Master’s in Emergency Management Online MS in Management Degree Concentration

Yes! Like many other programs of interest, you can earn a master's in emergency management online.

With this focused degree, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) will help you learn how to evaluate crisis, emergency and disaster management strategies to plan, prepare and respond to critical threats and events within multiple contexts.

At SNHU, you'll have instructors with deep professional knowledge of both management and emergency management. They can share their experiences with you each week as you progress through your courses.

Think you won't get the same hands-on experience as you would with a campus program? Think again. You'll use scenario-based approaches and case studies to analyze real-world critical incidents, so you’ll be ready to manage an emergency from its early stages to its final phase of recovery.

You'll also deepen your understanding in critical areas like effective business communication, data-driven decision making, developing and supporting talent, project management, supporting and fostering stewardship of an organization's culture and brand, leadership and strategic planning – skills any organization can appreciate.

With an emergency management degree, you can help your community (and beyond) avoid the threat of disasters, as well as assist those after a disaster has happened.

COVID-19. California wildfires. Hurricane Katrina, or even business emergencies, like allocating resources efficiently. Major threats have affected large and small populations around the country – and that's where emergency management teams step in.

This program offers the skills and knowledge needed to lead a team out of crisis with a plan for recovery. You'll learn the latest guidelines and strategies from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including how to assess risks, threats and vulnerabilities.

You can learn more about the type of career you want with your emergency management degree when thinking more about the area you'd like to focus on. FEMA has 5 frameworks – 1 for each mission area – that are part of its National Preparedness System:²

• Prevention: The entire community is prepared to prevent an imminent terrorist attack within the United States.
• Protection: The whole community safeguards against acts of terrorism, natural disasters and other threats or hazards.
• Mitigation: The whole community builds, sustains and delivers the core capabilities set by the strategy and doctrine.
• Response: The nation responds to all types of disasters and emergencies, as well as aligns key roles and responsibilities.
• Recovery: The whole community builds, sustains and coordinates delivery of recovery capabilities by establishing a common platform.

You may already be a first responder at the local, regional, national or global level and now feel ready to take your experience to the next level – or you may be new to the field. Fire and police departments, government agencies, hospitals, private firms and not-for-profit agencies all need trained professionals in emergency management. With your emergency management degree, there's a way for you to contribute and help others in their time of need.;

You can earn an emergency management degree the same as you would any other degree – by successfully completing all the required courses in the program you choose.

In Southern New Hampshire University's online emergency management degree program, you'll complete your degree by taking 8 courses in management and 4 courses in emergency management.

By taking 8 general management courses, you can be prepared to take the general lead. Courses about communication, decision-making, human behavior and project management can give you skills that employers find useful, wherever you work.

Then, by taking 4 classes in emergency management, you can pair your management skills with strategies that can make you an effective leader in situations that are unpredictable or that affect an area immediately.

By merging those 2 areas into 1 degree, you can become a leader the community looks up to during disastrous times.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, emergency management directors made a median annual salary of $83,960 in 2023.¹

However, the industry you work in can greatly affect your income.

In the top 5 industries for emergency management directors, 2023 median annual salaries were:¹

• Professional, scientific and technical services: $106,730
• Colleges, universities and professional schools – state, local and private: $100,610
• Hospitals – state, local and private: $96,380
• Local government, excluding education and hospitals: $78,020
• State government, excluding education and hospitals: $70,300

The cost of emergency management degrees varies across universities.

At Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), the cost per graduate credit is $637. For our 36-credit online emergency management degree, the total tuition cost comes to $22,932.

And while that's already an extremely low total for a master's degree, SNHU works hard to make your degree even more affordable.

SNHU accepts up to 12 transfer credits you've earned from other accredited universities. If you're able to transfer all 12 credits into your program, the cost is reduced to $15,288.

We believe cost shouldn't hinder anyone from receiving the degree they want to earn. We understand how rising costs make it harder for some students to commit to a college program, and as a nonprofit university it's important to us to remove that barrier.

You'll also have the opportunity to work one-on-one with our Student Financial Services team to better understand financial aid (if you're eligible) and create a plan specific to your financial needs.

By taking advantage of all of our services when you enroll, you can position yourself for a better financial future.

The mission statement of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is "helping people, before, during and after disasters."² That sounds worth it to us!

If taking on some of the nation's most deadly events head on and serving the American people in their time of need sounds like a career you're ready to get behind, then earning a disaster management degree could put you on the right path.

Think Sept. 11 attacks, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, fires, floods, landslides, mudslides — from large national events to those that hit smaller communities, emergency management will always be a necessary field.

Additionally, a degree in emergency management could help you protect traditional businesses, especially when thinking about reallocating resources when disaster strikes.

Southern New Hampshire University understands disaster relief isn't a 9-to-5 job – that you have commitments that might interfere with taking classes at a traditional brick-and-mortar institution.

That's why you get 24/7 access to our classroom. You can finish your coursework when you need to, whether that's 12 pm or 12 am.

By removing barriers and making your master's more accessible, you're in a better position to complete your master's in emergency management degree and reach your career goals.