Emergency Management and Planning degree

This innovative programme is available to those with an interest in numerous fields including emergency planning, risk management, business continuity and a range of public service and commercial organisations (including local authorities; central government; embassies and consulates; National Health Service; police, fire and ambulance services; voluntary sector; armed forces; transport; public utilities; airlines; high-risk industries et al.)

There is increasing international preparedness for a range of potential threats and hazards, including: natural disasters (floods, disease, and climate change); socio-technical disasters (transport and hazardous industries); economic disruptions; and terrorist attacks. This is reflected in the UK where the new Civil Contingencies Act 2004 places a duty on many organisations to carry out emergency planning and management.

Students acquire the knowledge and develop the skills and insights required to meet these challenges by learning from specialist teaching staff, interaction with their fellow students and from the panel of external lecturers all of whom have professional experience of their specialist area. Key subject areas include geo hazards, legal aspects, response to terrorism, risk assessment and business continuity. Emphasis is placed on the human aspects of disaster management and topics covered include family assistance centres, mass fatalities planning and the care of survivors.

The programme strengthens co-operation between the various services and organisations concerned with the planning and response to emergencies and disasters. This is reflected in the diverse backgrounds of the students and the range of material studied.

The Emergency Management and Planning programme will enhance an organisation’s capability to meet existing and emerging threats by improving the levels of expertise and resilience building. It will enhance individual career development by enabling the student to gain a postgraduate qualification with transferable skills in an exciting and challenging field.

The programme comprises seven modules delivered in intensive five day periods on campus (also available as individual short courses) a research methods module and a dissertation. Credits in these modules may be accumulated for the award of a postgraduate certificate, a postgraduate diploma or an MSc degree.