The Online Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management provides you with state-of-the-art knowledge and skills through an all-hazards curriculum emphasizing emergency management principles that apply across disciplines, industries and types of emergencies.

All Graduate Certificate courses and credits apply toward the Adelphi Online M.S. in Emergency Management degree.


Learning Outcomes

  • Understand how the discipline of emergency management applies science, technology, planning, risk analysis and management techniques to deal with large and complex events
  • Develop competencies of planning methodologies to evaluate, critique and apply social science research and government policies to effective disaster response
  • Understand the legal aspects associated with emergency management plans

Program Structure

The online Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management is a six-course, 15-credit program that can be completed within one year. Students take four required core courses, and choose one of five emergency management elective courses.

All courses taken in the certificate program can be applied to the online M.S. in Emergency Management, meaning students can earn their master’s degree in just 1.5 years after completing the certificate program.


Online Learning Environment

All Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management courses are delivered on the Moodle learning management system. The program is almost entirely asynchronous, meaning students can view lectures and complete related assignments and activities on their own time, as long as they meet assigned deadlines.

Students typically devote 8 to 10 hours per week to coursework. Though the online format provides flexibility, most assignments must be completed on schedule. To learn more about how Adelphi University brings its course content to life, visit About Adelphi Online.

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Online Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management Courses

Required Courses (12 credits):

In this course, students learn how the discipline of emergency management applies science and technology, planning, risk analysis and management in dealing with dangerously large and complex events that have the potential to kill and injure large numbers of people, do extensive property damage and destroy our economic and physical infrastructure.

This course teaches students to develop competencies of planning methodologies in order to evaluate, critique and apply social science research and government policies to effective disaster response. The focus will be on social, cultural and economic factors that influence how disasters are viewed, prepared for, responded to and recovered from.

This course provides algorithms for the development of detailed business continuity planning based on contributions of leading practitioners of the industry. Issues include managing disruptions, maintaining continuity of critical operations and mitigating losses that occur when productivity is crippled or security compromised due to natural or man-made disasters.

This course is designed to teach students the legal aspects associated with emergency management plans. Declarations of emergency, individual governmental rights and authorities and the status of property are addressed.


Electives (Choose one):

Students will analyze and evaluate the roles, responsibilities and perspective of the public health infrastructure during disasters. Students will examine and synthesize the mechanisms and strategies deployed by government and local health care entities to identify, mitigate and recover from tragic events including the consequences of weapons of mass destruction.

Students analyze and evaluate public administration in the field of emergency management at federal, state and local levels while considering the role of the private and nonprofit sectors. Central themes include disaster planning, response policy, crisis decision-making and prioritization of problems and issues within the spectrum of governmental levels.

Prerequisites: UEM 501, UEM 502

Students examine past and current homeland security events, as well as continuing threats against our personal and national safety. Students will explore federal, state and local government’s efforts, in addition to those undertaken by the private sector, to secure our homeland.

Prerequisites: UEM 501, UEM 504

This course examines how we plan for and respond to infectious epidemic disease, from emerging infections to bioterrorism. Students learn about the historic impact of catastrophic illness; the social construction of disease; the role of the public health infrastructure; quarantine and isolation; and negotiating the balance between public good and individual rights.

This course addresses the role and strategies of responders for vulnerable populations with special needs during time of disaster. The special needs of children, elderly, chronically ill, pregnant women, economically disadvantaged, homeless and those with severe mental illness will be considered in the context of natural and man-made disasters.