Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering
Fires happen all the time and all over the world. But fire is not a hazard that simply occurs and where we have to accept the consequences. The Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering (MFSE) equips students with the knowledge and skills to design and engineer the built environment in ways that reduce both the likelihood and the consequences of fire.
EUR-ACE® Master (EURopean ACcredited Engineering Master)
The EUR-ACE label was accredited to this programme by the Commission des titres d’ingénieur (CTI), under the auspices of the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE).
EUR-ACE® is a framework and accreditation system that provides a set of standards that identifies high-quality engineering degree programmes in Europe and abroad.
What
We can engineer the built environment to limit the likelihood of catastrophic fires occurring. The shift from a prescriptive approach towards performance-based fire safety designs creates a growing demand for advanced expertise in the multidisciplinary field of fire safety engineering. Now, climate change and the global transition toward more sustainable ways of living are increasing fire risks, making fire safety engineering more essential than ever.
Fire safety engineering is the application of engineering principles, rules and expert judgement based on a scientific understanding of fire. Fire engineers study fire and its phenomena as well as its effects on the built environment and human behaviour, to identify and quantify the risks. By implementing the principles of performance-based design, they optimize fire protection measures to safeguard life, the environment, property, and cultural heritage.
Fire safety engineering students will learn:
- the nature and characteristics of fire and its spread
- how structures, materials and people behave in the event of a fire
- how to evaluate, quantify and mitigate fire risks - how to design fire detection, ventilation and suppression systems
- how building design interacts with firefighting and rescue operations
- how to analyse fire incidents and which lessons to draw from them
Find out more about Fire Safety Engineering in our FSE Q&A series.
For whom
The admission requirements may vary. Depending on your prior education, you can either enrol directly or there may be additional requirements.
Structure
The MFSE programme consists of four terms of thirty credits each. In the first term, the general course units cover basic knowledge on thermodynamics, heat transfer, structural (fire) engineering, fire dynamics and fire science in general (at Master’s level). In addition to those general course units, we offer several elective course units on design, structures and fire safety engineering. We also have elective course units available with a focus social skills, such as the work placement.
The advanced FSE course units are taught in the second and third terms . The broad domain of FSE is covered in the built environment and industry, including risk assessment and human behaviour. The fourth term is mainly devoted to the Master’s dissertation, which can be completed in collaboration with the industry. The structure of the MFSE programme supports education within the worldwide context of evolution from prescriptive to performance-based codes and standards regarding fire safety and fire protection. Starting from the basics of fire safety science (including thermodynamics and fire dynamics) and structural (fire) engineering, and adding the important topics of risk assessment and human behaviour, the students evolve in the spirit of performance-based fire protection designs as they are taught specialist course units and advanced fire safety science and structural fire engineering. The students’ Performance Based Design [PBD] skills are assessed through their Master’s dissertation and in the PBD-devoted course unit.
Master's Dissertation
Completing the Master's dissertation is a requirement for any student who wants to obtain their Master’s degree. The Master’s dissertation is an original piece of research. Its aim is to develop and strengthen the students’ research skills. Students either define their own topic or select one from a topic list. The Master’s dissertation consists of a literature review, practical research, and an original analysis of the chosen topic.
Labour Market
A degree in Fire Safety Engineering offers excellent career prospects. Graduates are in strong demand and are usually quickly hired in professional roles with competitive salaries.
Our graduates can find a job as fire safety engineers:
- at fire protection consultancy companies;
- at design agencies for structural stability and/or technical equipment of buildings;
- at architectural firms;
- in larger cities’ fire prevention services;
- as head of fire prevention in the industry;
- at fire brigade prevention departments;
- in the fire protection equipment industry;
- as fire experts at insurance companies;
- as fire experts at governmental agencies;
- at standard testing laboratories;
- at environmental impact assessment consultancy agencies;
- at health and safety organisations;
- at research and education institutes.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Relevance: the Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering (MFSE) is 75% identical to the International Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering (IMFSE), which is praised in an official quality report by the European Commission (EACEA - Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency) for its relevance. This is confirmed by the very high employment rate of our graduates immediately after they complete the programme. This is the result of the fact that the students acquire theoretical knowledge from internationally leading academics in combination with state-of-the-art technological aspects from guest professors from the professional FSE (Fire Safety Engineering) world. The general commitment by the industry is a strong asset for the MFSE programme. Our graduates are versatile engineers with profound specialisation in FSE.
- Multiperspectivism: we educate our students to become reflective professionals who can work in teams and who occupy leading positions in the FSE professional and academic research world. We value creativity and problem-solving skills highly. Moreover, the strongly international and intercultural character of the student population – the result of being in class together with the IMFSE students – ensures that students learn to appreciate both national and international codes of practice in the field of fire safety engineering. The multidisciplinary character of FSE is also reflected in the curriculum.
- Unique programme and degree: our 120 ECTS credits MFSE programme is one of the few MSc FSE programmes in the world of this size (i.e., the equivalent of two full-time academic years). Moreover, Ghent University is a leading institution in the field of Fire Safety Engineering worldwide, which means that the resulting degree is highly valued. In terms of content, we work within the context of ‘Performance-Based Design’, which is common practice and the reality of FSE worldwide.
- International talent development: as mentioned, the MFSE programme has a highly international and intercultural student population. They have the freedom to compose their curriculum according to their interests, thus developing their talents. Thereby you are continuously challenged by worldwide relevant real-life projects.
- Knowledge creation, skills and competencies: throughout the curriculum we build up knowledge, skills and competencies gradually while at the same time stimulating our students to critical self-reflection. Starting from fundamental theoretical principles, the problem-solving thinking of our students is developed towards both research and practically relevant and realistic projects.
Strengths
- Student appreciation: the official student surveys reveal their strong appreciation of the programme. This is the result of what was described in the programme's unique selling points, but it is also due to the strong student involvement in the Programme Steering Committee. Their participation ensures that their feedback is heard and leads to adjustments in the curriculum where and when that is feasible.
- Motivated team of lecturers: the education we offer is delivered by strongly committed lecturers from different disciplines. Our academic lecturers combine their research expertise with a passion for teaching and dedication to providing a dynamic learning environment in their course units. The guest lecturers bring a strong added value with their input from the professional world.
- Room for practical experience: this is a strong asset of the MFSE programme, as practical experience is guaranteed through the inclusion of the guest lecturers mentioned above. Additionally, company visits are organised annually and the professional world is involved still more closely in the MFSE programme through their participation in the Advisory Board to the Programme Steering Committee, as well as through work placements and Master's dissertation topics offered by companies.
- Assessments: our students appreciate being well-informed on the type and contents of assessments so that they clearly know what to expect while studying. Also, the variety in types of assessment, depending on the topic and the skills that need assessing, is strongly appreciated.
- Approachability: our programme focuses on direct and intensive personal contact between lecturers and students. On top of that, there is an MFSE-specific administrator, so that our students are assisted in a good and personal manner when it comes to potential practical problems.
Challenges
- Workload: it is currently difficult to assess the total workload, as well as how it is staggered across the two academic years. Student feedback suggests that the workload is high.
- Deadlines: the teaching relies heavily on project work. Deadlines across course units are not yet perfectly aligned, resulting in high-intensity periods. A project has been initiated to inventory deadlines across course units.
- Entrepreneurship: the curriculum highlights entrepreneurship only to a limited extent. The integration of entrepreneurship into the curriculum is currently looked into.
Accreditation
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (in Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The resulting Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 25/05/2025.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.