Best Schools for Fire Protection in 2026
These are the top schools offering Fire Protection, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Fire Protection graduate earns $68,085/yr across 20 schools.
All Fire Protection Programs Ranked
Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Columbia Southern University
Orange Beach, AL · Private for-profit |
75
70–75 |
$82,718/yr | 36.8x |
| 2 |
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, IN · Public |
74
69–74 |
$89,622/yr | 20.6x |
| 3 |
Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville, NC · Public |
73
66–73 |
$67,586/yr | 50.4x |
| 4 |
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
Stillwater, OK · Public |
73
67–73 |
$75,503/yr | 21.1x |
| 5 |
American Public University System
Charles Town, WV · Private for-profit |
72
66–72 |
$73,302/yr | 23.1x |
| 6 |
Utah Valley University
Orem, UT · Public |
71
64–71 |
$60,522/yr | 30.9x |
| 7 |
Waldorf University
Forest City, IA · Private for-profit |
68
64–68 |
$97,731/yr | 8.9x |
| 8 |
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY · Public |
68
62–69 |
$66,617/yr | 17.5x |
| 9 |
California State University-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public |
65
56–66 |
$48,289/yr | 24.2x |
| 10 |
University of Florida-Online
Gainesville, FL · Public |
65
60–65 |
$86,740/yr | 54.9x |
| 11 |
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public |
64
60–64 |
$86,740/yr | 33.0x |
| 12 |
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Carbondale, IL · Public |
64
60–64 |
$104,017/yr | 18.6x |
| 13 |
Anna Maria College
Paxton, MA · Private nonprofit |
64
59–64 |
$81,637/yr | 5.7x |
| 14 |
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York, NY · Public |
63
54–63 |
$48,121/yr | 20.1x |
| 15 |
New Jersey City University
Jersey City, NJ · Public |
58
50–58 |
$54,600/yr | 10.2x |
| 16 |
University of Akron Main Campus
Akron, OH · Public |
58
49–58 |
$49,582/yr | 11.3x |
| 17 |
Eastern Oregon University
La Grande, OR · Public |
56
48–56 |
$58,911/yr | 12.8x |
| 18 |
University of New Haven
West Haven, CT · Private nonprofit |
51
43–51 |
$57,392/yr | 2.8x |
| 19 |
Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL · Public |
44
35–45 |
$41,432/yr | 5.9x |
| 20 |
Methodist University
Fayetteville, NC · Private nonprofit |
32
24–33 |
$30,637/yr | 0.9x |
Methodology
Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.