Offered at: Solano Campus
The Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management focuses on risk assessment and decision-making processes in mitigation, preparedness, and adopted disaster response actions at the local and national level. The graduate certificate offers a focus on public-policy creation and includes an emphasis on program evaluation within a research-based theoretical framework.
Recent Trends in the Profession of Emergency and Disaster Management
The United States Global Change Research Program (GlobalChange.gov) has reported that the social and economic impacts of natural disasters resulting from floods, drought, and other events such as hurricanes and wildfires will increase in severity, as previously rare events become more common and intense due to climate change. As the effects of climate change become apparent and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, robust emergency management capabilities at the local level are increasingly important.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has identified additional social factors that are expected to contribute to the vulnerability of citizens over the next two decades and to exacerbate the harmful effects of climate change as well as other natural and man-made disasters including earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and the recent Covid-19 pandemic:
- Demographic shifts (e.g., aging population)
- Growing income inequality
- Government budgetary practices and Fiscal Policy choices
- Critical infrastructure conditions and capacity (e.g., roads, bridges, healthcare systems)
These trends will require a workforce of trained emergency management professionals at the local level capable of managing and coordinating large-scale emergency response operations as well as disaster mitigation, preparedness, and recovery programs, and professionals capable of engaging in political advocacy to promote policy change.