Program Description

The Master of Science degree in Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management (DPEM) is an interdisciplinary degree program that prepares professionals to effectively meet the demands of disaster preparedness, mitigation, planning, response and recovery. The program requires 36 hours of graduate-level courses that include a variety of teaching methodologies and activities. The degree culminates in an internship, research project or thesis.

Admission Requirements

Students interested in pursuing a Master of Science in Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management degree must have a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Applicants must meet the admission requirements of Graduate Admissions. Students can apply online to the graduate program on the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management webpage. Students should submit a completed application form, a statement of purpose, the required application fee, and official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work to Graduate Admissions. The statement of purpose should discuss career goals and research interests. Admission to this degree program is conditional upon completion of prerequisite course(s) required and approval of the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Admissions Committee.

Students pursuing an undergraduate degree at Arkansas State University may be eligible to apply for admission as an undergraduate to the accelerated masters program. Up to 12 hours of the following courses may be accepted in advance by a DPEM advisor. No more than nine hours may be accepted from the courses with an asterisk:

• *DPEM 5613 - Radiological Emergencies  
• DPEM 6133 - Ethics And Legal Considerations In Disaster Preparedness And Emergency Management  
• *DPEM 6213 - Informatics In Disaster Preparedness And Emergency Management   
• *DPEM 6253 - Multi-Agency Response In Disaster Preparedness And Emergency Management  
• *DPEM 6543 - Pandemic Planning  
• *DPEM 6553 - Leading Hospital Response To Mass Casualties  
• DPEM 6643 - Practicum Experience  

Prerequisites

The United States Government has instituted a National Incident Management System to standardize the country’s response to disasters and other emergencies. The Incident Command System (ICS) describes the chain-of-command and organizational structure of managing emergencies. Completion of courses in ICS is required by employers and is necessary to receive reimbursement from the Federal Government when a federal declaration of a disaster has been obtained. Courses in the graduate program build on this foundational knowledge. Therefore, students wishing to be admitted to the MSDPEM degree must have completed these four courses prior to admission. They are offered free of charge, on-line, from the Federal Emergency Management Institute. 

The required prerequisite ICS courses include:

• Introduction to Incident Command System (ICS - 100) There are several discipline specific ICS-100 courses. Students need only complete one and should choose the one most relative to their career goals.
• Incident Command System (ICS - 200) for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• Incident Command System (ICS - 700) Introduction to the National Incident Management System
• Incident Command System (ICS - 800) Introduction to the National Response Framework

In addition to the Incident Command System Prerequisites, students must have current Core and Basic Disaster Life Support certifications. Information regarding these certifications can be obtained from the Department of Emergency Management and Occupational Health in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, American Medical Association or the National Disaster Life Support Foundation.