This flexible bachelor's degree offers you an opportunity to design a plan of studies, in consultation with an advisor, to meet your individual educational needs. You may choose this degree if you plan to enter an occupation that requires a broad general education, if you are seeking career advancement or personal intellectual enrichment, or if you are considering a preprofessional plan.
A Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in Emergency Management allows you to gain an understanding of the phases of emergency management: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery as well as leadership, ethics, budgeting, critical thinking and problem solving. This degree plan emphasizes experiential learning by linking theory to specific problems and case studies. This program will provide you with the knowledge and skills applicable to emergency management careers in the public, non-profit and private sectors. This degree can also prepare you for graduate school.
To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.
The full policy can be viewed here.
In addition to University Requirements:
Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.
| Minimum Units for Completion | 120 |
| Major GPA | C |
| Highest Mathematics Required | MAT 114 |
| Foreign Language | Optional |
| Some online/blended coursework | Required |
| AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-A | Recommended |
| Progression Plan Link | View Progression Plan |
Purpose Statement
The purpose of the Emergency Management Program is to provide an outstanding education in the broad-based, interdisciplinary and expanding field of emergency management. All communities are vulnerable to disaster, and emergency management professionals, be it full-time emergency managers or those assuming emergency management responsibilities along with their primary scope of duty, work to protect their communities from emergency events. The Emergency Manager integrates the activities of community stakeholders to effectively prevent, prepare for, protect and mitigate disasters, and when a disaster strikes, to respond and recover. In essence, practitioners of emergency management, regardless of whether they work in the public, private or non-profit sectors, act as stage managers, arranging the set and putting the pieces in place to allow first responders to effectively respond to emergencies. Students studying emergency management at Northern Arizona University receive a strong foundation in this critically important area, thus enhancing their employment prospects, and strengthening their capacity to make vital contributions to their communities and the Nation.
In order to foster students’ success as emergency management practitioners, NAU’s Emergency Management Program emphasizes experiential learning by linking theory to specific professional situations and scenarios. In addition, the Program focuses on vital emergency management components, including the phases of emergency management, Homeland Security, Incident Management Systems, emergency management and homeland security exercise design, development, conduct and evaluation planning, emergency management grants and administration and a basic understanding of the public sector environment, including ethics, in the context of the emergency management field.
Students will discover that NAU’s Emergency Management faculty make the difference! They are a select group of caring, dedicated and knowledgeable faculty who possess years of relevant professional emergency management and public/private sector experience, including current and former City, County and State Emergency Managers, Emergency Management Preparedness Managers and Counterterrorism Specialists. In addition faculty hold numerous emergency management certifications, such as Certified Emergency Manager and Master Exercise Practitioner.
Student Learning Outcomes
Communication Skills
This major requires 54 - 55 units distributed as follows:
All coursework in the Specialization Areas must be upper-division and from Northern Arizona University. Substitutions and use of credit from other institutions are not allowed in the Specialization.
Multi-use of coursework is not permitted within the Major Requirements. Major Requirements include Specialization, Communication, Computer Literacy, Language and Science.
Emergency Management Specialization (30 units)
Communication Requirements (6 units)
Select 3 units from each the following two categories (6 units)
Please note that you cannot use CLEP or locally prepared exams to satisfy this requirement. Transfer credit used to satisfy this requirement must be approved by the program director.
Foreign Language Requirement Option (19 units)
Science Requirement Option (18 units)
Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.
You may take these remaining courses from any of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.
We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.
Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.