Disaster Studies (MA)

Overview

The program offers students broad interdisciplinary training and experience in the field of emergency management with classes on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses and online. Graduates from the program will enjoy a wide range of career opportunities as emergency management specialists, homeland security officers, hospital emergency preparedness administrators, public health planners, communication officers, and emergency response technicians. The program also prepares students for Ph.D. programs in emergency management, public health, and related fields. Funding opportunities in the form of assistantships are available for both domestic and international students.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the graduate program with a concentration in anthropology, prospective candidates must first meet all requirements for graduate admission to UT Rio Grande Valley, as well as the other requirements listed below:

  1. Undergraduate degree from any major
  2. Undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 in the last 60 semester credit hours. If applicant does not meet minimum undergraduate GPA criterion, GRE general test are required for conditional admission. GRE test scores are valid for 5 years

If an applicant does not meet the minimum undergraduate GPA criterion, the GRE test is required for conditional admission.

Application for admission must be submitted prior to the published deadline. The application is available at www.utrgv.edu/gradapply.

Program Requirements

Choose one of the following options:

Thesis Option:

Required Core Courses (18 Credits)
SOCI 6300Statistics

3

 

SOCI 6301Social Theory

3

Or

SOCI 6302Research Methods

3

 

SOCI 6331Disasters and Society

3

SOCI 6332Geographic Information Systems for Disaster Management

3

SOCI 6333Principles of Emergency Management

3

SOCI 6344Demography

3

Core Electives (6 Credits)
Choose six hours from the following:
CRIJ 6322Terrorism

3

PAFF 6380Global Security

3

SOCI 6334Disaster Vulnerability

3

SOCI 6335Environmental Sociology

3

SOCI 6336Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness

3

Prescribed Electives (6 Credits)
Must be chosen from Two different areas (3 hours each):
Area 1: Demographics and Culture
ANTH 6306Anthropology of Borders

3

ANTH 6314Environmental Anthropology

3

Area 2: Government and Public Administration
PAFF 6303Policy Implementation and Program Evaluation

3

PAFF 6305Political Leadership: Decision-Making and Management in Public Organizations

3

PAFF 6306Public Personnel Administration

3

PAFF 6312State and Local Government

3

Area 3: Natural Science
GEOL 5301Geology and Geography

3

GEOL 5302Meteorology and Oceanography

3

GEOL 6410Geoscience for Teachers

4

Area 4: Organizational Communication
COMM 6322Culture and Communication

3

ENGL 6326Professional Writing

3

MGMT 6301Foundations of Management

3

Capstone Requirement (6 Credits)
Thesis
SOCI 7300Thesis I

3

SOCI 7301Thesis II

3

Non-Thesis Option:

(A petition must be made to the Graduate Coordinator to pursue this option)

Required Core Courses (18 Credits)
SOCI 6300Statistics

3

 

SOCI 6301Social Theory

3

Or

SOCI 6302Research Methods

3

 

SOCI 6331Disasters and Society

3

SOCI 6332Geographic Information Systems for Disaster Management

3

SOCI 6333Principles of Emergency Management

3

SOCI 6344Demography

3

Core Electives (6 Credits)
Choose six hours from the following:
CRIJ 6322Terrorism

3

PAFF 6380Global Security

3

SOCI 6334Disaster Vulnerability

3

SOCI 6335Environmental Sociology

3

SOCI 6336Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness

3

Prescribed Electives (9 Credits)
Choose 3 hours from ANY of the following areas AND 6 hours from ANY ONE area:
Area 1: Demographics and Culture
ANTH 6306Anthropology of Borders

3

ANTH 6314Environmental Anthropology

3

Area 2: Government and Public Administration
PAFF 6303Policy Implementation and Program Evaluation

3

PAFF 6305Political Leadership: Decision-Making and Management in Public Organizations

3

PAFF 6306Public Personnel Administration

3

PAFF 6312State and Local Government

3

Area 3: Natural Science
GEOL 5301Geology and Geography

3

GEOL 5302Meteorology and Oceanography

3

GEOL 6410Geoscience for Teachers

4

Area 4: Organizational Communication
COMM 6322Culture and Communication

3

ENGL 6326Professional Writing

3

MGMT 6301Foundations of Management

3

Capstone Requirement (3 Credits)
SOCI 6304Research Capstone

3

Total Credit Hours: 36