Fire Science
The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Fire Science provides the opportunity for individuals seeking careers in the fire service to acquire standard firefighting skills and prepare for state and/or national certifications, including the Firefighter I and II Certification. Students will gain broad knowledge and skills necessary to work effectively in the fire service as firefighters. A Certificate of Completion (CCL) in Firefighter Operations is also available.
Details
Field of Interest
Behavioral Science and Human Services
Degree Type
Associate in Applied Science (AAS)
Academic Plan
Fire Science (DEG)
Academic Plan Code
3205
Total credits required
61.5-92
Catalog Year
2024-2025
Effective Term
Fall 2022
Admissions criteria
Admission to program is required. See Program Director for details.
Notes
Students must earn a grade of C or better in all courses within the program.
Consult with your faculty mentor or academic advisor to determine educational requirements, including possible university transfer options, for your chosen career field.
What You'll Learn
This pathway map will help you gain the expertise needed to:
- Apply the basic theories of fire behavior and methods of fire control and prevention in a variety of fire operations.
- Demonstrate the appropriate and safe use of personal firefighting equipment and fire apparatus.
- Demonstrate the knowledge of the professional and organizational structures, processes, and policies that guide fire departments.
- Demonstrate physical tasks, proper tool selection, and knowledge of operating procedures in accordance with the standards of the profession.
- Mitigate hazards to health and safety by assessing, planning and responding to emergency situations.
- Demonstrate the critical thinking, mental, and emotional skills needed to perform firefighting tasks and services.
- Practice industry accepted professional and ethical behavior related to fire service.
- Collaborate effectively with members of a team to achieve goals.
- Communicate efficiently and effectively with members of diverse populations in a culturally responsive manner.
- Apply relevant knowledge, skills, and habits of mind to seek career opportunities in the field.
Successful completion of this degree may lead to employment in a variety of different occupations and industries. Below are examples of related occupations with associated Arizona-based wages* for this degree. Education requirements vary for the occupations listed below, so you may need further education or degrees in order to qualify for some of these jobs and earn the related salaries. Please visit with an academic advisor and/or program director for additional information. You can click on any occupation to view the detail regarding education level, wages, and employment information.
Firefighters
$48,750 Show expanded career information for Firefighters
Course Sequence by Term
The following is the suggested course sequence by term. Please keep in mind:
- Students should meet with an academic advisor to develop an individual education plan that meets their academic and career goals. Use the Degree Progress Report Tool in your Student Center to manage your plan.
- The course sequence is laid out by suggested term and may be affected when students enter the program at different times of the year.
- Initial course placement is determined by current district placement measures and/or completion of 100-200 level course and/or program requirements.
- Degree and transfer seeking students may be required to successfully complete a MCCCD First Year Experience Course (FYE) within the first two semesters at a MCCCD College. Courses include FYE101 and FYE103. Course offerings will vary by college. See an academic, program, or faculty advisor for details.
- Consult with your faculty mentor or academic advisor to determine educational requirements, including possible university transfer options, for your chosen career field.
Full-time Sequence
Full-time status is 12 credits to 18 credits per semester.
Term 1
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMT101 | Basic Life Support/Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for Health Care Providers | OR Current validation in Basic Life Support (BLS) Health Care Provider/Professional Rescuer (0) AND Credit By Evaluation (0.5) 0.5 | 0.5 | ||
| FSC105 | Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations | OR Permission of Program Director | 0–3 | ||
| FSC130 | Fitness for Firefighters/CPAT | OR Verification of CPAT completion | 0–1 | ||
| EMT104 and EMT104AB and EMT104LL | Emergency Medical Technology and Applied Practical Studies for Emergency Medical Technology and Emergency Medical Technology Practicum | OR Arizona State EMT Certification (0) OR Arizona State Paramedic Certification (0) OR Permission of Program Director | 0–12.5 | ||
| FYE101 or FYE103 | Introduction to College, Career and Personal Success or Exploration of College, Career and Personal Success | 1–3 |
Term 2
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC102 | Fire Department Operations | Critical course Gateway course | 11 | ||
| FSC134 or FSC234 | Fitness and Conditioning for Firefighters or Fitness and Wellness for Firefighter Candidates | Critical course FSC234 is recommended for students who have already completed the Fire Academy equivalent of FSC102 | 3 | ||
| FSC174 | Functions of Command | Critical course | 2 |
Term 3
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC101 | Introduction to Fire Service Selection and Entry | OR Current employment as a firefighter as determined by the Program Director | 0–4 | ||
| FSC108 or FSC110 | Fundamentals of Fire Prevention or Wildland Firefighter | FSC110 is recommended | 3 | ||
| ENG101 or ENG107 | First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL | Critical course | FYC or FYC | 3 | |
| MAT14+ | College Mathematics | Critical course | MA | 3–6 | |
| HU | Humanities, Fine Arts & Design | HU | 3 |
Term 4
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC113 | Introduction to Fire Suppression | 3 | |||
| FSC117 | Fire Apparatus | 3 | |||
| FSC118 | Fire Hydraulics | 3 | |||
| FSC119 | Introduction Fire Service Ethics | 3 | |||
| ENG102 or ENG108 | First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL | FYC or FYC | 3 | ||
| SB | Social & Behavioral Sciences | SB | 3 | ||
| CRE101 | College Critical Reading and Critical Thinking | OR Equivalent as indicated by assessment | L | 0–3 |
Term 5
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC+++++ | Any Fire Science Technology course | Recommend FSC202, FSC204, FSC282AC, or FSC296WC | 1–3 | ||
| FSC208 | Firefighter Safety and Building Construction | 3 | |||
| FSC215 | Customer Service in the Public Sector | 3 | |||
| SG or SQ | Natural Sciences General or Natural Sciences Quantitative | SG or SQ | 4 | ||
| COM100 or COM110 or COM225 or COM230 | Introduction to Human Communication or Interpersonal Communication or Public Speaking or Small Group Communication | COM100 is recommended | SB or SB or L or SB | 3 |
Part-time Sequence
Part-time status is 11 credit hours or less.
