---
title: Is a Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other degree worth the debt?
cip: 4399
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **16** colleges (16 of 16 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $43,030 ($42,682 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.60× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $35,542–$47,081 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $43,030 | $25,000 | 0.60× | 16 | 16/16 |
| Master's | $73,191 | $30,750 | 0.44× | 7 | 7/7 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Neumann University (PA) | $110,084 | $17,500 |
| Thomas Edison State University (NJ) | $55,538 | — |
| Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City (OK) | $48,932 | — |
| Point Park University (PA) | $47,615 | — |
| Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MA) | $46,903 | $25,000 |
| St Petersburg College (FL) | $45,858 | $30,000 |
| Franklin University (OH) | $44,823 | — |
| Florida SouthWestern State College (FL) | $44,407 | — |
| Virginia Commonwealth University (VA) | $41,654 | $20,000 |
| Tiffin University (OH) | $40,696 | $27,000 |
| Tulane University of Louisiana (LA) | $37,871 | $25,697 |
| University of New Haven (CT) | $35,936 | $27,000 |
| Florida State College at Jacksonville (FL) | $34,360 | $16,888 |
| Miami Dade College (FL) | $33,576 | $13,000 |
| Savannah State University (GA) | $31,687 | $26,000 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/homeland-security-law-enforcement-firefighting-and-related-protective-services-other.jsonld` · `/education/fields/homeland-security-law-enforcement-firefighting-and-related-protective-services-other.json`