In 1956, the Department of Fire Protection Engineering was established within the School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. A great and unique tradition had started.

To date we offer the only fully accredited undergraduate program and one of three graduate degree programs in the U.S. More than 1,100 graduates from the Department are now employed in industry, insurance companies, Federal, state or local government, military, and fire service.

Our faculty are highly recognized in the profession: three are fellows in professional engineering societies, James Quintiere, the J.L. Bryan Professor of Fire Protection Engineering is a former Chair of the International Association of Fire Safety Science and Jim Milke is a President-Elect of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.  Presently, there are seven full-time faculty members in the department.  There are approximately 125 undergraduate students enrolled in the Department.  We have approximately twenty-five FPE graduate students (M.S.) studying on-campus and about fifty students enrolled in the graduate distance education program.  Approximately ten Ph.D. students are on campus pursuing fire-related topics and are being advised by faculty members in the Department.

The rapid worldwide acceleration in the growth of science and technology are opening up vast new opportunities and demand for uniquely trained fire protection engineers. Therefore, we foster a sustained growth of our graduate program through increased opportunities in research for our students. In particular, we focus on recent advances in material testing practices, fire detection, performance-based design and modeling techniques to predict fire growth, smoke movement or the response of building systems in design and fire investigation applications.

Our laboratory facilities provide hands-on experience with "standardized" ASTM test procedures and permit the investigation of fire dynamics principles. Students conducting their graduate thesis projects, as well as students conducting their undergraduate research theses use these facilities extensively.

We are deeply grounded in the fire protection engineering profession while we are launching advanced research programs to meet the challenges of the future. We would like to share our unique heritage and our innovative research experiences with you. We welcome you to join us in these endeavors.