Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation maps to BLS occupations averaging about $151,008, with roughly 102,090 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $3,992; common paths include Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists and Forest and Conservation Workers.
Key Statistics
Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation: what the data shows
Common questions about wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degree?
A Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation program is classified under NCES CIP 43.0206 in the Fire Protection field family (43.02).
A program focusing on the application of fire science, firefighting and investigation to the prevention, control and mitigation of wildland fires and the analysis of causes. Includes instruction in fire science and behavior, wildland environments, meteorology, wildland fire hydraulics and dynamics, water and chemical supply systems, wildland firefighting operations, airborne firefighting, firebreak engineering, communications systems, wildland arson, forensic procedures, wildland fire prevention, investigation techniques, case management and preparation
Types of wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 43.02 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Fire Prevention and Safety Technology/Technician (CIP 43.0201)
- Fire Science/Fire-fighting (CIP 43.0203)
- Fire Services Administration (CIP 43.0202)
- Fire Systems Technology (CIP 43.0204)
- Fire/Arson Investigation and Prevention (CIP 43.0205)
How long does it take to get a wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 43.0206 in our file:
- 42 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists | 2,780 | $52,380 |
| Forest and Conservation Workers | 5,630 | $43,680 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers | 93,680 | $92,430 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Fire Protection bachelor's program family: median debt $5,376, median earnings $86,436 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.08.
About 3.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $3,992 and median net price is $7,999.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$3,992 Median In-State Public
$28,440 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation majors are, on average, $3,992 for in-state public colleges, and $28,440 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 2 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 3 | Liberty University | VA | 50,012 |
| 4 | University of Maryland Global Campus | MD | 49,664 |
| 5 | Miami Dade College | FL | 46,182 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 4 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 5 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 3 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 4 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 5 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 43.02 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Fire Prevention and Safety Technology/Technician CIP 43.0201
- Fire Science/Fire-fighting CIP 43.0203
- Fire Services Administration CIP 43.0202
- Fire Systems Technology CIP 43.0204
- Fire/Arson Investigation and Prevention CIP 43.0205
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 43.0206 in the survey year used in our extract (42 total across levels below).
- 42 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $151,008. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists | $102,607 | 2,780 |
| Forest and Conservation Workers | $44,912 | 5,630 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers | $158,821 | 93,680 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Fire Protection CIP family (1 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation graduate.
- $5,376 median federal loan debt among completers
- $86,436 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.08 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$151,008 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation majors is $151,008.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation majors.
Occupations by Share
102,090 2023 Workforce
The number of Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation.
Age distribution for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
88 Total Degrees Awarded
68 Male (77.27%)
20 Female (22.73%)
Gender distribution of Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
45 White (51.14%)
34 Hispanic or Latino (38.64%)
3 Two or More Races (3.41%)
1 Asian (1.14%)
1 Black or African American (1.14%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation majors.
About
A program focusing on the application of fire science, firefighting and investigation to the prevention, control and mitigation of wildland fires and the analysis of causes. Includes instruction in fire science and behavior, wildland environments, meteorology, wildland fire hydraulics and dynamics, water and chemical supply systems, wildland firefighting operations, airborne firefighting, firebreak engineering, communications systems, wildland arson, forensic procedures, wildland fire prevention, investigation techniques, case management and preparation
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation.
CIP Code
43.0206 - Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $5,376 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $86,436, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.08. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation graduate.
Men earned 22.7% of 88 Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $151,008. The largest mapped role by headcount is Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists (2,780 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $3,992 in-state at public colleges and $28,440 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.