B.S. Public Safety Management & Leadership
120
Credit Hours
75%
Max Transfer Credit
Class Type
100% online, 6 & 12-week courses
Next Start Date
Sep 25, 2023
Cost Per Credit

Enhance your academy training with a public safety management degree

Sept. 11 brought increased respect and hightened awareness of the important role strong public safety leaders play in our communities. More than managing a team, a crew and a plan, Franklin's B.S. Public Safety Management & Leadership builds on your know-how and experience with investigation, prevention, enforcement, monitoring, communication and response. Transfer in 24 hours of technical credit to quickly advance your skills and your rank.

Program Availability

On Site

Highly Versatile Major

Learn to adminster public safety initiatives in various environments.

Customized Program

Design a pathway based on your interests.

Real-World Practitioners

Learn theory, application and best practices from public safety professionals.

100% Online Classes

Earn your degree around your schedule.

Finish Faster

Get 24 hours of technical credit.

Accredited Online University

Nearly 80% of our students take online courses.

Program Overview

Stand out for a promotion and join the leadership ranks

If you're a first responder working in the public safety field, a bachelor's degree can help you earn a promotion. And if you choose Franklin University's transfer-friendly Public Safety Management & Leadership degree completion program, you may be closer to earning your degree than you think!

Whether you're looking to move into a leadership role or you see a teaching position at some point in your career - a bachelor's degree enhances your on-the-job-experience and sets your apart from the competition.

Transfer 24 technical credits toward Franklin's Public Safety Management & Leadership degree-completion major

At Franklin University, we value your previous public safety experience. That's why we allow you to transfer 24 hours of technical credit from an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice, Fire Safety, Emergency Medical Services, Corrections, or other Public Safety-related field – giving you college credit for work you've already done.

You'll study advanced topics in emergency management, risk management, security planning, and threat assessment in our relevant and applicable public safety curriculum. No matter your area of expertise, you will benefit your agency and gain career mobility with a bachelor's degree in Public Safety Management & Leadership from Franklin.

Don't have 24 hours of technical credits? Check out Franklin's other majors in Emergency Management & Homeland Security major and Criminal Justice Administration

Earn your degree from a university built for busy adults

Earn your degree on your terms by taking classes 100% online. Accredited and nonprofit, Franklin was built from the ground-up to satisfy the needs of adult learners. Our seamless transfer process and team of academic advisors will help ease your transition to becoming a student, while our flexible course schedules help to balance your education with work, family and life. Get started on your future today.

Read more >

Matthew

B.S. Public Safety Management Graduate

"While I was at Franklin, my interaction with the faculty provided more than just the course work description. They provided real-life examples, real-life scenarios that would be applicable in my life educationally, as well as professionally. So, more than just reading a book and understanding something on my own. They put real context to the examples."

Future Start Date

Start dates for individual programs may vary and are subject to change. Please request free information & speak with an admission advisor for the latest program start dates.

Fall 2023
September
25
Recommended Register By:
Sep 15
Fall 2023
November
6
Recommended Register By:
Oct 27
Spring 2024
January
8
Recommended Register By:
Dec 29
Spring 2024
February
19
Recommended Register By:
Feb 9
Spring 2024
April
1
Recommended Register By:
Mar 22
Summer 2024
May
20
Recommended Register By:
May 10
Summer 2024
July
1
Recommended Register By:
Jun 21
Fall 2024
August
19
Recommended Register By:
Aug 9
Fall 2024
September
30
Recommended Register By:
Sep 20
Fall 2024
November
11
Recommended Register By:
Nov 1

Your Best Value B.S. Public Safety Management & Leadership

Choose Franklin's B.S. Public Safety Management & Leadership and get a high-quality degree that fits your life and budget.

Keep the Credit You've Earned

64
AVG TRANSFER HOURS

On average, students transfer in 1/2 of the credits required.

Transfer MORE Credits, Pay LESS tuition*

$11,940
|
$22,288
Max Transfer Credits
Avg Transfer Credits
*$398 per credit, 120 Total Credits, 90 maximum transfer credits, 64 average transfer credits.

 

Have Credit? Save Time!

21
MONTHS TO COMPLETE

Previously earned credit saves you time toward your degree. 

Completion time is calculated based on full-time status and average transfer credits. 

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Full-Time, One-Class-at-a-Time

Focus on one 6-week class at a time and maintain full-time status by taking 3 courses per term.

85% of the program can be completed by taking six-week course, one class at a time

×

Tuition Guarantee

Inflation-proof your degree cost by locking-in your tuition rate from day one through graduation.

