Online Master’s Degree in Public Safety

Top online Master’s Degrees in Public Safety prepare students to recognize dangerous situations in their community and prevent them in a variety of functions, such as a police officer, firefighter, or representative of Homeland Security. Good online public safety masters programs focus not only on man-made disasters, but natural disasters as well.

Online Master’s Degrees in Public Safety Requirements

It is crucial that a person wishing to pursue an online masters in public safety have good verbal communication skills, the ability to react quickly to situations, and be physically fit. Also, it is ideal to have some basic computer skills and have some knowledge of accounting, especially if students plan to pursue a career in financial security. Accredited online masters programs in public safety focus on skills such as emergency preparedness and management and strategic planning for a crisis. In addition, online masters programs in public safety help you develop an understand of behavior and human development.

There are many bachelors programs that can help prepare students pursue a masters degree in public safety. Some include:

• Criminal Justice
• Pre-Law
• Public Administration
• Psychology
• Political Science

Those wishing to earn a public safety masters degree online may already be in careers such as corrections, politics, Homeland Security, or law enforcement. Using an accredited online master degree school to earn an master’s in public safety can help you advance in your career and earn a higher salary for a management or department head position.

Online Public Safety Master’s Degree Education

Good online master’s degree programs in public safety typically take between 2 to 3 years to complete. The types of Public Safety degrees offered by the best public safety master’s programs online include:

• Master of Science in Public Safety (MS in Public Safety)
• Master of Arts in Public Safety (MA in Public Safety)

Information on Public Safety Courses

Top public safety master’s degree online courses are designed to prepare for any potential disaster that could arise at the local, state and national level. For example, courses may include information systems security in the event that a crisis occurs that is based in technology. Other courses focus on management techniques to prepare to lead a team of first responders or researchers. Others include:

• Local Government Management
  Online master’s degree public safety programs often begin with a course on local government management to teach them the skills that they need to respond to emergencies in their own community. This course is tailored to those specializing in the political side of an public safety, or those seeking careers in local politics.
• Criminal Justice
  This course deals with the practice of applying laws and regulations to promote public safety. Online master’s degree public safety programs use this course to prepare students for careers in law enforcement and corrections. A Criminal justice course will examine criminal law, the judicial system and organized crime as they relate to public safety.
• Homeland Security
  A Homeland Security course teaches students about national security threats to property, land and citizens of the United States. Primary focus is on domestic and international terrorism.
• Crisis Management
  This course is meant to teach students how to respond to any crisis that could arise at the local, state or national level. Students learn about techniques used to combat both man-made and natural disasters and how to implement them in an emergency.
• Psychology
  An online master’s degree in public safety curriculum includes a psychology course to help the student learn how the human mind responds to emergencies. With this understanding, a student can predict how the public will react to a crisis and develop preventative techniques to help compensate for this.

Specializations and Concentrations

Because public safety is a broad field, in order to become an expert in a specific niche, some students will pursue specialties or concentrations in areas including:

• Organizational Leadership
• Personal Leadership
• Accounting and Finance
• Human Resources
• Management
• Performance Training

Careers in Public Safety

Most careers resulting from an online master’s degree in public safety are in the government sector, one of the fastest growing and most secure industries in the United States. Beyond research and public service careers like a fire fighter or police officer, there are also career opportunities in politics and government administration. Others include:

• Police Supervisor
  A police supervisor acts as the administrative guide to law enforcement activities in a specific area but often is not required to go into the field. Some police supervisor positions like sheriffs are elected to their office by the local population. By 2018, the need for police supervisors should increase by 8%, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The yearly salary is on average, around $75,490.
• Fire Chief
  A fire chief is responsible for leading multiple squads of fire fighters by coordinating local efforts to protect the community from serious fires. A fire chief is normally required to prepare reports on a weekly basis and coordinate large scale fire prevention efforts. By 2018, the demand for fire fighters as a whole is expected to increase by 19%. On average, a fire chief typically earns about $85,000 each year.
• City Manager
  A city manager is a broad career referring to a person that manages some aspect of a city, whether it be the successful growth of the population and economy or the implementation of safety and regulatory tasks such as regular cleaning or other laborious tasks. Depending on the specialization of the city manager, the average salary can be as much as $94,992. The need for top city executives such as financial and business managers is expected to increase by around 10.2% by 2018.
• Emergency Management Director
  An emergency management director is responsible for preparing communities for any type of disaster, whether it is man-made or natural. Emergency management directors also educate their communities about disaster prevention techniques. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates demand for this career to increase by more then 2,300 positions by 2014. The median salary is about $56,900.
• Intelligence Analyst
  An intelligence analyst is a specialized public safety employee that is responsible for compiling intelligence data from a wide variety of sources. An intelligence analyst can determine the authenticity and relevance of multiple pieces of information and piece together a report to prevent and solve homeland security related crime. Most intelligence analysts earn between $50,334 and $85,757.

An master’s degree in public safety from a top online college opens up a wide variety of careers in both law enforcement and public health. Some online public safety masters degree holders go on to work as administrative corrections officers and executive level safety positions.