EMHS: Emergency Management (MA)

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Become a professional in helping communities manage crisis settings with the Emergency Management concentration of the Emergency Management and Homeland Security (EMHS) master’s degree.

Resident tuition | Non-resident tuition
ASU Online offers start dates every 7.5 weeks.
Multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year.
Required number of credits to complete this degree.

College of Public Service and Community Solutions

The emergency management concentration is a part of the Master of Arts in Emergency Management and Homeland Security is offered by the College of Public Service & Community Solutions through ASU Online. This program’s graduates will be well-prepared to utilize public policy and best applicable management practices within their professional areas to develop protection, mitigation and preparedness measures to prevent and/or minimize societal impacts of natural and human-made threats and hazards. Likewise, our graduates will be able to employ necessary management and leadership skills in guiding local or national response to and recovery from any potential emergencies, disasters and other related societal threats. The 33-credit hour program can be completed in as little as one year.

The emergency management concentration is designed for individuals who intend to assume greater leadership and management responsibility in helping communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters in both private and public settings. Students gain an essential understanding of the entire vision, mission, and principles of emergency management with an emphasis on leadership, management, use of technology and both inter-agency collaboration and cross-sector collaboration.

Many emergency management-related positions reside in public sector agencies at all levels of government—and the concentration is not limited to those who are focused becoming an emergency manager per se. Those who are interested in pursuing careers in, and developing expertise in planning, emergency training and exercises, disaster recovery, hazards mitigation, and similar areas might choose to declare this concentration. Further, private sector organizations are increasingly developing emergency services units within their firms to enhance operational resilience, thus presenting another set of career opportunities.

ASU College of Public Service and Community Solutions:

  • Research is the forefront of all academic activities with 20 research centers for advancing research and discovery around challenges that affect us globally
  • Home to ASU’s most diverse student body —and the largest community of first-generation college students
  • #1 university in the U.S. for innovation
  • Named a prestigious global university
  • #4 university in the country for online undergraduate degree programs

Calendar

Next Start Date:

01/07/19
Most Innovative

Featured Courses

CPP 510: Hazards Governance

Program Core: Examines how hazards are managed by both community- and national-level policymaking and administrative systems, with a particular focus on understanding how policies and management practices are related to risk reduction and resilience capacity promotion. Explores what governance means in practice and presents existing research, including policy reports, cases studies and quantitative analyses of community-level and national-level hazards management programs and related public policies--and how their integration is relevant to hazards governance. Emphasizes understanding the nature of public goods production processes, including how inter-sector integration (i.e. between, public, private and nonprofit organizations) and extant community vulnerability profiles matter to the specific risk reduction efforts, and what those same efforts yield in terms of aggregate community resilience outcomes.

CRJ 511: Applied Data Analysis in CJ

Program Core: Examines a variety of tools used in the analysis of criminal justice data, including GIS mapping.

CPP 520: Program Evaluation for EMHS

Program Core: Examines core concepts and techniques of program evaluation and policy analysis and applies them to specific challenges in the domains of emergency management and homeland security. Develops knowledge and expertise in the practice of evaluating public sector programs, policies and other agency actions related to hazards issues--both natural and human-made. Develops students' knowledge, skill and ability in identifying appropriate research designs for particular evaluation and policy analysis problems; in managing data and focusing reports based on project objectives; and in appropriately characterizing and presenting empirical those data gathered for program evaluation and policy research projects. Provides an opportunity to learn about conducting evaluation and policy research in a way that is relevant to solving policy and management challenges germane to emergency management and homeland security agencies.

PAF 552: Integrated Emergency Management

Program Core: Theory and practice of comprehensive emergency management. Explores scope and function of Department of Homeland Security.

CRJ 554: Homeland Security

Program Core: Presents skills necessary to develop policies, strategies, programs, and organizational structure of an all hazards/all risk homeland security program.

PAF 571: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Analysis

Program Core: Provides foundational information related to application of GIS technology to meet various needs within governmental operations, administration, and public policy.

CPP 593: Applied Project

Program Culminating Experience: Preparation of a supervised applied project that is a graduation requirement in some professional majors.

PAF 555: Information Technology in Emergency Management

Concentration Core: Provides theory and application of computer-based programs inemergency management and the use of various emergency modeling programs.

PAF 561: Interoperability for Emergency Managers

Concentration Core: Enables understanding of the multiple technologies and skills utilized by emergency managers to enhance successful coordination and communication between all levels of emergency managers and responders during emergency mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery operations.

SWG 579: Critical Incident Stress Management

Concentration Core: Theory and research behind coping strategies and mechanisms commonly experienced by Emergency Management Teams (EMT) and DHS. Explores topics of stress, trauma, vicarious trauma and mass trauma as experienced by the individual and large populations.

Faculty

The impressive faculty in the College of Public Service & Community Solutions are inspiring the next generation of public service leaders through real-world solutions to issues around child welfare, safety, city management, human trafficking and water scarcity.


Recent Faculty Highlights Include:

  • Fellow by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
  • Fellow of the American Psychological Association
  • Director inducted into the National Academy of Public Administration

Program Summary

Total Hours:

33

Related Careers

Graduates with a Master of Arts in Emergency Management (EMHS) have career opportunities illustrated in the following list. Career examples include but are not limited to those shown in the following list. Advanced degrees or certifications may be required for academic or clinical positions.

Public-sector

  • Government
  • Planning
  • Emergency training
  • Disaster recovery
  • Hazard mitigation

Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the College of Public Service and Community Solutions.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in criminology or criminal justice, public administration or public service, sociology or social work, public safety or fire service management, parks and recreation management, applied sciences, environmental sciences or geography, public health or another closely related field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of a student's first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants are required to submit:

  • Graduate application and application fee
  • Official transcripts
  • Proof of English proficiency
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • A written statement, at least one page in length, which describes the applicant's educational and career goals and long-term professional development strategy
  • Evidence of current employment in an organization in this field or at least two years prior professional experience in this or a related field or a bachelor's degree in a related area

Additional Admission Information

An applicant whose native language is not English (regardless of current residency) must provide proof of English proficiency.

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