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Other Protective Services

Types of Degrees Other Protective Services Majors Are Earning

Those studying Other Protective Services can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	44
Associate’s Degree	122
Bachelor’s Degree	566
Master’s Degree	466
Doctor’s Degree	9

Who Is Earning a Degree in Other Protective Services?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 62.6% of Other Protective Services degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	455	37.4%
Men	762	62.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Other Protective Services graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	705	57.9%
Asian	28	2.3%
Hispanic or Latino	218	17.9%
Black or African American	158	13.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	8	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	3	0.2%
Two or More Races	33	2.7%
Race Unknown	44	3.6%
International Students	20	1.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Other Protective Services Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Other Protective Services graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$55,723
4 years	$56,806
5 years	$64,626

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $64,626 — roughly 16% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Other Protective Services Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Other Protective Services. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	8	5
Bachelor’s	9	3
Master’s	6	4
Doctoral (Research)	2	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Other Protective Services Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Other Protective Services graduates earn a median of $56,806 four years after completion — roughly 49% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other	43.99

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.