Program Format and Curriculum
The Cal Maritime Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management program requires the successful completion of five courses for a total of 15 graduate credit hours that can be completed in three semesters (fall - spring – summer). Two courses are offered during each of the fall and spring semesters and one course is offered in the summer semester.
Courses are delivered online on the Canvas platform in an asynchronous format to make them available 24/7 for students juggling careers and busy lives. Required coursework includes topics of emergency management program administration, policy, and program evaluation through hands-on experiential learning. All coursework, including course syllabus, readings, instructor interactions, online discussion groups and other course activities, is delivered 100% online and can be completed in as few as 12 months.
The program is designed to accommodate working professionals, active-duty military personnel, emergency first response professionals, government and non-profit disaster relief administrators, and private-sector business continuity and risk management professionals. Those interested in starting a career in the field of emergency management are also encouraged to apply.
Required Courses in the Certificate Curriculum:
This course discusses concepts of hazard mitigation as well as implementation approaches and disaster planning. Techniques used in emergency operations planning, exercise design and evaluation, and public education are also covered.
Students learn:
- To present natural and technological hazards and describe mitigation and its role in the phases of disaster management.
- To explain policy strategies supported by the federal, state and local governments to address and support mitigation.
- To present the nature and variety of land use management and planning implementation tools that promote mitigation.
- To explain the role of hazard mitigation planning and integration and to identify and discuss best practices in hazard mitigation.
- To explain the impediments to mitigation as well as homeland security terrorism prevention efforts.
An Experiential Learning opportunity will involve students learning to create a Risk Management Plan and Disaster Preparedness Exercise.
This course examines principles of disaster response and risk communication, theories of risk perception and risk behavior, and addresses challenges in communication with diverse audiences.
Students learn:
- To present a comprehensive understanding of disaster theory and practice, including the research foundations for risk and crisis communication in disaster response.
- To demonstrate common strategies, approaches, obstacles, and techniques in disaster response, risk and crisis communication.
- To present the basic concepts that contribute to creating effective emergency response and crisis communication plans.
- To explain how perception influences action and behavior and discuss common disaster myths.
An Experiential Learning opportunity will involve students learning to create emergency response and risk/crisis communication plans.
This course examines the concept of disaster recovery from a social science perspective, as well as the role of emergency management programs in community resilience and sustainability.
Students learn:
- To introduce the current concepts pertaining to community resilience.
- To explain what constitutes a hazard resilient community.
- To explain how to integrate all phases of emergency management into a comprehensive program for strengthening resilience.
- To demonstrate how to build resilience through public and private programs to address a variety of hazards.
An Experiential Learning opportunity will involve students virtually attending the Annual Natural Hazards Workshop hosted by the University of Colorado - Boulder, and formally evaluating the resilience of a chosen local community.
An analysis of political and administrative relationships that exist among governments in emergency management programs and disaster relief policy in the United States.
Students learn:
- To analyze major theories and research surrounding political, administrative, and fiscal relationships in emergency management and disaster relief policy.
- To explore specific theories of the policy process using the case of emergency management and analyze the broader societal context that contributes to emergency management and disaster relief policy.
- To investigate the challenges that face emergency management and disaster relief policy development and implementation.
An Experiential Learning opportunity will involve students learning to create an advocacy plan for future disaster threats.
Practical application of social science research methods to assess the effectiveness of emergency management policies and programs. Topics include evaluation planning, cost-benefit analysis, and impact evaluation. Special attention placed on research design and approaches to inquiry (qualitative survey and focus group data collection, evaluation), and reporting research.
Students learn:
- To present knowledge of core practices in qualitative disaster research and program evaluation.
- To present methods to identify and assess ethical challenges unique to this methodology in disaster contexts.
- To demonstrate how to develop a proposal for disaster research utilizing specific qualitative methods.
- To explain key resources to support qualitative inquiry in disaster studies.
An Experiential Learning opportunity will involve students learning to create a qualitative study proposal and evaluation a program in their community.