Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering - Ghent University

Info

Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering is a 2-year educational programme at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Ghent University (Belgium)

Geschiedenis

There is a strong European tendency to move from prescriptive towards performance-based fire safety designs. This goes hand in hand with a strong need for advanced knowledge in the multidisciplinary field of Fire Safety Engineering (FSE).

The Master students will be well prepared for professional activities within this evolving field of FSE, as they will obtain a broad high level knowledge as a benefit from the joint expertise of three partners with a leading role in FSE research and education in Europe.
The IMFSE students will learn how to:
- master the scientific knowledge to understand, critically evaluate and analyse the phenomenon fire and its consequences;
- critically evaluate and judge risk with respect to fire and explosions,
- compute and design different types of fire protection concerning structures, passive fire protection, detection and suppression;
- judge the human behaviour in case of fire;
- communicate and collaborate with colleagues within the multidisciplinary domain of Fire Safety Engineering.

The MFSE program consists of 4 semesters of 30 ECTS credits each.
In semester 1, basic FSE topics are taught, covering basic knowledge on thermodynamics, heat transfer, structural engineering, fire dynamics and fire science in general (at master level). There is also room for broadening courses, such as entrepreneurship. The advanced FSE courses are taught in semester 2 and 3. The broad domain of FSE is covered in the built environment and industry, including risk assessment and human behaviour. Semester 4 is mainly devoted to the master thesis, which can be completed in collaboration with industry.
The structure of the MFSE programme supports education within the worldwide context of evolution from prescriptive to performance-based codes and standards regarding fire safety and fire protection. Starting from the basics of fire safety science (including thermodynamics and fire dynamics) and structural engineering, and adding the important topics of risk assessment and human behaviour, the students evolve in the spirit of performance-based fire protection designs as they are taught specialist courses and advanced fire safety science and structural engineering. The students’ Performance Based Design [PBD] skills are evaluated through their master thesis and in the PBD devoted course.

Master's Dissertation
The Master dissertation is a requirement for every candidate to obtain a Master degree. The Master dissertation is an original piece of research work. It aims to develop and strengthen the research capacity skills of the students. The student defines his/her own topic or selects one from a topic list. The Master dissertation consists of a critical and original analysis of the topic.

The masters can find a job as fire safety engineer:
–– in fire protection consultancy companies;
–– in design bureaus for structural stability and/or technical equipment of buildings;
–– in architect bureaus;
–– in fire prevention services of larger cities;
–– as responsible person for fire prevention in industry;
–– in prevention departments of fire brigades;
–– in fire protection equipment industry;
–– as fire experts in insurance companies;
–– as fire experts in AHJs;
–– in standard testing laboratories;
–– in environmental impact assessment consultancies;
–– in health and safety organisations;
–– in research and education institutes.