Emergency Management at American Public University
American Public University appears in our tanking of the 50 Most Affordable Schools for an Emergency Management Degree.
Emergency management is a specialized area of management that deals with natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other situations that can affect a small or large group of people. American Public University offers programs in this field at both the undergrad and the graduate levels. All of the programs are available online to help students complete their studies while they work in the field or handle their personal commitments.
The main program available is a Bachelor of Arts in Emergency and Disaster Management, which is a momentum program. American Public University asks students to work with an advisor to discuss their career goals and reasons for earning this degree. They will set different competencies and move through the program after they demonstrate competency in those areas. The 62 credits of courses in this program include Introduction to Emergency Management, Introduction to Homeland Security and Defense, Chemistry of Hazardous Materials, Natural Disaster Management, Border and Coastal Security and Special Operations in Emergency Medical Services.
A Master of Arts in Emergency and Disaster Management is also available. The core of this program features 15 credits of classes such as Crisis Action Planning, Research Design and Methods, Emergency and Disaster Planning and Management and Emergency and Disaster Theory. A dual program is available that awards students this degree and a Master of Arts in Homeland Security. It prepares students to work for Homeland Security and in and with other government agencies. Some of the courses in the dual program include Homeland Security and the Law, Domestic Terrorism and Extremist Groups, Mass Casualty Incident Management and Security Risk Management.
American Public University offers certificate programs for undergrads and graduate students in emergency management too. The undergrad program includes six courses such as Social Media Application to Emergency and Disaster Management, Emergency Planning, Emergency and Disaster Incident Command, and Psychology of Disaster. Those in the graduate program will also take six classes, including Disaster Health Management, Economics of Disaster, Case Analysis: Crisis and Disaster and Emergency Management Health and Medical Issues.
About American Public University
American Public University is one of the two schools that make up the American Public University System. It is the branch of this system designed for civilians. The system started in 1991 as American Military University, which offered courses for students in the military. Its founder wanted to offer classes that would help those in the military move quickly through the ranks and help them find jobs when they retired. American Public University began as a branch of the university that offered similar courses for students not in the military. The two schools would later merge to form the larger system. The university now accepts both civilians and military students and uses the name APU.
APU ranked 58th on a list of the best schools for students seeking an online bachelor’s degree by U.S. News and World Report. It is very popular among military families because its online options allow students to continue working on their degrees as they receive new orders and move to new bases. APU partnered with the Navy to create special degree programs for enlisted personnel. More than 48,000 students take classes from schools in the APU system every year.
American Public University Accreditation Details
APU has accreditation recognized by both the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the United States Department of Education. This accreditation comes from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Veterans, military students and others will find that the university offers programs that prepare them for working in specific fields and that APU can provide them with good financial aid packages.
American Public University Application Requirements
Though most bachelor’s programs offered by APU only require that students have a high school diploma or a GED, the momentum emergency and disaster management program only accepts those who have an associate degree or at least two years of college credits. Those students can also enroll without taking any of the university’s assessments. Other students will take these assessments to show the university the skills they have and where they should start in college classes. Both certificate and degree-seeking undergrads will complete the APU application, which only takes 15 minutes. They can then speak with an enrollment counselor and sign up for classes.
Graduate students must have a bachelor’s degree from a school recognized by the Department of Education or a similar organization. It takes around two years to finish one of these programs. Students can transfer 15 credits into a program and graduate in around three semesters. Students will fill out the application and submit their transcripts if required. The university asks for a copy of the student’s government ID too. Students can submit a driver’s license or a military ID. APU never charges an application fee and does not require test scores from any applying student.
Tuition and Financial Aid
APU has a strong reputation for the help and support that it provides military students and veterans. One of the ways it helps is with a grant program that reduces the tuition cost of those students. This grant allows undergrads to pay just $250 per credit hour. Undergrads who do not qualify for this program pay $270 per credit hour. Traditional graduate students will pay $350 per credit hour. Veterans and military students taking graduate classes receive a similar grant that reduces their rate to $325 per credit hour. The spouses and dependents of veterans and military personnel can also qualify for this discount. APU charges a technology fee of $50 to $100 per class but will waive this fee for military students, veterans, their spouses and dependents.
The university offers an automatic debit plan for students paying out of pocket. This plan allows them to pay a quarter of the amount due each month rather than paying the entire amount at the start of the semester. Students can also get financial aid through the FAFSA, but the university requires that they submit this form at least three full weeks before the beginning of the semester. Students can get any type of federal financial aid via this form, including federal loans. Those students can also use alternative loans. American Public University financial aid packages are available for students applying to or enrolled in any of its emergency management programs.