Department of Emergency Management
| www.ndsu.edu/emgt |
The Department of Emergency Management offers a major and minor in Emergency Management at the undergraduate level. The minor options include Comprehensive Emergency Management, Preparedness and Response, Mitigation and Recovery, and International Emergency Management.
The emergency management major prepares students to pursue interests in emergency management and related fields at both the practitioner and graduate study level. The major is ideally-suited for students seeking emergency management as a career of first choice. The program utilizes a four-prong approach to build successful graduates:
1. Provide an educational foundation that supports graduates’ entry into different settings where emergency management is practiced (e.g., government at all levels; businesses; schools and colleges; healthcare industry; non-profit organizations; humanitarian efforts; etc.);
2. Support effective practice by providing an evidence-based focus on the research and science critical to the field;
3. Promote and foster experiential opportunities through focused class activities and required internships; and,
4. Develop skills necessary to the effective practice of emergency management (e.g., communication; collaboration; teamwork; leadership; critical thinking; problem-solving; etc.).
Emergency management students are required to complete an internship. The internship experience is intended to allow students to combine the theoretical and applied aspects of emergency management. Internships are designed to meet each individual student’s career goals. As such, internship opportunities are as varied as students’ career goals and can include working in a variety of settings locally, nationally, or internationally. Internships have proven to be an essential element in student development and a key factor in successful job placement.
An emergency management degree prepares students for career opportunities across all sectors, all industries, and all locations. The emergency management function, while structured in a variety of ways in different government, private sector, and non-profit organizations, plays an essential role in maintaining safe and secure operations that protect the entity’s interests. Career opportunities in emergency management exist at all levels of government, across all government agencies, in all developing countries; private sector companies as both a site-based and corporate function; public schools and higher education institutions; hospital and healthcare facilities; non-profit organizations as part of a primary disaster mission or general operational mission; critical infrastructure industries; museums, malls, stadiums, and event centers; and, other organizations or entities that manage facilities or services subject to hazards or operational interruptions that can result in harm to individuals, property, or the organization.
