What it’s about:

This major studies natural as well as man-made catastrophes within a social, political, and environmental context. The interdisciplinary curriculum provides a broad overview of disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery, and issues of homeland security.

What the study of this major is like:

The term *emergency* has become the most common label for this major, but it can be misleading if you think it’s mostly about the immediate response to a localized and unforeseen event, such as the attacks on 9/11. Some programs prefer the term “disaster management” as a better indicator that your studies will encompass events that significantly disrupt an entire social or ecological system, whether by surprise terror attack, devastating oil spill, viral outbreak, or natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane.

You won’t be trained to be a hero-but rather as a planner and manager who can help enhance community preparedness, mitigate effects, and provide effective response and recovery efforts.

The typical teaching model involves a traditional emphasis on lectures, but your studies will be a blend of the theoretical and the practical. Many programs offer seminars that incorporate class interaction and student research. Courses that emphasize research methods and specific applications such as geographic information systems may have lab activities as well.

Since emergency management is an applied field, most programs will require some form of field experience or internship outside of class, which may be integrated into the academic year or experienced during the summer. Internship opportunities can include working with organizations (such as the local chapter of the Red Cross) and agencies involved with providing security or building community preparedness for floods, tornadoes, or public health crises.

How this major is taught at various colleges can vary significantly in terms of emphasis. Some programs focus on disaster management, government policy, and social topics related to natural and man-made disasters with little emphasis on terrorism. Others focus more directly on homeland security with specific attention to global and domestic terrorism and related events while still providing content on natural disasters. Programs that are more science oriented will focus on understanding and mitigating the effects of disasters and include courses such as meteorology, chemistry, geology, environmental science, computer modelling, and information systems.

In addition, this interdisciplinary major may be housed in a variety of academic departments which can influence its perspective, such as sociology, public policy and administration, public health, political science, or environmental studies.

Career options and trends:

Emergency management planner, homeland security planner, disaster response coordinator, business continuity analyst/planner, geographic information systems specialist, city emergency manager, FEMA program manager.

This is a new and rapidly expanding field. Jobs are available at all levels of government, both locally and nationally; many non-governmental organizations and relief agencies need people trained in emergency management; and there is a wide-spread and growing need for trained disaster planners in the private business sector (particularly the insurance industry).

Jobs are increasingly going to candidates with specific education in emergency management. The addition of a minor (business, transportation logistics, sociology, communication, natural resource management, planning, political science, etc) to your plan of study can greatly enhance employment options.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors