Find Your Perfect School
Global calamity and civil wars are two of the world’s top problems today. The world needs capable people who can develop strategies and remain calm in times of crisis.
If you are the type of person with an adept mind for developing strategies that may prevent and mitigate crises such as natural disasters and domestic and international terrorism, an online Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security will get you started!
An online emergency management and homeland security degree will teach you how to make decisions, plan, implement, and coordinate disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and resource recovery. It is intended for individuals looking to advance or start a profession in public safety and students who want to improve their competencies and skills.
Quick Summarization:
An online emergency management & homeland security degree provides good training for occupations in law enforcement and the military that focus on guaranteeing safety and safeguarding people from harm. This degree also qualifies someone for work in government agencies whose primary objective is to protect the public from threats. Local, state, and federal governments all have civil servant positions.
Methodology
Students who enroll in a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security program focus on the research aspect of dealing with disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and terrorist attacks.
Get the outstanding education and training you need to qualify for technical or research work in this discipline! We’ve put together the top Online BS in Emergency Management & Homeland Security programs and colleges that exhibit excellence, owing to these program features:
- Deliver BS in Emergency Management & Homeland Security 100% or partially online to accommodate undergraduate students seeking to earn their degree conveniently,
- Feature rigorous coursework on the principles, theories, applications, and practices of the evolving discipline to truly bring out the most well-trained and passionate Emergency Management & Homeland Security experts,
- Facilitated by a panel of Online BS in Emergency Management & Homeland Security instructors who are experts in the field,
- Provide financial aid and federal discount options for undergraduates,
- Constant support from teaching personnel thru student services that steer students and graduates toward academic and career success,
- Credit transfer programs,
- Earned accreditation from academic agencies,
- Positive feedback from the academic community or students
Please check out our Methodology page for more details.
Best Online BS in Emergency Management & Homeland Security
National University
National University’s online Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management is perfect for busy adult students looking forward to becoming homeland & emergency management professionals. This online bachelor’s degree provides students with a solid foundational knowledge of best practices, security issues, and terrorism culture. Furthermore, this program is taught by national experts with years, even decades, of professional experience.
This online homeland security and the emergency program requires students to complete and conduct research on different sectors in the government and private entities and conclude a report for individual emergency preparedness. Major courses include:
- Introduction to public administration
- Leading diverse groups and teams
- Legal issues of security
- Crisis management
- Disaster management
- Domestic security management
Franklin University
Franklin University’s online Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security exposes students to various government and private sectors to develop skills needed in risk management. This online degree will help you lay a strong foundation on what’s important regardless of your future goals. To broaden student knowledge, this program allows students to choose one homeland and emergency management concentration and tailor their education based on their area of interest.
Students who choose Emergency Management & Disaster Response focus will study courses, including:
- Fire & Emergency Services Administration
- Political & Legal Foundations for Fire Protection
- Disaster Planning & Emergency management Response
- Emergency Management Theory & Practice
- Critical Incident Management
Students who choose to study Homeland Security will complete courses in:
- Criminal Justice System and Administration
- Terrorism & Intelligence Analysis
- Juvenile Corrections
- Introduction to Grant Writing for Nonprofits
- Emergency Management Theory & Practice
- Forensic Psychology
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska in Fairbanks offers an online Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management that prepares students to excel in the field, create a significant impact in the community, and help shape the field. The courses are flexible and designed to allow students with busy schedules to complete the degree in four years. Additionally, this homeland and emergency management bachelor’s is entirely customizable, offering students six concentrations:
- Emergency management
- Homeland security
- Fire services administration
- Public safety administration
- Emergency medical and public health management
- Cybersecurity and information technology management
Aside from learning emergency response and prevention, students will also focus on business courses in management and leadership. Online students can apply life experiences, such as healthcare, military first responders, and ROTC to act as transfer credits and decrease their coursework, allowing them to graduate earlier.
