Fire Protection Engineering Online (MS)

As a leader in fire science for more than 30 years, WPI gives fire protection engineers the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience to help make the world a safer place. The Online MS in Fire Protection Engineering Program is a part-time, flexible program allows you to explore advanced topics in fire protection and safety and customize a program around your professional expertise and your career and lifestyle goals. Students will work with a faculty advisor to develop a customized and relevant plan of study. A thesis is not required for the online degree.

WPI also offers an online graduate certificate in Fire Protection Engineering.

This degree is also offered on campus.
Learn more

My courses were delivered by the same instructors teaching the same courses on campus. They are all experts in their fields with impressive experience. The professors take a genuine interest in you and it shows in everything they do.

W. Lee Watkins

Fire Protection Engineer

InSynergy Engineering based out of Honolulu, Hawaii

WPI’s online learning allowed easy access to a nationally renowned Master’s level Fire Protection Program, eliminating time-consuming daily commutes. Completing the rigorous program rewarded me with a paramount sense of accomplishment.

Alexandar A. Popov

Project Engineer

Building Materials and Systems, UL LL

Courses

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

10 courses, 30 credit hours. You will work with a faculty advisor to develop a customized and relevant plan of study selected from the courses below. To complete credit hours for the program, courses must be taken in the following areas:

Core Courses (3 courses required, 9 credit hours)
Integration courses (1 course required, 3 credit hours)
Elective courses (6 courses required, 18 credit hours)

With your advisor’s approval, you may take up to 3 elective courses (9 elective credits) from other WPI graduate departments, either on campus or online.

COURSE SCHEDULE

FALL TERM

FP 521. Fire Dynamics I
FP 553. Fire Protection Systems
FP 570. Building Fire Safety I
FP 573. Industrial Fire Protection
FP 580. Sp Prob: People In Fires
FP 580. Sp Prob: Intro To Combustion

SPRING TERM

FP 555. Detection, Alarm & Smoke Control
FP 571. Performance-Based Design
FP 520. Fire Modeling
FP 554. Advanced Fire Suppression
FP 575. Explosion Protection
FP 580. Sp: Complex Decision Making

SUMMER TERM

FP 580. Sp Prob: Business Practice
FP 572. Failure Analysis
or FP 580. Sp Prob: Forensic Techniques

ADDITIONAL ELECTIVES

FP 572. Failure Analysis
FP 580. Sp Prob: Fire Risk Assessment
FP 580. Sp Prob: Business Practice
FP 580. Sp Prob: Forensic Techniques

Prerequisites

Applicants to the online master of science in fire protection engineering should have a bachelor of science in engineering, engineering technology, or the physical sciences. Those with degrees in engineering technology or the physical sciences may be required to take selected undergraduate courses to round out their backgrounds.

Applicants should have already taken courses in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and calculus through differential equations.

Whitepaper: Avoiding Costly Losses Due to Fire

After Graduation

Fire protection engineering graduates are in high-demand and find career opportunities across a range of industries and organizations, including fire protection equipment manufacturers, government, insurance, research laboratories, professional societies, fire departments, municipalities, and more.