Associate of Arts, Public Safety

College of Marin’s Associate in Public Safety degree is designed to provide students, as well as current public safety workers, with the knowledge and skills necessary for entrance or advancement within various public service sectors. 

This breadth of study allows a student to explore courses across the field of public safety and supports associate degree completion for existing law enforcement, emergency medical service, and fire personnel. 

Currently, the College serves an average of 158 students/year in EMT/EMR/AJ. Our local industry advisory board (comprised of Fire Chiefs, firefighters, and EMS workers from across the county) tasked the College to explore a more direct route to a degree and an avenue for career advancement for the existing Marin County workforce. Feedback from the advisory, local employers, counselors, and existing program review data indicates at least 10 degree completers annually to start. 

To provide a pathway to obtain a degree in Public Safety for prospective and current students as well as existing Firefighters and EMS workers with an intention to move towards a fully online associate degree.   

The Associate of Arts degree in Public Safety provides a much-needed pathway for students interested in working in Public Safety (Fire, Police, Administrative Justice, Paramedic, etc.) to complete a transferrable associate degree. 

The program requires successful completion 18 units minimum of Public Safety required courses in addition to general education courses summing to 60 units in total.  

Core required courses total 10 units, and a minimal of 8 additional required units are selected by the student from lists A, B and C below. Course clusters listed below correspond to Public Safety occupational tracks related to Fire, Paramedics and Police.  

Total 18 Units Minimum

	CORE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
Course	Course Title	Units
Fire 215	Advanced First Aid/First Responder	3
Fire 112	Emergency Medical Technician	7
	Total Units	10

AND 

	List A- Choose 1 Class of 3 units in Health and Wellness
Course	Course Title	Units
BIOL 100	Nutrition	3.0
BIOL 107	Human Biology	3.0
BIOL 108A	Human Sexuality	3.0
HED 140	Stress Management and Health	3.0
HED 130	Contemporary Health	3.0
HED 115	Personal Health	3.0
SOC 110	Introduction to Sociology	3.0
PSY 110	Introduction to Psychology	3.0
PSY 118	Drugs & Psychology	3.0
HED 150	Women's Health Issues	3.0
	Total Units	3.0

AND 

	LIST B - Choose 1 class of 3 units in Cultural Competency
Course	Course Title	Units
		3.0
SOC 130	Race and Ethnicity	3.0
ETST 110	Introduction to Ethnic Studies	3.0
ETST 111	History of African Americans (A)	3.0
ETST 112	History of African Americans (B)	3.0
ETST 121	History of Latinos in the US	3.0
COMM 102	Intercultural Communication	3.0
	Total Units	3.0

AND 

	LIST C- Choose remaining course (minimum 2 units) from this list of Public Service Professional Competencies (classes you did not take from List A or B)
Course	Course Title	Units
MEDA 165	Medical Terminology I	2.0
MEDA 166	Medical Terminology II	2.0
BIOL 100	Nutrition	3.0
BIOL 107	Human Biology	3.0
BIOL 108A	Human Sexuality	3.0
CHEM 105	Chemistry/Human Environment	3.0
COMM 101	Interpersonal Communication	3.0
COMM 102	Intercultural Communication	3.0
ETST 121	History of Latinos in the US	3.0
SOC 110	Introduction to Sociology	3.0
PSY 110	Introduction to Psychology	3.0
PSY 118	Drugs & Psychology	3.0
WE 298	Work Experience	1.0-3.0
SPAN 101	Elementary Spanish I	4.0
AJ 110	Introduction to Administrative Justice	3.0
AJ 118	Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving	3.0
AJ 215	Introduction to Investigation	3.0
Fire 255	Wildland Fire	1.5
HED 140	Stress Management and Health	3.0
HED 130	Contemporary Health	3.0
HED 115	Personal Health	3.0
SOC 112	Modern Social Problems	3.0
SOC 130	Race & Ethnicity	3.0
SOC 140	Family/Intimate Relationships	3.0
ETST 111	History of African Americans (A)	3.0
ETST 112	History of African Americans (B)	3.0
COMM 102	Intercultural Communication	3.0
	Minimum Total:	2.0

 Total 18 Units Minimum

Suggested by Occupational Clusters, Choose 8 units from the following courses.
Choose courses from the C-list, you did not take from List A or B
FIRE:
Work Experience
Medical Terminology I
Medical Terminology II
Human Biology
Chemistry/Human Environment
Stress Management and Health
Introduction to Sociology
Human Sexuality
Introduction to Sociology
Modern Social Problems
Race & Ethnicity
Family/Intimate Relationships
Introduction to Psychology
Drugs & Psychology
Intercultural Communication
Elementary Spanish
PARAMEDIC:
Work Experience
Medical Terminology I
Medical Terminology II
Nutrition
Human Biology
Chemistry/Human Environment
Stress Management and Health
Introduction to Sociology
Human Sexuality
Gender & Society
Drugs & Psychology
Intercultural Communication
Elementary Spanish
POLICE:
Work Experience
Introduction to Administrative Justice
Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving
Introduction to Investigation
Introduction to Sociology
Modern Social Problems
Race & Ethnicity
Family/Intimate Relationships
Introduction to Psychology
Drugs & Psychology
Intercultural Communication
Elementary Spanish

This associate degree pathway aligns with an online bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Sonoma State University. Please note, we are working closely with Marin County fire departments. Our Advisory Board comprising of Fire Battalion Chiefs of Marin County, suggested wages recorded in the demand tables and LMI reports includes private companies which do not cross-train their employees and offer significantly lower wages driving the salary averages down. However, all Fire Departments, county wide, require cross-training, and wages plus benefits are significantly higher.

No other programs/colleges impacted by associate degree option.