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Pennsylvania College of Technology’s online Bachelor of Science Degree in Emergency Management & Homeland Security is in partnership with FEMA and PEMA. The school offers the same tuition fee and financial aid opportunities for in-state, out-of-state, and international students. Additionally, online students will apply their knowledge through real-world experience that will help them develop leadership skills for the field.
Penn College’s online homeland and emergency management program offers specialization, perspective, and foundation courses. Courses include:
- Emergency Management Operations
- Emergency Planning
- Disaster Recovery
- Spatial Analysis in Emergency Management
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Communication
- Introduction to Sociology
- Core Arts Perspective
- General Education
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University offers an online Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management that provides students with advanced administrative skills and solid foundation knowledge needed in the homeland and emergency management field.
This degree explores a broad theoretical and applied knowledge in risk assessment and emergency management, enhancing a new student’s understanding of the field. Furthermore, students in this online program will learn the legal side of homeland security and emergency management to help the public.
TSU’s homeland security and emergency management degree courses include:
- American Political Systems
- Political Science
- International Relations
- Executive Process
- Public Budgeting
- Introduction To Public Sector Planning
- Policy Process
- Public Affairs
- Disaster Recovery
Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University’s online Bachelor of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is focused on emergency management frameworks and practice, organizational disaster management and leadership, research and critical thinking, relationship building, ethics, and community engagement. While this degree is open for students new in the field, the degree is best for working professionals in emergency management, fire protection, and other areas of security and safety.
On-campus teachers teach online courses. Online courses include:
- Emergency operations and techniques
- Disaster response and recovery
- Organizational behavior and management
- History and development of emergency management
- Project management
Post University
Post University’s online Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security has four focus areas: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. It will develop your skills and use them to demonstrate knowledge during mock disaster scenarios or homeland security and emergency management capstone courses. Online students can also participate in internships at various agencies and organizations related to the degree program.
Enrolling in several online courses will prepare you for entry-level careers in emergency management and homeland security. Experienced Post instructors teach the courses, which cover subjects like:
- Crisis decision making
- Disaster planning and preparedness
- History of terrorism
- Homeland security in the United States
- Public health emergency preparedness and response
- Risk and vulnerability assessment
You can also tailor your degree and choose your area of interest, such as:
- Criminal justice leadership
- Cybersecurity
- Policing
Thomas Edison State University
Thomas Edison State University offers one of the country’s most affordable homeland security and emergency management programs that complements continuing education in the same field of study.
Thomas Edison’s online BS Degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management is designed to follow the five National Preparedness System mission areas on policy considerations: prevention, protection mitigation, response, and recovery to prepare for the post-9/11. This knowledge will prepare you to become the best at emergency services.
Courses include:
- Protecting the homeland – response and recovery
- Homeland security – preparedness and prevention
- Counterterrorism – constitutional and legislative issues
- Research methods in the social sciences
Arizona State University
ASU offers an online bachelor’s degree program in disaster management and homeland security for working and time-constrained students. The online Bachelor of Science in Public Service and Public Policy – Emergency Management and Homeland Security is for students motivated to become the next generation of leaders.
This degree is taught by the teachers at the College of Public Service and Community Solutions, helping students answer problems that exist in areas like child welfare, human trafficking, water scarcity, and city management.
Some of the emergency management curricula include courses, such as:
- Emergency management and homeland security
- Contemporary policy challenges
- Leadership and change
- Introduction to emergency management
- Public service research methods
- Public service and policy
This online degree program will significantly benefit students in need of financial aid opportunities.
The University of Akron
University of Akron’s Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security is an online program that allows online students to gain actual disaster experience through internship and service-learning projects in several agencies, such as businesses, nonprofit organizations, and emergency management agencies.