Highly Recommended

98%
STUDENT SATISFACTION

98% of graduating students would recommend Franklin to their family, friends and/or colleagues.

Source: Franklin University, Office of Career Development Student Satisfaction Survey (Summer 2023)

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Curriculum & Course Descriptions

120 Semester Hours
Fundamental General Education
English Composition
ENG 120 - College Writing (4)

In this course, students acquire the writing competence necessary for conducting and presenting research. A variety of assignments, beginning with personal reflections, build upon one another, as students develop ideas that respond to, critique, and synthesize the positions of others. Students systematize and organize knowledge in ways that will help them in all of their courses. The course also emphasizes the elements of good writing style, appropriate grammar and mechanics, clarity of language, and logical and cohesive development. It culminates in submission of a documented research paper.

Mathematics
MATH 215 - Statistical Concepts (4)

This course introduces the student to statistics with business applications. The course covers both descriptive and inferential statistics. Topics included are: measures of central tendency; measures of dispersion; graphical displays of data; linear regression; basic probability concepts; binomial and normal probability distributions; confidence intervals; and hypothesis testing. These topics will be covered using a basic knowledge of algebra and Microsoft Excel. Note, this course has proctored exam(s).

Choose either MATH 140 Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning or MATH 150 Fundamental Algebra as the prerequisite. Course can count as University elective.

Social and Behavioral Sciences
POSC 204 - American Government (3)

An overview of the structure and function of the American governmental system, including the roles of the President, Congress, the Supreme Court, the news media, public opinion, and public interest groups in the political system.

3 credits from the following types of courses:
Choose an additional course from the Anthropology, Geography, History, Psychology, or Sociology discipline.

Science

6 credits from the following types of courses:
Two courses from the Science discipline. One course must have a lab component.

Arts & Humanities

6 credits from the following types of courses:
Choose from the Art, English Literature, Fine Arts, Humanities, Music, Philosophy, Religion or Theater disciplines.

Additional General Education
PF 121 - Basic Learning Strategies (2)

This course introduces students to the Franklin University community and provides strategies for successful transition to and participation in that community. Topics include University resources and procedures, strategies for advancing communication skills, the use of electronic tools to participate in virtual environments, and the development of an academic and career plan.

OR PF 321 - Learning Strategies (2)

This course prepares students to be successful lifelong learners both academically and in their chosen careers. Franklin courses require a high level of self-directed learning and focus on skills required in the workplace and the classroom that are easily transferable between the two environments. The course includes strategies for advancing communication skills, including the use of electronic tools to participate in virtual environments. The assignments and activities in the course are created to closely simulate teamwork found in the workplace.

COMM 107 - Intro to Web Presentation & Publishing (1)

This course is an introduction to the use of Open Source Content Management Systems (CMS) for creating Web sites. It will provide students with the basic knowledge required to design, build, and maintain an informational Web site.

OR COMM 205 - Professional Communication (2)

In this course students will learn how to apply principles of intelligent visual design to professional communication and self-presentation. The focus will be on helping students reframe how to look outward to the professional world, and how to get professionals to view them as great employees and collaborators. How do you seek information to better understand organizations and professional opportunities? How do you present yourself to employers or prospective clients? Throughout the course students will receive professional mentoring and participate in an informational interview. Students will enhance their skills in impression management and communication through social media such as Linked In, blogs, and digital portfolios. Each assignment is tailored to fit the students? professional goals and career path. This course is intended for all academic majors.

COMM 150 - Interpersonal Communication (4)

By using applied critical and creative thinking, students in this course will develop a set of communication skills that will enhance their personal and professional relationships and endeavors. This course will focus on skill development in key areas such as self, perception, listening, verbal messages, conversations, relationships, conflict management, persuasion, and public speaking.

OR SPCH 100 - Speech Communication (4)

This public-speaking course emphasizes the fundamentals of extemporaneous speaking. Skill-building activities and assignments focus on research, organization, reasoning, style and delivery of presentations as well as listening and audience engagement.

PF 106 - Introduction to Spreadsheets (1)

This course focuses on using spreadsheets to solve business applications.

ENG 220 - Research Writing: Exploring Professional Identities (4)

This is an intermediate course focusing on the composition of research papers. Students in this course prepare to be active participants in professional discourse communities by examining and practicing the writing conventions associated with their own fields of study and work. By calling attention to the conventions of disciplinary writing, the course also prepares students for upper-division college writing and the special conventions of advanced academic discourse. Course activities include three extended research papers, semi-formal writing addressing interdisciplinary communication, and readings fostering critical engagement with disciplinary conversations.

