Master of Science in Administration - Emergency Planning and Administration

Liberal Education

The field of emergency management has undergone a tremendous transformation since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Complex changes in technology, demographics, and public policy have significantly influenced the management of emergencies and disasters. Moreover, the number and severity of recent disaster events clearly demonstrate the need for enhancing overall emergency preparedness and response capabilities in both the public and private sectors.

These complex challenges and demands suggest the need for insightful examination of relevant issues in Emergency Planning and Administration. More than ever, public agencies and private organizations require knowledgeable and skilled administrators who can effectively deal with the growing challenges of emergencies and disasters. The specialization in Emergency Planning and Administration is designed to provide tomorrow’s leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet these complex demands. Various emergency management related theories, concepts, and contemporary practices will be examined thereby providing an understanding of crises within an intergovernmental framework.

The optional culminating graduate project enables graduate students to demonstrate mastery of these complexities in a specific area of scholarly interest.

Undergraduate prerequisites for EPA students are CMS 200 Introduction to Computers and DQR 200 Special Topics in Quantitative Reasoning for Exploration and Analysis.

The M.S. with a major in Administration has a unifying curriculum foundation shared among the specializations. Included in this foundation are a total of five courses or 15 credit hours as follows:

Foundation requirements for the M.S. in Administration are designed to assure that students have the requisite theoretical and applied knowledge to pursue their individual interests in their specializations. Building on the breadth and depth of the foundation, specialization courses enable students to continue to expand and deepen their mastery through practical applications, simulations, case studies, applied research in areas of individual interest through the graduate projects and in some specializations, internships.

The M.S. in Administration foundation and specialization courses complement each other and address increasingly complex contemporary and future societal challenges and opportunities faced by 21st century managers/administrators. Through the development of critical thinking skills and a commitment to lifelong learning, graduates are able to understand changing trends and focus on institutional and human needs.

Graduate Project/Publishable Paper
graduate project provides graduate students with an opportunity and the means to demonstrate the acquisition, mastery and integration of the knowledge and skills required by their specialization. The project focuses on an area of student interest that meets the acceptable standards for graduate level research.

Project Proposal Development
During MS 505 Applied Research Methods, the student identifies a specific research question or professional problem to be pursued for the graduate project, if this option is selected. This topic requires approval by both the course instructor and the student’s advisor.

The student develops a plan (the methodology) for the way in which the question or problem is to be addressed, the type(s) of data needed and the form in which the final project is to be presented. At the conclusion of MS 505, the student will have a draft of the project proposal. The graduate project proposal is submitted to the student’s advisor for review, recommendations and final approval. After approval and if warranted by the nature of the research and its use of human subjects, the student submits the proposal to the Institutional Review Board to review the proposal for final approval before the research can commence.

Once approved, the student must follow the project plan. The advisor must approve any changes or deviations from the plan. A copy of the proposal is placed in the student’s permanent record in the Office of Student Administrative Services.

The Graduate Project Components
A completed project must have the following sections:

• an Abstract, summarizing the research and its results.
• an Introduction, consisting of the problem or question to be addressed in the project, its professional importance and relevance.
• a Literature Review, including the latest theories, research and contemporary thinking about the problem or question in terms of its cause(s), effect(s) and methods of investigation.
• the Methodology section, involving a description of the research design including Subjects, Instruments and Procedures sections. The Subjects section includes how the subjects were selected and a detailed description of the subject sample with means and standard deviations of numerical parameters. The Instruments section identifies each variable in the study, how it is to be measured and a detailed description of the instruments to be used and/or references. The validity and reliability of the instruments also must be addressed. The Procedures section includes a detailed description of how the research was conducted and how the data was collected. Protection of human subjects must also be addressed if the Institutional Review Board has approved the proposal.
• the Results section, reporting the analysis of the data from the study. This may include descriptive statistics, such as means and standard deviations, as well as the statistical analysis used to test the hypotheses and its statistical significance. Tables and graphs are used to present the findings. 
• a list of References, concluding the graduate project and preceding the Appendixes, which should include the approval letter of the Institutional Review Board (see the Project Proposal Development section). The final project also may include such additional products as a videotape or computer program. However, complementing this type of project will be a written Abstract summarizing the six elements listed above.
  

Oral Defense of the Graduate Project
As a completion requirement for the M.S. in Administration, students make an oral presentation of their graduate project findings to a panel of graduate faculty. The purpose of the presentations is to demonstrate the student’s ability to draw from the major requirements and specialization courses and integrate research findings with professional practice. The expected outcome is that students will be able to synthesize theory with practice and contribute to the knowledge base of the specialized field in administration.

Graduate projects require a second reader. Students are responsible for finding a professor or expert in the field outside the university to read their projects.

Completion of the Graduate Project
The advisor approves the final rendition of the graduate project. The student is responsible for providing the university with two approved bound copies of the graduate project, one for the university library and the other for the M.S. in Administration specialization. Projects must be completed within one year of the date of the accepted proposal.

Grading of the Graduate Project
The project is graded on the basis of a pass or fail. A pass is equivalent to a B or better, a fail to less than a B. In the event that a completed graduate project does not meet university standards and receives a grade of fail, the student will meet with the advisor to review the problems that must be addressed and will resubmit the revised project within 90 days of the meeting.