Students enrolled in this program have also played a significant role in the COVID-19 pandemic emergency response. Courses include:
- Introduction to Disaster, Hazards & Risk
- Statistics for Everyday Life
- Homeland Security Policy and Process
- Terrorism: Perpetrators, Politics, and Response
- Applications in GIS using GPS
- Disaster Preparedness & Response
- Emergency Management and Homeland Security Approved Elective
While students have several internship opportunities, you must know that this requires an extensive background check. Students who cannot pass the background check will likely not be given any internship placement opportunity.
Excelsior College
Excelsior College’s online Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management prepares students for a career in the field by teaching them how to become leaders in response management.
Students learn various subjects related to emergency management and the homeland security industry throughout the course, including planning, mitigation, and recovery from catastrophes. They research and submit application papers on the program’s integrated components.
Undergraduate courses include:
- Introduction to Homeland Security and Emergency Management
- Comparative National Security Analysis
- Infrastructure Security and Policy
- Homeland Security and Emergency Management Capstone
Furthermore, students will have an open emphasis and elective in which they’ll have an academic advisor to help them select courses based on their area of interest. The curriculum includes elective credits beyond the general education requirements, including a Cornerstone course.
Strayer University
Strayer University offers an online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Homeland Security and Emergency Management that allows students to study terrorism and counterterrorism, homeland security organization and administration, emergency management techniques, public and private safety concepts, and security evaluation and solutions in concentration courses. Other courses include:
- Juvenile delinquency
- Ethics and leadership
- Criminal law
- Crime and criminal conduct
- Senior criminal justice seminar
Other than its subjects, the degree also trains students to have the best communication skills. In fact, communication at work is part of the program’s curriculum. In this course, you’ll study the techniques for listening, writing, and speaking with authority.
University of New Haven
The Bachelor of Science (BS) in Homeland Security & Emergency Management at the University of New Haven is a fully online program that enhances students’ knowledge of the current crises. This degree includes 17 free electives that allow you to focus on your area of interest. Additionally, a number of new courses are being offered, such as our course on maritime security, which enables you to enroll in classes that other colleges and institutions do not provide.
Courses include:
- Emergency Scene Operations
- Scientific Methods in National Security
- Infrastructure Protection
- Transportation Security
Of all the online programs listed, this is the only online homeland security and emergency management that allows students to have a paid internship. Students will be able to experience what it’s like to participate in relief operations and help with planning in the wake of catastrophes like fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
Mercer University
The online Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management program at Mercer University is built on understanding contemporary security and safety challenges. Students gain communication and leadership skills through the curriculum that help them maintain confidence and concentration under challenging situations.
Students are equipped to discern the various elements of the public security system, make informed judgments, advise the public, and establish procedures and policies for handling security risks.
This online program introduces students to:
- Intelligence Gathering and Dissemination
- Foundations of Leadership
- The Effects of Disaster on Society
- Terrorism
- Field Experience
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University’s BS Emergency and Disaster Management is an affordable online program that introduces students to various aspects of emergency management and homeland security. This online degree program will prepare you for leadership positions in the field through advanced classes taught by university professionals. Courses include:
- Homeland security
- Social dimensions of a disaster
- Disaster response operations and management
- Emergency planning
- Principles of hazard mitigation
- Risk assessment and vulnerability analysis
- Political and policy basis of emergency and disaster management
Aside from this being a major, students can also take this as a minor. If you’re interested in learning how to respond to crises, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and relief operations, but do not want to make it a major, you can look for other majors in the school and take this program as a minor degree.
BS in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program Information
Introduction to Homeland and Emergency Management
This course focuses on a systematic, community-based, all-hazard approach to emergency management. This course also covers the accreditation of emergency management programs and professional associations, credentials, and certificates.
Protection and Security
This course focuses on the mission area of protection, focusing on the skills required to shield the nation from terrorist attacks, natural calamities, and artificial ones. To design comprehensive measures to protect the nation and its interests against various threats, students integrate their understanding of risk and vulnerability assessment with operational structures, processes, and resources.
