Associate in Applied Science

Earn your degree in emergency and disaster management

Career options

Compliance
Disaster management
Emergency services
Planning

Prepare for a career in emergency and disaster management with this 61-credit-hour degree program. You’ll develop the skills and knowledge needed to secure full-time employment in emergency management roles at local, state and federal levels. This program will prepare you for a job as emergency manager specialist, emergency services manager, emergency management planner, emergency operations director, environmental compliance planner or emergency disaster coordinator.

Take classes in emergency management, ideologies of terrorism, hazardous materials, incident management systems, social dimensions of disaster, hazard analysis and mitigation, international disaster management and more. You’ll get hands-on experience training in Harper College’s on-site lab, which enables you to walk through realistic emergency scenarios, use communication equipment and practice working in different roles within a chain of command.

A.A.S. degree program plan

Program Overview

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Program learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this program will be able to:

Evaluate and analyze simple and complex, natural and man-made disasters.
Collaborate with other officials in order to prepare and analyze damage assessment following a disaster incident.
Conduct surveys to determine the types of emergency-related needs in local disaster planning.
Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations and open shelters.
Direct emergency response teams and provide on-site investigations.
Develop and perform tests and evaluations of emergency management plans in accordance with state and federal regulations.
Administer public emergency recovery programs.
Design and administer emergency/disaster training programs to the general public.
Understand federal, state, county and local regulations and details that affect emergency response and disaster control.
Inspect facilities and equipment, such as emergency response centers and communications equipment for readiness.
Effectively communicate within and outside the organization, in both written and oral formats.

Related programs

Students interested in emergency and disaster management may also be interested in:

Next steps

For more information about emergency management training at Harper, contact Admission Outreach at 847.925.6700, or submit a request information form. You can also apply online.