Emergency Management and Resilience MSc

Course overview

The course aims to provide you with an understanding of the issues that underlie many problems faced by emergency and crisis management practitioners and how these issues may be addressed.

This course is designed to enable you to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to anticipate, assess, mitigate, critically analyse, prepare, plan for and successfully respond to a range of emergencies and major incidents; 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 from 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.
• 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.

Why you should study this course

• You should advance your skills in evaluating complex situations, developing creative and innovative solutions, and implementing lessons learnt. If you study on campus, there will be opportunities to take part in training and exercises through simulated emergency scenarios in our immersive Simulation Centre⁴.
• Course content is broad-based to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the subject. For example, as well as being taught current and evolving techniques and tactics used to prevent, plan, prepare or respond to a wide range of emergencies, we will also cover and critically appraise relevant technical data and information, best practice in emergency planning and incident management.
• Members of our current teaching team have practical experience and have carried out employment, consultancy and research in emergency and incident management and allied professions. This includes command and control design, the design and management of simulated emergency exercises, emergency planning, risk mapping, and the preparation of response frameworks for mass evacuation (staff subject to change).
• Opportunities for recognition of prior learning and experience (RPL/RPEL) on a case-by-case basis (evidence required). Please see the course specification for further information.
• You will have the opportunity to carry out an independent piece of research of your choosing subject to prior agreement with your tutor, producing an industry-facing working paper that should be of publishable quality.

Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion, the modules will provide:

• A comprehensive evaluation of risk, its components and influencing factors, approaches to assessment, prioritisation and role in planning, managing and recovering from crises and emergencies.
• A detailed knowledge of policy and approaches for mitigating, preparing for, managing and recovering from emergencies or crises for responding agencies and organisations and affected communities.
• A thorough comprehension of approaches to assessing complexity and interaction and developing, monitoring and evaluating resilience in processes, systems, organisations and communities at risk from known and emergent threats in a sustainable way.
• A detailed analysis of multi-stakeholder engagement, communication, co-operation and governance in all aspects of policy and strategy development, implementation and management at all scales.
• An ability to manage information, evaluate uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity in knowledge, method and management, and make appropriate and defensible decisions.
• A critical awareness of issues and challenges at the forefront of research and practice in emergencies and resilience.
• An ability to evaluate and use appropriate methods of enquiry and analysis, and progress good practice in the discipline over the course of their career.
• The skills demanded to research, evaluate high level material in order to produce an independent working paper that meets ethical requirements of the university, synthesises both academic and sector perspectives and presents findings and recommendations in a professional way.
• Critically evaluate the principles for leading and developing people and equality, diversity and inclusion at a strategic level.

The course aims to support the development of your skills in problem-solving, teamwork and leadership, project management and communication in major incident and emergency, all of which are qualities employers demand. We strive to produce graduates who can make difficult decisions whilst being culturally sensitive, ethical and compassionate, the capabilities required by international relief and development organisations, private sector consultancies, national government, local authorities and United Nations agencies operating around the world.

Our current teaching staff and the university’s Talent Team can support your search for employment in the UK or overseas by making use of our alumni network, industrial contacts, careers events, recruitment fairs and individual advice (subject to availability).