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A fire can swiftly destroy anything in its path, leaving devastation, ruined homes, and even lost lives in its wake. Engineers in fire protection work diligently to develop technology that reduces loss of life and property. The University of Maryland offers one of the oldest and highest ranked fire protection engineering programs and busy engineering professionals can now take advantage of its newest component: the online master’s degree.

“The Master of Engineering in Fire Protection fits the needs of most adult learners,” said Sharon Roushdy, lead instructional designer for OIT teaching and learning support. “Because it’s online, people with families and busy work schedules can complete the courses and assignments at a convenient time for them—yet they still benefit from the credentials and experience of Maryland faculty and outside experts. Additionally, students from all over the world can be part of the Maryland community in this program.”

The online program was created in conjunction with the Office of Continuing Education and the Department of Fire Protection Engineering. The two worked with Office of Information Technology development teams of graphic artists, instructional designers, and Web developers. The development teams assisted in thinking through and creating the courses, offered advice on negotiating technology, and crafted templates so all online aspects of the program had a consistent look and feel. In addition to the asynchronous nature of the program, which allows students to learn lessons and complete assignments on their own time, there is a real-time chat component that could eventually allow instructors and students to communicate in the future.

The program is seeing success thus far. “We offered our first class in smoke detection and management this fall and received positive feedback from our students,” said Dr. James Milke, associate chair of Fire Protection Engineering. “They submitted assignments electronically and even did some group work. Our spring semester class focuses on fire dynamics. We’re still in the process of seeing how we can best utilize this technology to our students’ advantage.”

The Master of Fire Protection Engineering program is the second online advanced degree offered at the University of Maryland. Students can also earn an online master’s degree in Biology or Chemistry through the Department of Life Sciences.

For more information on the Master of Fire Protection Engineering program, visit www.e-learning.umd.edu/fire.