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Applied Science - Emergency Management, Bachelor of Applied Science
This degree attracts students who desire the knowledge and skills needed to serve as professional emergency managers in the public, non-profit and private sectors. Students are exposed to the latest information in Emergency Planning (including COOP), Incident Management Systems (IMS), Disaster Recovery and Homeland Security that prepare them to be effective and ethical emergency managers and to protect their communities from emergency events. This plan features a transfer block route designed to aid community-college graduates towards the completion of a bachelor's degree in a concise time frame.
Requirements Accordion Open
To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.
- All of Northern Arizona University's liberal studies, diversity, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
- All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
- At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
- At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
- A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.
The full policy can be viewed here.
Overview Accordion Closed
In addition to University Requirements:
- 64 units in an associate's degree transfer block (If you have been awarded an AAS degree from an accredited Arizona community college, NAU will accept up to 75 transfer units.)
- 21 units of BAS Requirements
- 24 units of Emergency Management specialization requirements
- Completion of NAU Liberal Studies Requirements, some of which may be fulfilled by your associate's degree courses.
- Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.
Please note that students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.
| Minimum Units for Completion | 120 |
| Highest Mathematics Required | MAT 114 |
| Additional Admission Requirements | Required |
| Fieldwork Experience/Internship | Optional |
| Some online/blended coursework | Required |
| AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-A | Recommended |
| Progression Plan Link | View Progression Plan |
Purpose Statement
The purpose of the Emergency Management Program is to provide an outstanding education in the broad-based, interdisciplinary and expanding field of emergency management. All communities are vulnerable to disaster, and emergency management professionals, be it full-time emergency managers or those assuming emergency management responsibilities along with their primary scope of duty, work to protect their communities from emergency events. The Emergency Manager integrates the activities of community stakeholders to effectively prevent, prepare for, protect and mitigate disasters, and when a disaster strikes, to respond and recover. In essence, practitioners of emergency management, regardless of whether they work in the public, private or non-profit sectors, act as stage managers, arranging the set and putting the pieces in place to allow first responders to effectively respond to emergencies. Students studying emergency management at Northern Arizona University receive a strong foundation in this critically important area, thus enhancing their employment prospects, and strengthening their capacity to make vital contributions to their communities and the Nation.
In order to foster students’ success as emergency management practitioners, NAU’s Emergency Management Program emphasizes experiential learning by linking theory to specific professional situations and scenarios. In addition, the Program focuses on vital emergency management components, including the phases of emergency management, Homeland Security, Incident Management Systems, emergency management and homeland security exercise design, development, conduct and evaluation planning, emergency management grants and administration and a basic understanding of the public sector environment, including ethics, in the context of the emergency management field.
Students will discover that NAU’s Emergency Management faculty make the difference! They are a select group of caring, dedicated and knowledgeable faculty who possess years of relevant professional emergency management and public/private sector experience, including current and former City, County and State Emergency Managers, Emergency Management Preparedness Managers and Counterterrorism Specialists. In addition faculty hold numerous emergency management certifications, such as Certified Emergency Manager and Master Exercise Practitioner.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Communication Skills
- Students will be able to provide logically coherent pieces of written work.
- Students will be able to effectively organize and orally deliver content based on audience and purpose.
- Emergency Management
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate in an effective manner.
- Apply and/or practice critical thinking in coursework
- Provide relevant examples of ethical concepts in the public sector.
- Comprehend the importance of leadership, and demonstrate the knowledge and ability to model leadership skills in the public sector.
- Apply and integrate the principles and practices of emergency management by describing activities and/or concepts associated with the phases of emergency management: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery.
- Describe the budgeting process in the public sector.
Details Accordion Closed
Additional Admission Requirements
- Admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.
- To be admitted into a Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) plan, you must have an associate's degree, either completed or in progress, at a regionally accredited institution and the associate's degree must be completed prior to the awarding of the BAS degree.
Liberal Studies Requirement
- Please note that you may use the same course to satisfy both a liberal studies and a BAS Requirement.
- Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy Liberal Studies requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major requirements.
- Students who have completed the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC) from an Arizona public or tribal community college, the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC), or California State University General Education (CSUGE) from a California public community college are considered to have satisfied NAU’s Liberal Studies Distribution Blocks and Foundation requirements as well as the US Ethnic and Global Diversity requirements.
Transfer Block
- 64 units in an associate's degree transfer block. If you have been awarded an AAS degree from an accredited Arizona community college, NAU will accept up to 75 transfer units.
Major Requirements
This Applied Science Specialization, associated with completing an Associate’s Degree at a Community College, requires 45 units distributed as follows:
- BAS requirements: 21 units
- Emergency Management Specialization Requirements: 24 units
BAS Requirements (21 units)
Designed to help you acquire a general knowledge of management, organizational, and policy issues while advancing your professional communication, and quantitative skills. Some departments may require that you take specific courses from the BAS Requirements or may place other restrictions on the courses that the department requires. Please see department requirements for specific information. Other courses may be used to fulfill the BAS Elective requirements. Please Note: At least 15 units in the core must be upper division (300-400 level) courses.
Communication Block (6 units)- PADM 302W (3 units)
- Select one: CST 314, CST 315, CST 424, CST 465, CST 472, CST 475, CST 477 (3 units)
Emergency Management Specialization Requirements (24 units)
General Electives
Additional coursework is required, if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.
You may take these remaining courses from any academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you. (Please note that you may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.)
Additional Information
Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.