Studying Emergency Management at Bethel University
Bethel University appears in our ranking of the Top 10 Emergency Management Bachelor’s Degrees Online.
Emergency management professionals help others during crisis situations. Bethel University offers a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Services Management that can help students succeed in this field. Designed to include elements of both emergency services management and criminal justice, it helps students gain the skills needed to work in police departments, government agencies, and other fields. The university encourages professionals to apply to this program and requires that incoming students have a minimum of 30 transfer credits before beginning their studies. It’s available entirely online and does not require that students take classes on any of the university’s campuses.
To complete the BS program, students must take 128 credits of classes. They earn three credits for each course in the program and will usually take three semesters of courses. The university asks that they complete the minimum number of credits needed through classes in other disciplines. Some of the required courses that all these majors take include Planning for Emergency and Disaster Management, Management of Terrorist Incidents, Natural Disaster Planning and Management, Terrorism in the Modern World and Management of Human Resources in Public Safety Organizations.
Bethel offers other bachelor degree programs online that might appeal to future emergency management professionals. One is an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice. Designed for students who want to learn more about criminal justice as a whole, it prepares them for enrolling in the university’s bachelor program. There is also an Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice available and an Associate of Science in Liberal Arts. The liberal arts program gives students a strong foundation that they can build upon once they begin working in the field or after they enroll in a bachelor’s program. Bethel also offers a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice program. Available on its campuses and online, it features classes such as Introduction to Crime Theory, Management for Law Enforcement, Crisis Management in Law Enforcement and Review of Forensic Science.
About Bethel University
Bethel University is a private religious institution of higher learning located in Tennessee. Established as the Bethel Seminary when it opened in 1842, it became a full college just five years later after adding more traditional fields of study to its curriculum. As Bethel College, it provided options for students who wanted to study religion but also take courses designed for their future careers. The college earned university status in 2009 and became Bethel University. As enrollment grew, the university changed its campus and constructed new buildings and facilities to keep up with the demands of those students.
While the university has a flagship campus in McKenzie, it built regional satellite campuses in other parts of Tennessee. Students can now complete the same degree programs in Paris, Clarksville, Jackson and other cities as they can on the main campus. Bethel University also offers some online courses and programs for students. The majority of its students come from cities across Tennessee. Bethel University, which has an affiliation with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, saw a surge in enrollment in the 2000s and 2010s that led to the university educating more than 4,000 students every year.
Bethel University Accreditation Details
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) awarded accreditation to Bethel University. SACS granted the university the regional accreditation that allows students to transfer credits both into and out of the university and to seek out financial aid. Bethel established a task force that is responsible for maintaining the accreditation that the university has. This task force meets with the accrediting agency to go over the requirements for accreditation and works with the university to ensure that it maintains those standards.
Bethel University Application Requirements
Students applying to an on-campus or an online Bethel University program must meet the same requirements for admission. The university asks that students meet two of three set requirements: finishing high school within the top 50% of their classes, maintaining a high school grade point average of at least 2.25 and scoring a minimum of 860 on the SAT or 18 on the ACT. Bethel considers any student who has no college experience or just a few credits of work as a traditional first-time college student.
First-time freshmen must submit the Bethel application online and use a credit or debit card to pay the $30 application fee. The university will also accept application fees paid for by check, money order or cash. Students paying via these methods can visit a university campus or send checks/money orders through the mail. Bethel also requires official transcripts for incoming freshmen. Those attending classes on a Bethel campus must provide proof that their immunizations are up to date. Any student applying to the emergency services management program or another online program will also need to submit official college transcripts to show that they already completed at least 30 credits of college classes.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Students in the university’s emergency services management program pay a flat rate of $362 per credit hour. This rate includes all fees charged by Bethel and the textbooks that students need. As this is an online program, it features online courses and other resources that students can use in all their classes. Students in other programs pay $7,646 per semester for full-time enrollment and $462 per credit hour for part-time enrollment. Those taking classes in any online program pay the same $362 per credit hour rate. The university offers housing on its campuses for around $4,500 a semester. Students can also get insurance through the university if they need coverage.
Any student who has a minimum high school GPA of 2.5 or higher and scored at least 960/18 on the SAT/ACT qualifies for an academic scholarship. These programs provide up to $600 a year for commuter students and up to $1,000 a year for traditional students. Online students can qualify for scholarships too. The amount that they get increases based on their grades and test scores. Students can renew their scholarships every year also. The university offers other types of scholarships and some grants that students can use in addition to any aid that they get from the FAFSA. Bethel University designed its financial aid packages to cover most and sometimes all the costs of its emergency management and other degree programs.