Emergency Administration & Planning

Career potential

UNT's undergraduate emergency administration and planning program was founded in 1983 and was the first of its kind in the nation. With a bachelor of science degree in emergency administration and planning, you will be qualified to educate communities about mitigating natural, technological and civil hazards. You can help individuals, businesses, governments and nonprofit organizations prepare for and respond to disasters, and assist them in recovering from floods, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, terrorist attacks and epidemics.

The program's nearly 1,000 graduates work for local and state emergency management and homeland security offices, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency. Others work in the private sector for Cura Emergency Services, Perot Systems, Texas Instruments and Titan Systems. Graduates also work in humanitarian organizations such as the American Red Cross. Some have advanced their careers abroad in Barbados, Germany, Kenya and Qatar.

UNT's Career Center can help you prepare to pursue your career. The center has information about jobs and employers, and the staff can help you with resume and letter writing, job search strategies and interview preparation.

Majoring in emergency administration and planning

Emergency management is a field for those who enjoy working with people in times of need. By majoring in emergency administration and planning, you will become skilled in disaster planning, interpersonal communication and leadership. You may opt to study emergency management at the local, state and federal government levels and in nonprofit organizations by choosing electives in public administration. Or you may choose to focus on emergency preparedness in private organizations by selecting elective courses in business administration.

You will learn from faculty members who have researched hazards and catastrophes in California, the Dominican Republic, New York, Peru, India, Sri Lanka and Texas. Faculty members have also worked in emergency management and related fields for county governments, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross and corporations in the private sector.

Required courses in the major include introduction to emergency management, hazard mitigation/emergency preparedness, and disaster response/recovery. Available electives are Images of Disasters in Film and Media, Technology in Emergency Management, Hazardous Materials Planning and Management, International Disasters, and Terrorism and Emergency Management.

Getting hands-on experience

The emergency administration and planning program, a unit in the Department of Public Administration, emphasizes work in the community. Students often volunteer with the local chapter of the American Red Cross and other nonprofit agencies, or participate in other disaster-related community service activities. After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, more than 100 UNT students served in the American Red Cross emergency operations center in Dallas, taking phone calls from families of the victims. Other students have helped write emergency plans for the university or conduct Community Emergency Response Team training.

You may also join UNT's chapter of the International Emergency Management Student Association to participate in other social, educational and training activities related to the field.

In some cases, you might assist with a professor's research work. Students have helped faculty members study responses to natural disasters and generate new perspectives on the future of emergency management. Joint student-faculty publications have appeared in Public Administration Review, Disaster Prevention and Management, and the Journal of Emergency Management.

If you have no experience in emergency management, an internship is required. During your junior or senior year, you will participate in an internship that will provide additional skills. Students have interned with the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI headquarters in Denton, and others have served in internships across Texas and internationally. The department's internship coordinator will help you find an internship appropriate to your career interest.

Preparing for UNT

If you are a high school student, we suggest you prepare for college by becoming computer proficient and taking:

• English … 4 years
• Math … 4 years
• Social science — economics, geography, government, history … 4 years
• Science … 3 years
• Foreign language … 3 years
• Fine arts … 1 year

You will need to take courses in most of these subjects under the university core curriculum required of all undergraduates, in addition to your major courses. Talk with your high school counselor about preparing for college, including the entrance exams (SAT Reasoning Test or ACT) that you should take during your junior year.

As a benefit for transfer students, UNT participates in the Texas Common Course Numbering System. This system makes it easier to transfer credits for general academic courses from one Texas institution to another.

If you're attending a Texas community college, you should consult the UNT Transfer Guide, the UNT Undergraduate Catalog and an academic counselor to discuss your degree plan. Proper planning will help you receive the maximum amount of transfer credits.

Charting your Path with Academic Advising

After enrolling at UNT, you can declare a major in emergency administration and planning and select a minor field of study. When designing a degree plan, the academic advisor will assist you in fulfilling university and major degree requirements. The EADP academic counselor's office is in Chilton Hall, Room 289.

Curious about courses and other features of this major?
See the current catalog.