working a few years to gain upper management positions.
What are the requirements for a degree in public safety administration?
Students who wish to apply for this degree should have a high school diploma with a GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Standardized test scores and any advanced placement test scores should also be submitted. No specific classes are required for this major.
Coursework in public safety administration will include science classes such as environmental science, biology, chemistry, or health. Interdisciplinary courses will also have a business component so students can understand the behind-the-scenes of the field. Sometimes these courses can consist of management, economics, or finance.
What are the best public safety administration degrees?
Below is College Choice's pick for the 5 best public safety administration degrees. We chose these schools based on overall institutional excellence and return on investment. We pulled data from a variety of sources such as the National Center for Education Statistics' IPEDS database, PayScale, individual college websites, and the U.S. News & World Report.
We measured institutional excellence based on a variety of factors including graduation rate, endowment size, and student-to-faculty ratio. Return on investment was measured based on expected early career salary, financial aid, and tuition costs.
Ranking
See our rankings methodology page.
