Overview

Studied on campus or 100% online, this course is designed to enable you to develop the necessary knowledge and practical skills needed to identify, critically analyse, assess and successfully manage a range of emergencies; operating confidently in policy development, strategy implementation, and response and recovery planning and management.

This postgraduate course has been externally reviewed by an external expert in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (UK Cabinet Office) and meets the requirements of government and other organisations, helping to ensure that our graduates have the skills and knowledge to deal with complex and large-scale emergencies upon successful completion of the course.

You may choose to study via our flexible route, undertaking one of our postgraduate certificates prior to ‘topping up’ to the full master’s degree.

Our graduates have gone on to work in a range of organisations with emergency response duties, including local government, the uniformed services, health and other public sector agencies, as well as private sector companies and consultancy.

Course information

Employers recognise that the challenges found in postgraduate study positively change the way you analyse problems and create solutions. This course provides you with a space to network with others from a diverse range of experience and disciplines, to learn and apply concepts, theories and academic skills to professional practice.

This course can be studied on campus or 100% online. For on campus students, the course’s flexibility and delivery pattern of 4.5-day blocks per module enables full-time students to develop their knowledge alongside opportunities to gain practical experience. Alternatively, as a full-time student, you can study 100% online across a ten-week teaching period whilst also gaining practical experience in the workplace. The part-time route allows those already in emergency management to balance their studies with other work and life commitments and apply academic rigour to their practical experience.

Within this course you will explore the academic tools that enable the analysis and evaluation of emergencies, emergency management, emergency preparedness and emergency planning processes. The course is designed for current and future leaders, and approaches the subject from both tactical and strategic perspectives, so that you can go on to devise emergency preparedness capabilities including plans and emergency plan testing and training programmes relevant to the broad range of threats and risks faced within the UK and beyond. There will be opportunities to take part in training and exercises through simulated emergency scenarios in our state-of-the art, immersive Simulation Centre.

Using both legislative and best-practice approaches, you will examine the responsibilities of emergency response organisations (Category 1 and 2) and aligned organisations with a role to play in preparing for, and responding to, emergencies. These organisations include the emergency services, government, health services, the charitable sector and those who support Critical National Infrastructure, as well as a range of private businesses.

You will cover important legal and political frameworks of the UK, European and international emergency management sector, giving special attention to the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act, which established a new legislative framework for civil protection in the United Kingdom and has significantly increased the demand for professionals in this area.

Modules encompass the full cycle of risk management processes, using this to inform contingency planning; putting in place emergency plans; creating business continuity plans to ensure critical functions continue in the event of an emergency; developing communications plans to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency; and approaches to sharing information and co-operating with other local responders and national government to enhance coordination and efficiency. As part of this you’ll examine risk from all angles, whether that’s exploring mitigations for local flood management or the impact of international terrorism.

Responding to the pressure on central and local government to increase levels of preparedness and develop more effective responses to realised risks and threats, we additionally aim to support the development of your appreciation of community-based approaches to emergency planning and planning.

Finally, the course provides an understanding of the underlying issues faced by emergency planning and management practitioners, such as multi-agency cooperation and coordination, and leadership in times of emergency. You will look at how these issues may be addressed in practice, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of Integrated Emergency Management. Such approaches will be supported by an in-depth exploration of training and exercising, enabling you to develop substantial personnel and organisational resilience.

Coventry University was the first UK university to establish courses in disaster management and emergency planning over 20 years ago (Hulse & Moseley 1998) and is still a leading provider of Higher Education courses and Consultancy services in emergency and disaster management capabilities. We have more than 25 years of alumni who sit in senior positions in emergency management across the world.

As a Coventry University graduate, upon successful completion of the course you should have gained the skills you need to move your career in emergency preparedness and management forward, both in the UK and overseas. These skills and knowledge are transferable - dealing with risk, problem solving, decision making under uncertainty, team and leadership skills and place you in an enviable position to pursue a career in a wide range of public sector and industry occupations.