Earn Your Master of Professional Studies in Emergency Management

Students applying to the MPS in Emergency Management program must hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Applications to the program must include the following:

• A statement of 250-500 words discussing their background beyond academic coursework, and how the program will assist them to achieve professional objectives.
• Official college transcripts from each college attended. Typically, successful applicants will have at least a “B” (3.00) average in all coursework taken.

Applicants may be conditionally admitted and allowed to take one class in their first semester, in which a B or better must be earned to be fully admitted to the program. Students who do not meet the 3.00-grade point average in their undergraduate coursework but who possess sufficient professional experience in the security studies field may be admitted provisionally into the program.

Completed applications are reviewed by the MPS in Emergency Management Director, Dr. Michael Wallace and Admissions Committee throughout the year.

To begin the admissions process, complete the online application.

The School of Professional Advancement awards the MPS in Emergency Management degree following the successful completion of 11 graduate courses comprised of nine core courses, one elective, and one capstone course. No thesis is required. Graduate students seeking to enroll in more than 9 credit hours per semester require approval from the Program Director. In order to earn the MPS, a student must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00. Students must also apply for a degree at the beginning of the semester in which the student plans to complete all required coursework. Applications for degree conferral are now online and will appear in a student's Gibson account when available.

Students in good standing may petition to transfer a maximum of nine credit hours (three courses) of graduate coursework from other colleges or universities to the MPS degree. However, only courses with grades of B or better, completed within five years of enrolling in the MPS program, may be considered for transfer credit.

Click here for listing of MPS in Emergency Management required courses and course descriptions.

The MPS in Emergency Management consists of nine core courses, one elective, and one capstone course.

• EMMT 6001 Introduction to Emergency Management
• EMMT 6002 Health and Medical Issues in Emergency Management
• EMMT 6003 Homeland Security and Approaches to Counter-Terrorism
• EMMT 6004 Business Continuity
• EMMT 6005 Risk Management and Threat Assessment
• EMMT 6006 Emergency Planning
• EMMT 6007 Disaster Communications
• EMMT 6008 Cyber Threats and Homeland Security
• EMMT 6009 Emergency Management Administration
• Choice of: EMMT 7001 Sport/Event Security and Response, or EMMT 7002 Leadership, Influence, and Decision Making in Disasters
• EMMT 7900 Emergency Management Capstone

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EMMT 6001 Introduction to Emergency Management
This course will be an advanced examination of modern emergency management concepts, trends nationally and internationally, practical and political issues and policies, technological applications to emergency management, and the development and practical implementation of sound emergency management practices designed to protect people, communities, critical infrastructure and key assets. Included will be a brief review of emergency management policy and procedures in the United Sates and other countries, legal issues, social science perspectives, planning concepts and techniques, disaster modeling, operational problems, analytical methods, special populations, and management styles. Additionally, case studies will be examined to determine the extent of effective or ineffective planning, responding, and recovering from natural and technological disasters.

EMMT 6002 Health and Medical Issues in Emergency Management
An advanced study of the important health and medical management issues involved in crises and emergencies presented for the non-medical emergency manager. The wide range of medical and health issues inherent to a crisis including biological, radiological, nuclear events and emergencies are described. Students will focus on innovative response and recovery including long term public health recovery issues methods for integrating medical, public health, and psychological processes into emergency management.

EMMT 6003 Homeland Security and Approaches to Counter-Terrorism
Students will employ critical analysis to examine key policy issues and balances that must be addressed in strategic counterterrorism planning, particularly in the use of applied technology within the context of civil jurisdiction and rule of law. The course will examine terrorist threats to the homeland and how these threats can be met by the application of science and technology. Policy issues that address the balance between security and civil liberties that must be resolved to effectively counter terrorism will be discussed. These issues will be addressed from the governance perspective of a liberal democracy. Strategic planning principles that integrate capabilities of current and future applied technology and the key legal and policy issues that must be resolved in order to make effective use of information as balanced against civil liberties will be explored as well.

EMMT 6004 Business Continuity
With global business stretched across extended supply chains, productivity has increased but it has come at a cost of increased vulnerability. Businesses cannot afford to be unprepared for traditional and emerging threats. Business Continuity is a fast-growing area of emergency management focused on the private sector. This specialty works to ensure continuous business operations before, during, and after disasters or other normal disruptions. It is designed to provide strategies tied to national and international standards for the development of detailed business continuity plans. Student will discuss managing disruptions, maintaining continuity of critical operations, and mitigating losses that occur when interrupted. Based on the all-hazard framework, students will learn about the current threats, including political instability and cyber attacks. Regardless of the impetus for such disruptive events, students will be prepared to train employees to be prepared to both mitigate and recover from such events. Students will also discuss best practices in the ongoing recovery efforts after an event.