Term 1
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMT101 | Basic Life Support/Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for Health Care Providers | OR Current validation in Basic Life Support (BLS) Health Care Provider/Professional Rescuer (0) AND Credit By Evaluation (0.5) 0.5 | 0.5 | ||
| FSC105 | Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations | OR Permission of Program Director | 0–3 | ||
| FSC130 | Fitness for Firefighters/CPAT | OR Verification of CPAT completion | 0–1 | ||
| EMT104 and EMT104AB and EMT104LL | Emergency Medical Technology and Applied Practical Studies for Emergency Medical Technology and Emergency Medical Technology Practicum | OR Arizona State EMT Certification (0) OR Arizona State Paramedic Certification (0) OR Permission of Program Director | 0–12.5 | ||
| FYE101 or FYE103 | Introduction to College, Career and Personal Success or Exploration of College, Career and Personal Success | 1–3 |
Term 2
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC102 | Fire Department Operations | Critical course Gateway course | 11 | ||
| FSC134 or FSC234 | Fitness and Conditioning for Firefighters or Fitness and Wellness for Firefighter Candidates | Critical course FSC234 is recommended for students who have already completed the Fire Academy equivalent of FSC102 | 3 | ||
| FSC174 | Functions of Command | Critical course | 2 |
Term 3
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC108 or FSC110 | Fundamentals of Fire Prevention or Wildland Firefighter | FSC110 is recommended | 3 | ||
| ENG101 or ENG107 | First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL | Critical course | FYC or FYC | 3 |
Term 4
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC101 | Introduction to Fire Service Selection and Entry | OR Current employment as a firefighter as determined by the Program Director | 0–4 | ||
| MAT14+ | College Mathematics | Critical course | MA | 3–6 | |
| COM100 or COM110 or COM225 or COM230 | Introduction to Human Communication or Interpersonal Communication or Public Speaking or Small Group Communication | COM100 is recommended | SB or SB or L or SB | 3 |
Term 5
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC117 | Fire Apparatus | 3 | |||
| FSC118 | Fire Hydraulics | 3 | |||
| CRE101 | College Critical Reading and Critical Thinking | OR Equivalent as indicated by assessment | L | 0–3 |
Term 6
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC113 | Introduction to Fire Suppression | 3 | |||
| ENG102 or ENG108 | First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL | FYC or FYC | 3 |
Term 7
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC119 | Introduction Fire Service Ethics | 3 | |||
| SB | Social & Behavioral Sciences | SB | 3 |
Term 8
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC208 | Firefighter Safety and Building Construction | 3 | |||
| SG or SQ | Natural Sciences General or Natural Sciences Quantitative | SG or SQ | 4 |
Term 9
| Course Number | Course Name | Requisites | Notes | Area | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSC+++++ | Any Fire Science Technology course | Recommend FSC202, FSC204, FSC282AC, or FSC296WC | 1–3 | ||
| FSC215 | Customer Service in the Public Sector | 3 | |||
| HU | Humanities, Fine Arts & Design | HU | 3 |
Course Area Key
Gateway Course = Generally the first major-specific course in a pathway.
Critical Course = A course that is highly predictive of future success in a pathway.
- FYC = First Year Composition
- HU = Humanities, Fine Arts, and Design
- L = Literacy & Critical Inquiry
- MA = Mathematics
- SB = Social-Behavioral Sciences
- SG = Natural Sciences General
- SQ = Natural Sciences Quantitative
Disclaimer
Students must earn a grade of C or better for all courses required within the program.
Course Sequence total credits may differ from the program information located on the MCCCD curriculum website due to program and system design.
View MCCCD’s official curriculum documentation for additional details regarding the requirements of this award (https://aztransmac2.asu.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MCCCD.woa/wa/freeForm13?id=176683).
At Maricopa, we strive to provide you with accurate and current information about our degree and certificate offerings. Due to the dynamic nature of the curriculum process, course and program information is subject to change. As a result, the course list associated with this degree or certificate on this site does not represent a contract, nor does it guarantee course availability. If you are interested in pursuing this degree or certificate, we encourage you to meet with an advisor to discuss the requirements at your college for the appropriate catalog year.