Interdisciplinary Studies – Emergency Management 90-30, Bachelor

In addition to University Requirements:

• Students may transfer up to 90 units of community college and/or university credit from regionally accredited institutions of higher education.

• 30 units of Emergency Management specialization Requirements

• Completion of Computer Literacy, Communication Skills, and Science or Language Requirements

• Up to 9 units of specialization prefix courses may be used to satisfy Liberal Studies requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy specialization requirements.

• Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

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

• Provide logically coherent pieces of written work.
• Effectively organize and orally deliver content based on audience and purpose.

• 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.

Liberal Studies Requirement

• • Up to 9 units of specialization prefix courses may be used to satisfy Liberal Studies requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy specialization 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.

• • Please contact an advisor for more information. 

Transfer Block

• • Students may transfer up to 90 units of community college and/or university credit from regionally accredited institutions of higher education.

Major Requirements

• This major requires 54 – 55 units distributed as follows:

  • Emergency Management Specialization: 30 units
  • Interdisciplinary Studies Requirements: 24 – 25 units
    • Communication Requirement: 6 units
    • Foreign Language or Science Requirement: 18 – 19 units

• All coursework in the Specialization Areas must be upper-division and from Northern Arizona University. Substitutions and use of credit from other institutions are not allowed in the Specialization.

• Multi-use of coursework is not permitted within the Major Requirements. Major Requirements include Specialization, Communication, Computer Literacy, Language and Science.

• Take the following 54 – 55 units with a Grade of “C” or better in each course:

• Emergency Management Specialization (30 units)

  • EMGT 302, EMGT 340, (6 units)
  • PADM 301, PADM 327, PADM 411 (9 units)
  • Select one from the following (3 units):
    • JUS 350W
    • PADM 302W
  • PADM 421C (3 units)
  • Select from the following (9 units):
    • EMGT 400, EMGT 410, EMGT 435, EMGT 440

Interdisciplinary Studies Requirements

• Communication Requirements (6 units)
  Select 3 units from each the following two categories (6 units)

• • Performance-based courses, select one from the following: (3 units)
    Performance-based courses are defined as having at least 51 percent of the evaluation of the student being based upon oral performance.

    • CST 111, CST 311, CST 312, CST 314, CST 315
    • Or advisor approved

     

• • Theory-based courses, select one from the following: (3 units)
    • COM 101, COM 200
    • CST 151, CST 271, CST 321, CST 323, CST 361, CST 365, CST 424, CST 451, CST 465, CST 472, CST 475 , CST 477
    • Or advisor approved

• • Please note that you cannot use CLEP or locally prepared exams to satisfy this requirement. Transfer credit used to satisfy this requirement must be approved by the program director.

• Foreign Language or Science Requirement Option (18 – 19 units)

• • Foreign Language Requirement Option (19 units)

    • Foreign Language Requirement (16 units)
      • You must demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English that is equivalent to four terms of university coursework in the same language. You may satisfy this requirement by taking language courses or by testing out of all or part of it by taking CLEP, or other exams.
    AND
    • Computer Literacy (3 units)
      • This coursework must help you to understand, in general, the technical components of computers and information systems, how to solve problems using information systems technology, word processing, spreadsheet use, database management, graphic information software, website development, graphic design and use of statistical analysis software. Subject to advisor approval.
        • Select one from the following: (3 units)
          • BBA 293
          • ISM 120

• OR

• • Science Requirement Option (18 units)

    • Science Requirement – Select from the following: (12 units)
      • ANT 101, ANT 250
      • GSP 130, GSP 150
      • Or take at least 12 units from courses with Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Mathematics, Nutrition, Physical Science, Physics, or Statistics prefixes. Please note that other courses must be approved by the program director.
    AND
    • Computer Literacy (6 units)
      • This coursework must help you to understand, in general, the technical components of computers and information systems, how to solve problems using information systems technology, word processing, spreadsheet use, database management, graphic information software, website development, graphic design and use of statistical analysis software. Subject to advisor approval.
        • Select one from the following: (3 units)
          • BBA 293
          • ISM 120
        • Select one from the following: (3 units)
          • BBA 340
          • Or advisor-approved coursework including the CIS or CS prefix.

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 of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren’t used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.
  
  We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.

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.