Degree

Master of Emergency and Crisis Management

School

Public Administration

Overview

The frequency of both natural and manmade disasters has increased dramatically over the past two decades. This, in turn, has increased the need for emergency managers who can help their communities prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from these types of disasters.

At the graduate level, the UCF School of Public Administration offers a Master of Emergency and Crisis Management (MECM) that is designed to prepare students as highly trained practitioners in the field.

Program Highlights

  • Can be completed entirely online.
  • Can be completed within two years.
  • Curriculum includes FEMA’s Professional Development Series.

Curriculum

The MECM requires 36 credit hours for completion. FEMA’s Professional Development Series, a group of independent study courses that provide foundational knowledge of emergency management, is incorporated into the curriculum. The following courses are required to earn the degree. For more information, please view the UCF Graduate Catalog.

This course is a foundation course that provides an overview of homeland security and emergency management.
Offered occasionally.
This course examines the structures, dynamics, and processes associated with developing and delivering public services through networks and partnerships involving public, nonprofit, voluntary, and private sectors.
Offered occasionally.
This course provides a foundation in the theory and practice of applied research methodology in public policy and administration.
Offered in fall and spring.
This course identifies, examines, and integrates the issues of diverse emergency and crisis management, disaster recovery, and continuity of operations.
Offered occasionally.
The focus of this course is on how government and nonprofit agencies craft stories about themselves and tell their stories through various communications channels.
Offered in spring.
Budgets as planning programming documents, stressing the relationships of policy and budgetary decisions, problems in grantsmanship and revenue decision making, program budgeting, PPBS, and incrementalism.
Pre-requisites: PAD 6700
Offered in fall and spring.
This course examines the geo‐spatial aspects of hazards analysis and planning with specific reference to disaster preparedness, recovery, mitigation, and resilience.
This course focuses on leadership in public service from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Students will have opportunities to explore their strengths and weaknesses as managerial leaders and to develop competencies in these areas.
Offered in fall.
Supervised internship for students in the emergency management program. Requires a minimum of 300 hours service in an emergency management organization.
Offered in fall, spring and summer.
This capstone course brings together areas of knowledge and skills gained through the Master of Emergency and Crisis Management program and applies them, in an integrative manner, to the most current challenges facing emergency managers.
Pre-requisite: Must be a senior to take this course.
Offered in spring.
Visit the graduate catalog for a list of elective courses.

Student Resources

MECM Virtual Orientation

Certificates

Students accepted into a graduate program within the School of Public Administration may apply some applicable credits toward a graduate certificate. Students must apply separately for the certificate program. View the graduate certificates offered by the School of Public Administration.

Admissions and Advising

Beyond UCF’s admission standards, students are required to submit the following for admission to the MECM:

  • Resume
  • Statement of interest
  • Three letters of recommendation from professors or professional colleagues
  • An official, sealed transcript of each college or university attended, showing a GPA of at least 3.0

For more information on admission to UCF, visit UCF Graduate Admissions.

For specific questions regarding SPA's admission requirements, please contact our graduate advisor, Edlira Dursun.

Application Deadlines

Emergency and Crisis Management MECM

*Fall Priority

Fall

Spring

Summer

Domestic Applicants

Jan 15

Jun 1

Nov 1

-

International Applicants

Jan 15

Jan 15

Jul 1

-

*Applicants who plan to enroll full time in a degree program and who wish to be considered for university fellowships or assistantships should apply by the Fall Priority date.