Fire Science Exemption
Program Purpose
To encourage persons employed as fire fighters or active members of volunteer fire
departments to take college courses designed to help them in their work.
Eligibility Requirements
- Are employed as a paid fire fighter by a political subdivision of the State of Texas or active members of volunteer fire departments who hold an accredited advanced certification (or the equivalent), under the State Firemen's and Fire Marshal's Association of
Texas volunteer certification program, OR a Phase V (Firefighter II) certification
(or the equivalent) under the Texas Commission of Fire Protection's voluntary certification
program under Section 419.071, Govt. Code.
- Are enrolled in courses offered as part of a Fire Science Curriculum. At Collin College,
the approved degree programs consist of the following:
Basic Firefighter Certificate
Fire Officer Certificate
EMS Paramedic Certificate
AAS - Emergency Medical Services Professions
AAS - Basic Firefighter Certification
AAS - Fire Officer Certification
- Enroll in classes for which the college receives tax support (i.e., a course that
does not depend solely on student tuition and fees to cover its costs).
- To receive a continuation award, the student must meet the institution's financial
aid satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements. Specifically, students must
maintain a financial aid GPA of at least a 2.0 to remain eligible. (Financial aid GPA includes grades for developmental courses).
In addition, students cannot have been reported by the institution as having excessive hours according to Education Code 54.014
Note: SAP is run at the end of EACH semester.
Award Amount
Tuition and laboratory fees for courses offered as part of a fire science curriculum.
No funds may be used to pay tuition for continuing education classes for which the
college receives no state tax support.
Application Process
Each semester, provide the financial aid office proof of employment as either a paid
fire fighter or an active member of a volunteer fire department, and enroll in the
courses of a Fire Science Curriculum. The letters MUST always have a current date,
and cannot be just copies of older letters.
* Certification letters for volunteer firefighters only needs to be submitted once.
However, proof of employment for both paid firefighters and volunteer firefighters
must be submitted each semester in which the student wishes to receive the exemption.
Important: Please realize that each subsequent semester, your exemption may be posted prior to SAP running for that semester. If, upon the SAP program running you are NOT meeting
the SAP requirements, the exemption will be removed from your account and you will be responsible for paying your tuition and fees out-of-pocket.
Additional Information
- To read more about this program check out:
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, or