Program Description
The mission of NDSU's Emergency Management Program is to create a cadre of graduates with extensive theoretical and applied knowledge in emergency management who can advance the field and discipline of emergency management. The program is built on a core of emergency management and methods/theory courses to help students approach the study of disasters and emergency management from the emergency management disciplinary perspective. Additionally, the program draws from other disciplines that enhance the development of processes and techniques to deal with emergencies and disasters.
The master's and doctoral degree programs in emergency management at NDSU are campus-based. Potential students are encouraged to visit the campus and meet faculty and current graduate students.
Master of Science Degree
The comprehensive and challenging Master's degree program in Emergency Management is intended to explore the academic research literature related to emergency management as well as provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge through research and/or practicum. The program is built on a core of emergency management courses to help students learn how human beings create, interact, and cope with hazards, vulnerability, and associated events. The program emphasizes the study of how human beings cope with hazard events through activities related to preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.
The Department of Emergency Management offers two tracks in its master's degree program. The first option - the thesis track - is a research-focused degree track that entails a combination of emergency management course work and research methods. This option is ideal for graduate students who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in Emergency Management or a related discipline and for those students who want to complete a traditional master's degree. The second option - the comprehensive study option - is a more practice-based track with course work in emergency management and a significant practicum requirement.
Doctoral Degree
North Dakota State University offers a Doctor of Philosophy in Emergency Management designed to prepare graduates for careers teaching future generations of emergency management students in higher education programs, conducting research that describes and explains patterns, processes, change, and effectiveness/efficiency related to emergency management, and/or policy development and analysis related to emergency management.
The degree program is built on a core of emergency management courses to help students learn how human beings create, interact, and cope with hazards, vulnerability, and associated events. The program emphasizes the study of how human beings cope with hazard events through activities related to preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.
This comprehensive and challenging program is committed both to extensive research and its practical application in the areas of emergency management. Throughout their graduate career, students will have the opportunity to conduct research and work in the field.
The Ph.D. is awarded in recognition of significant depth of understanding and scholarly achievement in emergency management. The recipient must complete all of the required course work, pass three written comprehensive exams [ADD with an oral defense of each] (one on emergency management theory, one on the two functional areas in which the student has specialized, and one on research methods), complete a novel and significant research project for the dissertation; and successfully defend this research in an oral examination. The student's progress will be reviewed by a supervisory committee that is responsible for reviewing the student's plan of study, written comprehensive examinations, dissertation proposal, and dissertation defense.
The Department of Emergency Management at NDSU is selective in choosing graduate applicants for entry into the master’s and doctoral programs. Admission is competitive reflecting the department's commitment to small, high quality, student cohorts that match the mentoring capacity of the faculty.
Applicants will be evaluated in a two-stage process. In the first stage, the applicant’s Graduate School application, letters of reference, GRE scores (if applicable), and academic writing paper samples will be reviewed by the Department of Emergency Management faculty. Applicants demonstrating goodness-of-fit with the Department of Emergency Management’s mission and goals and an aptitude for graduate study will be invited to complete the second stage of the admissions process.
Admissions Process
The two-stage admissions process for graduate studies in the Department of Emergency Management is as follows:
STAGE ONE
- Applicants must first complete the Graduate School's online application form and submit the required materials.
- Applicants must submit transcripts from the higher education institutions they have attended to the Graduate School.
- Applicants must submit three letters of reference through the Online Application tool. Academic references are preferred.
- All applicants who have not completed a master's degree in the United States must submit GRE scores. If an applicant has completed a master's degree in the United States, then GRE scores are not required but still strongly recommended. It is helpful to have as much data as possible about applicants and their aptitude for graduate work in our program. In no case are specific GRE discipline tests required. At this time, however, no specific score totals are used as a cutoff. Applications are evaluated holistically using all indicators of student aptitude for successful completion of graduate study in this program. Applicants must submit GRE scores by requesting that ETS-GRE send the NDSU Graduate School their score.
- Applicants must submit electronic copies of two writing samples through the Online Application tool. The samples may be a publication, material from prior course work, or specifically written for this application. The samples do not have to focus on emergency management or disasters. The samples must be written in English. Writing samples are used to gain information on the applicant's writing style and ability to write research-based papers. Samples submitted in support of an application would ideally be eight or more pages in length. In addition, to meet the objective of the admission criteria, the paper must employ formal citations. Writing samples will most typically be library-based research papers but papers based on original data gathering are also encouraged. The latter might be more likely to come from an applicant with a master's degree.
STAGE TWO
- Applicants invited to participate in the second stage of the admissions process will take part in a conference call interview with two or more of the program faculty. Applicant interviews are designed to provide two-way communication between the faculty and prospective applicant. Faculty will ask questions but will also want the applicant to pose questions about the program and departmental educational objectives. The interview should assist the applicant and faculty to further assess the goodness-of-fit between the program and the applicant.
Financial Assistance
Both teaching and research assistantships are available, contingent on departmental and faculty research funds. All students are automatically considered for graduate assistantships, unless they request otherwise, so no separate application process is required for such consideration. Awards are based on past academic and professional performance. The review process is highly competitive.
Sarah Bundy, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2013
Research Interests: Comprehensive Emergency Management, Planning, and Development of Emergency Management as an Academic Discipline
Carol Cwiak, J.D., Ph.D.
Western State University, 1995
North Dakota State University, 2009
Research Interests: Preparedness and Mitigation, Business Continuity, Law and Emergency Management
Caroline Hackerott, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University, 2016
Jessica Jensen, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2010
Research Interests: Response, Recovery, and Preparedness, Voluntary Agencies in Disasters, Development of Emergency Management Academic Discipline
Daniel J. Klenow, Ph.D.
University of Notre Dame, 1977
Research Interests: Special Populations, International Disasters, Emergency Management Theory and Methodology
