Columbia Southern University Adds New Fire Master’s Degree With Concentrations

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Columbia Southern University (CSU), a leading online educator of first responders, recently launched a new fire leadership degree program with four concentrations.

The Master of Science in fire executive leadership degree program offers an opportunity for those in the fire service to gain academic training in leadership at the graduate level. The degree was designed to help students acquire a competitive edge in the fire service and related fields while emphasizing the development of an innovative leader. Students in the degree program choose one of four concentrations: emergency services management, human resource management, occupational safety and health, or public administration.

“This is an enormous opportunity for leaders to expand and grow to their full potential as trailblazers in the fire service industry,” said Keith Padgett, fire and EMS academic director for CSU. He added that the program is suited for “every progressive fire service member that has the desire to be the very best in order to serve their community.”

The 36-hour degree program’s emergency services management concentration focuses on addressing and minimizing risks to responders, the public and the environment through ethical, management-level decision making. The human resource management concentration provides students with the knowledge to lead, grow and assess the personnel needs of fire service organizations. The occupational safety and health concentration examines various strategies such as controlling hazards, conducting risk assessments and applying preventative measures to ensure safety within fire service organizations. The concentration in public administration equips students with the knowledge to be an effective leader in areas of planning, budgeting and developing public policies for their community.

To learn more about the degree program and its four concentrations, visit Columbiasouthern.edu or call 800-977-8449.

About Columbia Southern University

In 2018, Columbia Southern University celebrated its 25th anniversary. As an innovator in online education, CSU was established in 1993 to provide an alternative to the traditional university experience. CSU offers online associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees such as business administration, criminal justice, fire administration and occupational safety and health. Visit ColumbiaSouthern.edu or call (877) 347-6050 to learn more.