UNLV Executive Master of Science in Crisis and Emergency Management – April 2007  News

Effective management during times of crisis is an issue that has been driven to the forefront of our nation’s interest in the wake of the events of Sept. 11 and more recently Hurricane Katrina. If disaster strikes—be it from natural, intentional or technical sources—what measures need to be taken and who should carry them out?

The answer to that question is what drives the Executive Master of Science Degree Program in Emergency and Crisis Management (ECEM), one of few programs of its kind in the nation. Housed in UNLV’s Department of Public Administration, the ECEM program seeks to equip policy makers and potential “first-responders” with the skills necessary to comprehend the essentials of emergency management and a framework for effectively planning for and responding to crisis situations.  

The 18-month ECEM program is a blend of on-campus and online coursework broken into three 6-month modules of four classes. Students progress through the recently refined curriculum in groups of 20-25 known as a cohort, which includes participants who advance through the program together. Using the cohort system provides important networking that can be useful to participants in the event of a future real-life emergency. Throughout the program students learn from university and industry experts to identify and differentiate between the major elements of disasters; understand the evolution of terrorism; analyze leadership theories and the role of intergovernmental relations; and, as a capstone, demonstrate their understanding by designing either a disaster simulation exercise or an organizational response plan.

“The ECEM program is designed to provide graduate expertise to working professionals who increasingly are in positions to make life-changing decisions and want to do so with skill, authority and leadership,” says Christine Springer, recently appointed (September 1, 2006) director of the ECEM program. “In determining how to tailor such a broad range of expertise into a compact curriculum, our staff worked closely with colleagues from FEMA and institutions throughout the nation to make the program beneficial both to the students enrolled and to the communities they serve throughout the nation.”

The program’s most recent cohort began in January; this cohort includes professionals from both the public and private sector, including the United States Coast Guard, local law enforcement agencies, the fire department and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Registration is currently underway for a second cohort to begin instruction in July, with applications due May 18. 

Drawing from her own past professional experiences during incidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl and adding the vast experience of the ECEM staff, Springer is convinced that the ECEM program will serve as a model as more institutions recognize the benefit of emergency management education. “Our expectation is that we will continue to attract well respected faculty and guest lecturers from around the nation and within our own university community,” says Springer. “From a program standpoint, it will provide a notable learning experience; from a community standpoint it couldn’t be more timely.”

More information on the ECEM program can be found online at http://urbanaffairs.unlv.edu/pubadmin/