Portland-State-University 2024-2025 Bulletin

Emergency Management and Community Resilience M.S.

The Master of Science in Emergency Management and Community Resilience is designed to educate professionals in public, private, and nonprofit organizations whose jobs include responsibility for planning and organizing response to disasters, both natural and human made. The curriculum of this graduate program is designed at the intersections of scientific research, applied public policy, and effective crisis leadership—as well as at the crossroads of multiple disciplines and approaches to disaster and resilience. This transdisciplinary approach to understanding emergency management and community resilience offers a rich intellectual and applied basis for graduate study.

Core Course Requirements

Each student must enroll in and successfully complete six core courses as outlined below:

Core Courses:

EMCR 521/G 521Anatomy and History of Disasters

4

EMCR 530/USP 530Building Community Resilience

4

EMCR 591/Anth 591Culture, Vulnerability and Disaster Resilience

4

Two of the following:

EMCR 535/PA 535Strategies for Organizing Recovery, Mitigation and Resilience

3

EMCR 545/Comm 545Risk and Strategic Communication

4

EMCR 560/USP 560Climate Resiliency Planning

3

EMCR 567/Geog 567Community Resilience in Coupled Socio-Ecological Systems

4

EMCR 587/PA 587Principles and Practices of Emergency Management

3

EMCR 588/PA 588International Perspectives on Disaster Management & Resilience

3

Capstone

EMCR 595Capstone Seminar in Emergency Management and Resilience

4

Skills and Methods Requirements

Students must take a minimum of two courses (6-8 credits) in Skills and Methods.

 

These courses focus on skills and methodologies that support varied careers within the emergency management profession, including research design, evaluation, communication and assessment, and qualitative and quantitative methods. A list of approved electives is available from the Program Director.

Field Specialization Requirements

Students in this program must take a minimum of three to four courses (12 credits) within one of the four Field Specializations:

 

  1. Natural Systems, Sustainability and Resilience

  2. Public Health Response and Promotion

  3. Organizational Strategies for Effective Emergency Management

  4. Social Resilience, Culture and Community

A list of approved electives is available from the Program Director.

Courses from the optional core course list that are not taken to meet the core course requirement may be taken to meet a Field Specialization Requirement.

Total Credit Hours: 45

Depending on the courses selected to meet program requirements, students may need to take between 1-5 additional credits to meet the required 45 credit hours. These additional credits may be taken from the list of Core Courses, Skills and Methods, or from the chosen Field Specialization.  Other courses may be substituted with the permission of the Program Director.