Emergency Management Programs at Montgomery College
Montgomery College appears on our list of Online Emergency Management Degree Programs.
Montgomery College offers both a certificate and a degree program in emergency management. Both programs teach students some of the skills needed to work as law enforcement officers and firefighters. They will also take classes that can help them work for government departments such as FEMA. The certificate program includes 27 credits of required classes and one elective to help students complete a total of 30 credits. Some of the electives that are available include Terrorism and Emergency Management, Critical Incident and Disaster Stress Management for Emergency Responders and Introduction to Homeland Security.
Though the college once offered an Associate of Applied Science (AAS), it changed this program to award students an Associate of Science in Emergency Preparedness Management. Students take general education courses that transfer to other schools in their early semesters. Those classes include General Psychology, Fundamentals of Library Research and Introduction to College Writing. While the writing class teaches them how to write subjects at the college level, the library research course teaches them how to conduct research in the college’s library to find evidence and information that they can use in their papers.
The full degree program includes 60 credits of courses. Emergency Medical Responder is one of the required foundation courses. It goes over exactly what first responders do in the field during different situations. Some of the other required courses also focus on what students will do in the field, including Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Emergency Response and Recovery and Incident Management System and EOC Interface. Montgomery College recommends that students take several psychology and sociology courses as electives to develop a better understanding of human thoughts and actions. Students will also take Principles of Emergency Management, Meteorology: An Introduction to Weather and Leadership in Emergency Management.
About Montgomery College
Montgomery College is the name given to three different community college campuses in Maryland. Founded in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College, it opened just a few years after World War II ended. Many of its early students used their military benefits to enroll in programs that helped them find jobs after leaving the military. Just four years after opening, the college left the high school where it originally offered classes and moved to the former campus of the Bliss Electrical School. When classes started, more than 100 students signed up for the part-time evening programs offered by the college. In the 1960s and 1970s, the college would open campuses in Rockville and Germantown.
Also called MC, the college is now one of the largest and popular community colleges in Maryland. Sarah Silberman, a local artist, donated money and some of her work to the college. That work is on display in the art gallery named after her, which is on the Rockville campus. Students can attend classes on the main campus in the Takoma Park/Silver Springs area or on one of the two other campuses. They can major in more than 50 subjects and enroll in continuing education programs. Enrollment across all three MC campuses now includes more than 60,000 students.
Montgomery College Accreditation Details
MC offers an emergency management degree program that lets students transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree in the same subject at another school. Students can transfer to those campuses because the college has regional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). This is also the accreditation that lets students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and see if they will get any financial aid. MC has specialty accreditation for some of its programs that include those in nursing.
Montgomery College Application Requirements
As MC is an inclusive college, it offers admissions requirements that any student can meet. This also reduces the amount of time it takes for students to apply and register for their classes. Incoming freshmen only need to complete the MC application and submit their high school transcripts. The college does not require a standardized test score but allows students to provide a score and skip its placement test. Students who do not have a high school diploma must have a GED to enroll in the college. MC also requires that students be at least 16 when they apply.
There are separate applications available for dual enrollment students who want to earn college credits and an application for visiting students who attend another college or university full-time. All students will need to set up an account with the college’s website and sign up for an email address. They can then go through the online orientation and complete a counseling session to make sure they can handle college work. Once they complete the orientation session, students can meet with their counselors to talk about what they want to study and what classes they should take. MC then allows students to go online and register for classes.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Students pay one of three different tuition rates at MC based on where they live or where they lived before applying. The lowest rates go to those who live in Montgomery County. They pay $201 per credit hour and get a discount that lets them take 15 credits for $2,661 each semester. Students who live in other parts of Maryland pay $342 per credit hour and can take 15 credits for $5,127. Those who live outside of Maryland pay the highest rates. They pay $7,017 to take 15 credits of classes in a semester.
MC accepts both military benefits and government financial aid, but it also allows students to work out a payment plan before the semester starts. They can qualify for grants, work-study, and loans through the FAFSA. Some grants and scholarships come from the state but only go to students who live in Maryland. Other scholarships come directly from MC, including the Montgomery College Foundation Scholarships that award students up to $2,500 each semester. Grants from the college’s Board of Trustees go to students who have a greater financial need and a grade point average of 2.0 or higher. Dual enrollment students can take advantage of a state program that covers the cost of their college classes and some or all of their textbooks. Montgomery College allows students seeking either an emergency management degree or certificate to apply for financial aid.