No. Fire protection engineering is NOT the same as firefighting. In fact, most fire protection engineers are not firefighters. Some people do both, including some of our students. Housing and tuition reimbursement opportunities may be available to student firefighters at participating local stations.
Students interested in protecting people and the environment, conducting computer simulations, designing systems, creating products, and developing fire-safe materials can all pursue their interests by earning a B.S. and working in fire protection engineering.
Our students begin their undergraduate career with a strong engineering education grounded in the fundamental concepts of physics, mechanics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer. Combine these skills with the application and design of engineering systems, and the fire protection engineer will learn how to protect people, homes, workplaces, the environment and the economy from the devastating effects of fires. In their junior and senior years, students will focus on:
- Suppression and detection
- Fire-resistant materials
- Fire dynamics and behavior
- Smoke, soot and gases
- Human behavior and life safety
- Computer modeling of fire, smoke, suppression and evacuation
Our students pursue work and research opportunities at federal labs, study abroad, and through internships in industry. Past examples include visiting Europe to study how fire moves through buildings, evaluating safety systems for a company in Georgia, helping a professor’s research group define how plastics burn, and designing a high-efficiency wood stove for a national competition. Browse our Student Stories for examples of how our students have enhanced their studies by participating in activities like these.
A few opportunities in the department include:
- Independent Research with Faculty: Students can speak with their academic advisor or directly with faculty themselves to express interest in getting involved with a faculty member’s research. Undergraduate students can earn technical elective credit or in some cases be in a paid research position in faculty’s labs. Students may get involved in department research as early as freshman year. Visit the Fire Protection Research Page to read more about our faculty’s research areas.
- Vertically Integrated Research Projects: The Department of Fire Protection Engineering is proud to offer its underclassmen the opportunity to participate in group research experiences. Vertically integrated research projects are groups of students that can range from first year undergraduates to PhD students assembled to work together on a research project. Undergraduate students are invited to apply to join newly forming groups and are selected and advised by a member of the FPE faculty. A recent example of such a project is the XPRIZE Competition Team working to design a fire suppression system that can be activated to suppress wildland fires autonomously with drone technology.
- Senior Capstone Design Project: All Fire Protection Engineering students take a capstone design course in their last year in the program. For the capstone project, students work in teams to utilize what they have learned throughout the program to evaluate a real building, identify potential fire scenarios, and develop trial fire protection designs for systems that will protect the people and property within. They use tools including advanced calculations and computer modeling to evaluate their trial designs against their fire scenarios to make sure that people and property could survive a fire in the building.
Fire protection engineers are in demand all over the world! Every building, every vehicle, and every industrial and consumer product must be tested and understood by fire protection engineers to ensure human and environmental safety. Everyone needs fire protection engineering, but most people don’t know it exists. That’s why there are typically three open positions for every student who graduates from our program. It’s also why we have one of the closest-knit, most supportive alumni networks around. Our graduates’ employers include consulting firms, large corporations and government agencies. Every year, we host a dedicated career fair.
Fire protection engineers may be involved in:
- the design of fire protection systems for high-rise buildings and industrial complexes;
- fire investigations;
- protecting people, property and the environment from wildland fires;
- analysis of the level of fire protection in commercial or residential buildings, nuclear power plants and aerospace vehicles; or
- and the research of fire propagation, detection and suppression.
In each of these cases, the fire protection engineer needs to be competent using state-of-the-art procedures in analysis and design techniques, including computer models for fire prediction. Through the use of engineering fundamentals, research and fire analysis, the fire protection engineer assesses the problem confronted and formulates a solution that is not only functional, but economically feasible and practicable. One great way to learn more about jobs in fire protection engineering is by reading job postings, which can be found in our Careers Page as well as in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers Website.
The UMD Department of Fire Protection Engineering is a part of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Engineering at Maryland is a Limited Enrollment Program (LEP). This means that this is a separate review process for admission into the Clark School.
For students applying to The Clark School directly from high school, please see the Clark School’s Preparing to Be a Maryland Engineer Page for more information on the competitive LEP review process and advice on strengthening your application.
For students applying to the Clark School as a transfer student, please see the Transfer to Maryland Engineering Page and select your transfer pathway to review the admissions process and gateway admissions requirements.
Many FPE-specific scholarships are available and most can be applied for using the Clark School’s centralized application process. Many of our students are supported by scholarships. They may also pursue internships, part-time positions and research experiences.
We’re a small department in a big university, which means you’ll have the advantages of both. Our students get to know each other very well, receive more personal advising, and develop relationships with our faculty that last beyond graduation. On campus, students also get access to Big 10 sports, more than 800 student organizations, and the chance to live and learn just a short metro ride from the Nation’s Capital, where federal government agencies and prominent consulting companies hire fire protection engineering students for internships.
Answer:
The University of Maryland (UMD) Fire Protection Engineering degree prepares students to work as fire protection engineers. Fire Protection Engineering Technology degrees prepare students to work as fire protection engineering technicians. The practice of engineering is defined by State Boards, which means that there may be differences in the kind of design work that engineers and engineering technicians can do, with more roles and responsibilities placed on the design work of an engineer. The role of an engineer could include providing oversight to the work of a technician.
Curriculum Differences
The UMD Fire Protection Engineering curriculum includes multiple semesters of calculus, calculus-based physics, and engineering science courses, followed by fire protection courses focused on both the theory and applications of engineering design and analysis. Fire Protection Engineering Technology programs do not require a similar level of math. Technology program coursework may include algebra, trigonometry, applied calculus, and basic sciences. The engineering science and fire protection courses in engineering technology programs focus on applications.
For more information about the differences in curriculum between Fire Protection Engineering and Fire Protection Engineering Technology degrees, please see The Society of Fire Protection Engineering (SFPE) model curricula page.
Licensure Implications
There is a significant difference between UMD’s Fire Protection Engineering degree and the Fire Protection Engineering Technology degrees offered at other institutions related to professional licensures. To be considered an engineer, criteria defined by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) must be met. NCEES administers exams for professional engineering licensure (known as the P.E. exam). The engineering industry generally defines an engineer as anyone who has passed the P.E. exam and is a licensed professional engineer (P.E.). In the Fire Protection Engineering field, the Fire Protection Engineering degree program offered at the University of Maryland is nationally recognized as the best degree path to P.E. licensure. P.E. licensure processes vary by state. So, if you are considering which degree program to pursue it is important to understand the licensure requirements in any state in which you might practice and what impact your degree program will have on your path to professional licensures.
Please see the NCEES licensure page for more information and links to view board licensing information by state.
