Master of Science in Emergency Services Administration
Degree Program

In recent years, emergency services professions have become extremely competitive. Demands for personnel to further their education in order to keep up with technical advances and attain promotions are inherent in most positions. The Master of Science in Emergency Services Administration (EMER) is designed to equip students with the communication, managerial, and analytical skills required for designing, testing, and implementing an effective response to natural, technical, and human-induced disasters faced by emergency services professionals.

The EMER degree is a interdisciplinary and delivered exclusively online, using the latest technology to create a dynamic learning environment. All curriculum, program advising, and student research presentations are expressly designed for online delivery. The program has two main goals: 1) to provide an understanding of the administration and management of emergency services with an emphasis on the roles and job expectations of public safety professionals and emergency managers, and 2) to prepare students for leadership roles in emergency and disaster administration by stressing independent research, communication and writing skills, and contact with experts with practical experiences in respected emergency services organizations. The program was developed by faculty experts from Criminal Justice, Health Science, Public Policy and Administration, Civil Engineering, Family and Consumer Sciences, Communication Studies, Educational Psychology, and Geography, as well as expert practitioners in emergency services.

• Exclusively online instruction to meet the needs of working professionals
• Instructors are prominent faculty from the emergency services field
• Networking with other professionals in a team learning environment
• Courses are scheduled to allow students to pursue the degree on a year-round basis

• Firefighters
• Police officers
• Emergency medical services personnel
• Military personnel
• Public Health Practitioners
• Emergency managers
• Public administrators
• Private business disaster planners

• Administrative leadership
• Emergency planning and management
• Legal, economic, and human issues in emergency administration
• Analytic techniques for decision support and innovation
• Research Methods
• Hazards and Risk Management
• Critical Infrastructure
• Disaster Health
• Homeland Security
• Public Sector Human Resources Management
• Risk, crisis, and interagency communications
• Business continuity
• International emergency management
• Disaster simulation software
• Emergency management technologies
• Intergovernmental Relations

• The EMER graduate program requires a total of 37-units and consists of three parts.
• The first part is a 27-unit set of required core coursework. EMER 500, 502, 504, 506, 530, 540, 545, 548, 661, 671 and CRJU 520.
• The second part is the elective area of a specialization. Students take up to 6-units of elective coursework. The electives are selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. EMER students have the flexibility to tailor their studies to meet specific career objectives that their professional organizations have identified.
• The third part of the program is critical to our mission of supporting the development of more disaster resilient communities. Students are required to complete their program through a culminating capstone assessment. Students will demonstrate their degree competencies through the completion of either a capstone project (EMER 694 A/B) or a thesis (EMER 698). Both EMER 694 A/B and EMER 698 are four-unit courses, and are required to be completed during the last two semesters of a student's EMER studies.

• Each applicant must have completed an appropriate baccalaureate degree from an accredited university
• Minimum 3.0 grade-point average in the last 60 semester units attempted. A student whose overall grade point average is less than 3.0, but who presents acceptable evidence of professional potential, either through recent academic performance and/or experiential background, may be admitted by special action of the department's Graduate Committee. Students cannot be admitted if their grade point average is below 2.5.
• Be accepted by the department and graduate advisor for admission to the program

Click here for the application process.

Application Deadline is June 1, 2013.

Health and Human Services

Criminal Justice

For more information about the program contact James E. Koval, Program Director at James.Koval@csulb.edu or Dr. Peter Kreysa, EMER Graduate Advisor, at Peter.Kreysa@csulb.edu.