Technical Credit

24 credits from the following types of courses:
Transfer credit from public safety related discipline.

Major Area Required
PUAD 305 - Introduction to Public Administration (4)

Students are introduced to the field and profession of public administration. Students learn to think and act as ethical public administration professionals by developing a broad understanding of the political and organizational environment in which public administrators work and by applying fundamental analytical, decision- making, and communication skills. The professional knowledge and skills explored in the course provide a foundation for subsequent public administration courses.

PUAD 420 - Government & Nonprofit Budgeting (4)

Students learn fundamental budgeting, accounting, and financial management concepts and techniques necessary for planning, analysis, and decision making in government and nonprofit organizations. Students also examine the competing values and politics that underlie and impact the budget process and financial decisions. Finally, students apply skills for effectively communicating financial analysis methods and conclusions with colleagues, elected officials, the media, and the public.

PUAD 495 - Public Administration Capstone (4)

The capstone course is a practicum in which students analyze an important administrative problem relevant for a government or nonprofit organization. Students create an administrative action plan for addressing their chosen administrative problem by integrating concepts and skills learned in the public administration program and the student's specialization area.

SEMT 322 - Ethics & Leadership in Public Safety Agencies (4)

This course will study ethics and leadership theories in the context of public safety agencies. Consideration of leadership skills and traits in both the strategic and tactical settings will be considered. Ethics will be considered in terms of creating a culture of ethics within a public safety agency.

Focus Area

Fire & Emergency Medical Services:

FIES 310 - Fire & Emergency Services Administration (4)

This course is designed to be a progressive primer for students who want more knowledge about fire and emergency services administration. The course demonstrates the importance of the following skills, necessary to manage and lead a fire and emergency services department through the challenges and changes of the 21st century: persuasion and influence, accountable budgeting, anticipation of challenges and the need for change, and using specific management tools for analyzing and solving problems. A central part of the course focuses on how the leadership of a fire and emergency services department develops internal and external cooperation to create a coordinated approach to achieving the department's mission.

FIES 330 - HR Management for the Fire & Emergency Services (4)

This course examines relationships and issues in personnel administration and human resource development within the context of fire-related organizations, including personnel management, organizational development, productivity, recruitment and selection, performance management systems, discipline, and collective bargaining.

FIES 430 - Political & Legal Foundations for Fire Protection (4)

This course examines the legal aspects of the fire services and the political and social impacts of legal issues. This course includes a review of the American legal system and in-depth coverage of legal and political issues involving employment and personnel matters, administrative and operational matters, planning and code enforcement, and legislative and political processes with regard to the fire services.

SEMT 240 - Disaster Planning & Response (4)

Students will explore the nuances of planning for and responding to catastrophic disasters. The course will involve discussion of domestic and international approaches to planning and responding to such disasters. Students will view issues from the perspective of an Emergency Manager who spends most of their time in the field planning for critical incidents and disasters and who understands the key components to a good plan that involves many agencies at all levels of government and at different stages of the event. Students will explore the logistics of mass care, mass evacuation, and critical infrastructure damage.

SEMT 450 - Critical Incident Management (4)

The course will explore the NIMS, ICS, and other federally mandated systems in place for the management of critical incidents such as major fire scenes, major disasters, terrorist attacks, and other events that require a multi-agency response and recovery effort. The course discusses and evaluates the roles of high-level leadership in setting policy direction and planning as well as real-time management of the scene.

OR

Law Enforcement:

CJAD 315 - Policing in America (4)

This course will provide the student with an overview of the philosophy and history of policing in America. Students will learn about personnel and management issues related to policing. Students will also be exposed to topics including police discretion, police use of force, civil liability, police culture, and the impact of the war on terrorism on police operations and practices.

CJAD 340 - Evidence Based Practice & Research (4)

This innovative approach to research describes best practices and data driven solutions in criminal justice research including quantitative, qualitative, and program evaluation research. Students will be good consumers of research and will have the fundamental knowledge necessary to evaluate research studies, evaluate their value toward their field of interest, and evaluate their usefulness for making sound decisions in the field.

CJAD 360 - Intro: Terrorism & Intelligence Analysis (4)

This course examines intelligence analysis and its indispensable relationship to the management of terrorist attacks, man-made disasters and natural disasters. It also explores vulnerabilities of our national defense and private sectors, as well as the threats posed to these institutions by terrorists. Students will discuss substantive issues regarding intelligence support of homeland security measures implemented by the United States and explore how the intelligence community operates.