EMMT 6005 Risk Management and Threat Assessment
This course examines the concepts, methods, and practices associated with risk management and threat assessment from an all-hazard perspective. Students will learn how to conduct hazard and risk analysis for both the public and private sectors. This course will include identifying and profiling hazards, analyzing and assessing hazard risk, developing tactics to manage risk, examining a multiple of risk assessment tools, and communicating risk to the public. Participants will examine critical infrastructure sectors and associated interdependencies, cascading consequences, and shared vulnerabilities. Students will perform their own risk analysis and develop recommendations for policy makers as part of this curriculum.

EMMT 6006 Emergency Planning
Through a whole-community approach, this course provides an in-depth analysis of the processes and methods used throughout the entire federally-designated preparedness cycle. Planning is the backbone of the emergency management process. Steps required to develop a comprehensive emergency plan from the strategic, tactical, and operational approach will be discussed. Students will learn the skills to complete plans, develop training programs, and write after action reports and improvement plans. This course prepares students to develop plans that address vulnerabilities and promote community resiliency. Students will complete a draft plan for a local community organization as part of this curriculum.

EMMT 6007 Disaster Communications
This course discusses historical and emerging issues that accompany communication and messaging during disaster and emergency situations. Students will analyze best practices, tools, and tactics for crisis and risk communication. Participants will have the opportunity to develop strategies and communication solutions for all audiences, including internal and external partners, the public, and social media.

EMMT 6008 Cyber Threats and Homeland Security
“Cyberspace” has become a pervasive presence in modern society, and a healthy functioning cyberspace is elemental to our economy and to national security. Along with benefits, however, there exists threats and malicious actors who seek to exploit cyberspace vulnerabilities, and, in doing so, threaten critical infrastructure and threaten National Security. This course will study the nature of cyber threats, including computer and digital crimes, information warfare and cyber terrorism, and related threats to personal, organizational, economic and national security. Students will gain an understanding of the variety and nature of cyber threats including digital espionage, computer break-ins, computer hacking, malware, communications eavesdropping, forgery, disruption to information flow, electronic bombs, cyber war and the growing presence of terrorist organizations on the internet. This course will also review countermeasures and a protection methodology to cyber threats, cyber security investigations, evidence gathering, and legal challenges. Lastly, this course will review current and national policies for securing cyberspace and the impact of cyber security on privacy and civil liberties.

EMMT 6009 Emergency Management Administration
Modern emergency managers are required to perform an ever-increasing number of administrative tasks. Their workload exceeds activities associated with operational emergency management. This course provides students the skills required for those tasks, including grant management and principles of managing an effective staff. Students will develop the capabilities necessary to successfully complete these administrative requirements.

EMMT 7001 Sport/Event Security and Response
Concerts, athletic contests, and other large scale public events are under an increased man-made threat. Officials and first responders face the task of protecting the public while allowing for these types of events to continues. This class will examine the full range of issues that must be considered as plans for safety and security are developed. In addition, students will learn specialized planning and tactics required for coordinating a response to an emergency in this environment.

EMMT 7002 Leadership, Influence, and Decision Making in Emergency Management
Emergency management practitioners must use leadership and influence effectively to lead organizations and their community in planning for, preventing, and responding to emergencies. This type of leadership encompasses vision, direction, coordination, and motivation toward achieving emergency management goals. Leadership skills are necessary whether dealing with senior agency officials, emergency management partners, or the public. A lack of leadership during an emergency can result in the loss of life, property, and the public trust. This course will expose students to the major factors, theories, and strategies for leadership, influence, and decision making. The traits, skills, and behaviors of effective leaders will also be discussed.

EMMT 7900 Emergency Management Capstone
This course synthesizes the full range of knowledge, skills, and abilities students developed over the entirety of their emergency management studies. Students will integrate and apply key concepts through a community-based project, developing a proposal and conducting this project at a public or non-profit sector entity. At the end of the semester, the project will be presented both to the chosen organization and classmates. Students will integrate critical decision-making skills with a unique and local hands-on learning experience. A written report documenting all aspects of the project will be presented for faculty approval.

The MPS courses are designed to be taken in any order, with the exception of the intro course and capstone.  Below is an example of how a typical part-time MPS student may progress through the courses.

MPS in Emergency Management course progression

Information about SoPA tuition and fees may be found here.

Some courses have fees to support the technology needed for high-quality virtual and on-ground experiences.  These fees are always listed on the schedule of classes.