Prepare for a Public Safety Leadership Career

Canadian flag flying in front of Parliament Hill

January 16, 2018

For over a century, Wilfrid Laurier University has been producing career-ready graduates. We were recently awarded the #1 ranking in Maclean’s’ Student Satisfaction rankings for our focus on practical knowledge and student experience, and our new online Master of Public Safety degree program continues this proud tradition. We’re the only program of our kind that aligns with the initiatives of Public Safety Canada (PSC). Being 100% online, it’s the perfect program for active professionals looking to move up to a leadership position in public safety, as well as those transitioning into the field from other backgrounds.

About the Public Safety Sector

The Master of Public Safety degree is a relatively new one in Canada, and we receive a lot of questions about what students learn through the program as well as what kinds of public safety jobs are available to graduates. Public Safety Canada is analogous in many ways to the United States’ Department of Homeland Security, and is charged with the following responsibilities:

National Security: Including counter-terrorism, preventing the spread of nuclear and chemical weapons (counterproliferation), protecting critical infrastructure and maintaining cyber security.
Border Security: Including border law enforcement, immigration law and information-sharing with US agencies to maintain security on both sides.
Countering Crime: Including smuggling, human trafficking, organized crime and corrections.
Emergency Management: Including preparations for natural disasters, emergency response and recovery.

Jobs in Public Safety

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Public Safety Canada, Provincial Emergency Management organizations, municipal fire and paramedic services, Canadian Forces and more, offer a wide variety of potential positions to Laurier public safety graduates. Example positions include:

Program Officer: Program Officers work within the Government Operations Centre (GOC). Program Officers help to coordinate how governmental, non-governmental, and volunteer organizations respond to emergencies, be they natural or otherwise.
Cyber Security Analysts: Analyst positions are available in municipal police organizations, the Canadian military and at the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC). Any of these positions help to coordinate an organization’s response to cyber attacks on key infrastructure.

As of January 2018, starting salary for a Program Officer with Public Service Canada ranges from $63,663 to $68,793 per year.

What Will I Learn in the Public Safety Program?

The online Master of Public Safety degree program provides options according to the student’s area of interest and typically takes just under three years to complete. You’ll take six general public safety courses, plus two courses in your chosen stream (border security, countering crime, emergency management or national security).

The core courses will teach you how to understand the complex economic, social and historical factors that underpin public safety policy; how to incorporate the latest technology and analytics into decision-making; how to create innovative, evidence-based policies; and how to communicate these ideas to peers and the public.

The idea of each online safety degree course is to produce the kind of professionals that the field needs: intelligent critical thinkers who are comfortable with new perspectives and new technologies, and who are willing to take on leadership roles when the situation demands it. Graduates leave the online Master of Public Safety program with detailed knowledge of how public safety works, why it works and, most importantly, how it might be improved. On this basis, they’re well-positioned to make sure public safety planning remains a step ahead of the latest threats.

To learn more about the program, get your guide today or set up a call with an enrolment advisor on your schedule.