CJAD 415 - Contemporary Policing Strategies & Issue (4)

Students will review contemporary policing strategies to include: Community policing, Problem Oriented Policing and other strategies related to crime prevention and crime reduction. Students will also be exposed to current issues related to both the internal and external environments of police agencies. Issues related to police deviance and ethical issues will also be addressed.

CJAD 450 - Criminal Justice Management & Admin (4)

This course will examine the basic concepts of management and administration as applied to agencies in the criminal justice system. Emphasis will be placed on issues related to the effective management and administration of criminal justice agencies. Topics covered will include environmental influence; conflict, power, and ethical issues; motivation, leadership, and communication. The concept of the service quality approach will also be considered.

CJAD 400 - Forensic Psychology (4)

The course outlines the history of psychology and the law from the late 1800?s to the Daubert Standard and beyond. The course outlines various arenas where the law and particularly aspects of the criminal justice system have utilized psychology to inform investigations and litigation. There are some aspects of civil litigation covered with respect to family law and harassment. The course describes criminal psychology, sexual violence, and victimology from a psychological perspective.

OR

20 credits from the following types of courses:
Students may also design an individualized focus area using any courses from Franklin’s catalog. Students must obtain approval from the Program Chair of the Public Safety Leadership & Management Program for an individualized program focus.

University Electives

22 credits from the following types of courses:
Any undergraduate courses offered by the University except developmental education courses.

Additional Requirements

All students are required to pass College Writing (ENG 120), and either Basic Learning Strategies (PF 121) or Learning Strategies (PF 321) prior to enrolling in any course at the 200 level or above. Students who enroll at Franklin with 30 or fewer hours of transfer credit are required to pass PF 121 Basic Learning Strategies in place of PF 321 Learning Strategies. Interpersonal Communication (COMM 150) or Speech Communication (SPCH 100) must be taken prior to enrolling in any course at the 300 level or above. Students must also meet the University algebra competency requirement.

Program Details

Anna K.

B.S. Public Safety Management & Leadership '21

"This opens up a world of possibilities for me!"

Career Opportunities

ATF Agent

ATF Agents perform investigations which involve surveillance, interviewing suspects and witnesses, making arrests, obtaining and executing search warrants, and searching for physical evidence.

Corporate and Private Security Managers

Corporate and Private Security Managers oversee security operations, from risk management to staff training to policy development in order to ensure workplace safety

Emergency Medical Services Operations Manager

Emergency Medical Services Operations Managers develop short- and long-term emergency response models, training staff to meet defined goals and reduce response tim

EMS Education and Training Instructor

EMS Education and Training Instructors teach leadership and EMS continuing education courses to support the skills development and advancement opportunities of personnel.

FBI Agent

FBI Agents examine interstate and national criminal activity, including bribery, cyber crime, drug trafficking and terrorist threats, investigating and solving cases involving violations of federal statutes.

Fire Education and Training Instructor

Fire Education and Training Instructors teach leadership and fire courses to support the skills development and advancement opportunities of personnel.

Law Enforcement Training Instructor

Law Enforcement Training Instructors teach leadership and criminal justice courses to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners.

Paramedic

Paramedics provide emergency medial services to sick and wounded people, delivering on the scene care and transporting the patient to nearby medical facility.

Police Officer

Police Officers ensure public safety by preventing and detecting criminal activity that can adversely affect both people and property.

Safety Director

Safety Directors develop and administer training programs to ensure occupational, industrial, and environmental safety.

Sheriff's Deputy

Sheriff's Deputies enforce laws within a county, often in unincorporated areas outside of the major cities.

Surveillance Director

Surveillance Directors oversee the electronic and physical monitoring of an environment in an effort to prevent theft, vandalism, and forgery.

U.S. Marshal

U.S. Marshals enforce federal laws, apprehend federal fugitives, operate the Witness Security Program, protect the federal judiciary, and enforce court orders.

Employment Outlook

8%

From 2021-2031, jobs in Public Safety Management & Leadership are expected to increase by 8%.

All Occupations

2021
3,509,504 jobs
2031
3,797,062 jobs
Show Details >

Emergency Management Directors

2021
14,653 jobs
2031
15,505 jobs

Compliance Officers

2021
360,775 jobs
2031
385,562 jobs

Detectives and Criminal Investigators

2021
116,546 jobs
2031
120,914 jobs

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers

2021
69,399 jobs
2031
74,466 jobs


Source information provided by Lightcast.

Knowledge & Skillsets

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