MS Emergency Management Curriculum

Program Requirements + Schedule


Courses meet on alternating week-ends on Friday evenings from 5:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. The alternating weekend format provides students the opportunity to conduct research, meet with student teams, and satisfy classroom objectives for the next class meeting. The program begins with a one-day orientation. Each entering class comprises approximately 24 students, who progress through the program as a cohort.

Each program meets for 3 alternating weekends except for the capstone, which meets 4 alternating weekends distributed throughout the entire program. 

 

The course is designed to provide students with a foundation in emergency management related concepts, theories, and principles through an in-depth analysis of past and current emergency management policies, practices, and events. Students will analyze and discuss national, state and local government structure, responsibilities, authorities and relationships. We will analyze and discuss National Security Presidential Directives, Homeland Security Presidential Directives, the National Response Framework, the National Disaster Recovery Framework, and the National Incident Management System. We will also discuss homeland security and emergency management related policy and strategic level decision making, international disaster and relief, business continuity theory and practice, and disaster and emergency management cycles. 

Credits: 3

 

 

Meets 3 alternating weekends December and January

This course is designed to enable students to develop Incident Command System (ICS)/Emergency Operations Center (EOC) interface implementation strategies or action plans for their communities. The course reviews the ICS and EOC models of emergency management operations, including coordination, communication, and chief executive decision making, and places ICS in the context of the evolving National Incident Management System (NIMS) and National Response Plan (NRP). It enhances the knowledge and skills needed for clarifying roles, responsibilities, and relationships prior to a disaster through small-group and large-group exercises. The course stresses that final coordination and operational structures are matters for local governments to resolve in the planning process with the state and federal government, not-for-profit organizations and the private sector. It is the intent of the course to stimulate thinking and ultimately, action in this area.
 

 

This course focuses on business continuity within the broader context of disaster recovery. Participants explore the intricacies of crisis management and organizational resilience from both private sector business crisis management and public sector emergency management perspectives. Throughout the course learners gain insights into navigating business disruptions, prioritizing the return of business operations, and integrating business continuity plans within the broader disaster recovery structure.

Utilizing FEMA's National Recovery Framework and Public and Individual Assistance models, students delve into the critical components of disaster recovery from a government perspective learning the processes and steps to help the whole community through the disaster recovery process.

Finally, the course will examine the human side of disaster recovery and the way they are impacted and contribute to the recovery process. 

This course brings together the different aspects of recovery and how critical it is that each component is considered when building resiliency to reduce the impact in the recovery phase.

Credits: 3

 

The capstone course will provide an opportunity for students to integrate the core curriculum and their personal areas of interest culminating in both a written and oral capstone project presentation that addresses either solving a problem or improving a process in the field of emergency management. Specifically, students choose between the following: 1) Presenting a problem in the field of emergency management, describing what has been heretofore written about the problem, providing multiple solutions to the problem, and making a recommendation for implementation of the optimal solution; or 2) Presenting a methodology for improving a process in the field of emergency management, describing what has been heretofore written about the process, providing multiple solutions to the process, and making a recommendation for implementation of the optimal solution.

Credits 4

 

Organizational issues lie at the core of operational effectiveness in facilities management. Management of individuals, teams and organizations requires a keen understanding of the principles of leadership, vision and motivation under sometimes stressful circumstances. This course provides extensive instruction in organizational behavior in the context of the modern business environment.

Credits: 3

 

 

This course provides students with tools and techniques to effectively identify hazards, the risks associated with those hazards, and mitigation strategies to become more resilient. Students will learn quantitative and qualitative risk assessment tools to prioritize mitigation efforts. There is a focus on all hazards: natural, technological, and human-caused. Case studies are used to emphasize the importance of after-action reporting to identify strengths and weaknesses to reduce the risk of future occurrences of emergencies and disasters. Students will examine natural disasters, technological accidents, terrorism, and corporate scandals. There is a focus on FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plans, Threat and Hazard Identification Risk Assessments (THIRA), FEMA flood mapping, and insider threat to encompass the whole community approach of hazard identification and risk assessment.

Credits: 3

 

This course will focus on developing each student’s command of  the fundamental concepts used by emergency management professionals to conduct sound financial analysis and solve problems using basic and advanced financial analytical tools. The course also covers clear and effective communication of financial concepts, analysis, and conclusions for use by senior management. The course will emphasize concepts, practices, and tools essential for making decisions under routine and non-routine circumstances. Case studies will be examined to illustrate fundamental techniques for budgeting and forecasting,  asset management, and maximizing resources. The course will present concepts in a manner that integrates financial analysis with strategic planning, taking a cross-disciplinary approach to budgeting and analysis,  accounting, and reporting, and finding the best financial means to achieve  strategic objectives. 

Credits: 3

 

 

This course covers in depth the principles of financial accounting and engineering economic analysis and includes such topics as accounting statements; assets and liabilities; corporate financial reporting; inven-tory valuation and cost procedures; investments (stocks, bonds, land, building, and equipment); evaluation of equipment, acquisition, and depreciation; cash flow analysis; and budgetary control. Economic analysis techniques are used to evaluate alternatives for potential solutions to engineering problems. Measures such as present worth, annual worth, rate of return, and cost benefit are considered. Economic analysis as a decision-making tool will be examined.

Credits: 3

 

This course focuses on the security of the Marine Transportation System (MTS). Ninety five percent of all U.S. imports and exports are carried by sea aboard ships via hundreds of ports. From the ports, the cargo is then taken to thousands of destinations via air and land transportation modes (e.g., airline, truck, and rail), thus fueling the U.S. economic engine. These sea, air, and land transportation modes, with the port as their hub, make up the MTS. The MTS is critical to our national and economic security and significant legislation and many national policy documents have been produced to secure the system from terrorism. What have we accomplished and will we succeed? To address these questions, the course will briefly review current U.S. homeland security issues. Students will then examine terrorist threats to the MTS and the legal and policy responses to those threats, including U.S. efforts to carry out the daunting task of securing the global supply chain at sea and overseas.

Credits: 3

 

 

The course is designed to provide guidance to hospitals, emergency medical services (EMS), health care facilities, and citizens who may become involved in a mass casualty event as a result of a hazardous materials incident, a natural physical or health hazard, or a terrorist’s use of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). The course focuses on the health provider’s role and goes beyond organizational charts and checklists to deal with the entire role of the hospital inside and outside the emergency department during such incidents.

Credits: 3