Terrorism Prevention
This course examines domestic and foreign terrorism facets and focuses on the fundamental skills required to stop terrorist attacks. Students look at how security measures, disruption techniques, and information exchange play a part in preventing and/or responding to terrorism.
Disaster Recovery
This course studies the fundamental ideas, practical methods, and authorities involved in catastrophic disaster recovery. It also focuses on government cooperation and the issues that typically crop up during recovery efforts as it discusses the roles and responsibilities of the federal, state, and local governments in significant disaster recovery activities.
Leadership and Management Practices
Business leadership concepts, tenets, and methods are covered in this course. The focus will be on building a solid foundation for leadership while focusing on the basic themes, requirements, and opportunities of a changing and dynamic workplace. As it relates to the essential elements of management practice, this course will integrate the development of fundamental leadership skills.
Crisis Communication
This course covers the theories, fundamentals, and practical best practices involved in crisis communication, focusing on organizing and delivering public communication before, during, and after natural and artificial crises.
Criminal Justice
This course covers the analysis of pertinent issues about the American criminal justice system, such as the aims and ideals of current systems, operational issues with existing systems, solutions and alternatives to these issues, and emerging trends.
Career Opportunities for BS in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Graduates
Emergency Managers
An emergency manager or emergency management director creates protocols and plans for dealing with disasters and other situations to reduce danger to persons and property. These professionals collect suggestions for disaster response plans and prepare training programs and exercises for volunteers, staff, and other responders. They meet with elected officials, government agencies, nonprofit groups, public safety officials, and members of the general public.
Homeland Security Officers
Homeland security officers have two key objectives: defending the country’s borders and ensuring everyone is protected from terrorist threats. While keeping an eye out for illegal immigration, these professionals also seek to assist legal immigration. Homeland security strives to create a sense of readiness, particularly concerning natural disasters.
Median Annual Salary: $88,000
Recovery Specialists
Recovery specialists are professionals who develop recovery plans and business continuity plans. These professionals safeguard a company’s data, hardware, and software. In addition to offering employee training, they coordinate, test, and update disaster recovery plans to ensure everything operates without a hitch when necessary.
Median Annual Salary: $43,023
First-line Supervisors
The daily activities of the workforce are monitored and managed by first-line supervisors. They ensure the production process runs smoothly and effectively to achieve the desired production targets.
Median Annual Salary: $99,410
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Emergency Management and Homeland Security crucial to society?
These degrees help avoid deaths and injuries. It reduces the amount of stock, equipment, and building damage during a crisis. It also safeguards the neighborhood and the environment and increases the speed at which business as usual resumes.
What are the admission requirements for a BS in Emergency Management and Homeland Security?
While admission requirements in higher education can differ from university to university, the common requirements are as follows:
- High School Diploma, GED, or the equivalent
- Official transcript of records from previous schools attended
- College essay and application letter
Is a degree in Emergency Management and Homeland Security worth it?
Yes, it’s among the top careers for people drawn to criminal justice, terrorism, and disaster relief. The world faces crises that require professional help from people in this field.
How much does a bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management and Homeland Security cost?
The total cost of tuition for online emergency management and homeland security bachelor’s degree ranges from $25,000 to $69,000.
How long does it take to earn an Emergency Management and Homeland Security bachelor’s degree?
Most emergency management and homeland bachelor’s degrees take four years of full-time study and 120–127 credits to accomplish. Accelerated alternatives are available in certain online programs, which can shorten completion timeframes.
Key Takeaways
Protecting people, resources, and property, during traumatic occurrences is the main focus of an online BS degree in emergency management and homeland security. These professionals use their expertise and training to anticipate disasters and respond to circumstances that endanger public safety.
Students who acquire an online Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security are more equipped to deal with disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and terrorist attacks. Graduate students in this program receive training in both government and non-government sector relief initiatives. They strategize how to help the afflicted communities and ensure everyone is safe.