Canadian Higher Education Programs in

Emergency Management

John Lindsay – Brandon University

From Practice to Profession

• Emergency management education in Canada is following the path taken by emergency management practitioners slowly heading toward being a profession.

• The “poultry or the egg” problem is complicated as a profession depends on academic programs taught by instructors who, themselves, are qualified (and experienced) practitioners.

Practical Roots

• Canadian Emergency Preparedness College– Originally located in Arnprior, Ontario, now

integrated in the Federal Study Centre in Ottawa.– Offering practitioner taught courses on topics such

as EOC management and exercise design.– Currently under review.

• Provincial Emergency Management programs– Practitioner taught intro courses for local officials

and emergency managers.

Training Centres

• The practical training courses are now becoming more institutionalized and better presented but still focus primarily on the technical skills.

• Justice Institute of BC– Certificate in Emergency Management

• Manitoba Emergency Services College

Post Secondary Education

• A recent review of the status of university and college courses (as of early 2004) concludes “Canada lags far behind countries such as Australia and the U.S. in establishing emergency management education programs” (p.43).– Emergency Management Education In Canada, James

Bruce, et al, 2004 http://www.ocipep.gc.ca/research/resactivites/emerMan/PDFs/SAIC_2003D021_e.pdf

Undergraduate Degrees

• Brandon University - Manitoba– B.Sc. & B.A. in Applied Disaster and Emergency

Studies

• Lakeland College - Alberta

– Bachelor of Applied Emergency Services Administration in the School of Business

• Cape Breton University – Nova Scotia– continuing education online program designed for

students with existing degrees or college diplomas.

Graduate and PhD

• While there are no separate graduate or PhD programs in place yet, several universities support related graduate and post-grad work:– University of British Columbia School of Community and

Regional Planning has graduate level course in disaster management and the MA, MSc or PhD students can focus on emergency management.

– University of Waterloo (Ontario) has grad students tailoring courses to study emergency management.

– University of Manitoba has some risk and hazard management oriented work at a PhD-level.

Programs in Development

• Canadian Mennonite University & Mennonite Disaster Services – initial discussions on an undergraduate program.

• Royal Roads University– developing the business case for a MA in Emergency

Preparedness and Disaster Management.

• York University– starting a certificate program in Sept ‘05

Certification• The Canadian Emergency Preparedness Assoc. has

been pursuing a practitioner certification program for several years.

• A recent survey of practitioners concluded “There is very strong support, as evidenced by the survey results, for the establishment of a certification process for emergency managers in Canada for those employed in the public and private sectors” (p.6). – A Summary Report on Survey for Certification of Emergency Managers in Canada, The Zeta Group, 2005

Potential

• Further development of discreet programs in Canada is inevitable as many local government practices come under closer scrutiny.

• As more programs are established there will be some competition and this will likely lead to program specialization, possibly through partnerships with other disciplines.

Applied Disaster and Emergency Studies

An Overview of Brandon University’s

ADES Department

ADES: A New Option

• Brandon University is the first in Canada with a four year degree program granting both a BA and a BSc in disaster studies.

• ADES has three full-time faculty: – Dr. Ali Asgary (chair) – Dr. Niru Nirupama– Mr. John Lindsay

The ADES Degree Path• Students finish the 4 year program with 120

credit hours (roughly 40 one-term courses).• ADES and other core courses account for 75

credit hours.• At least 18 credit hours of elective courses are

selected from other departments for the science (BSc) or planning (BA) concentrations.

• The remaining credit hours are for Liberal Education and prerequisite requirements.

Liberal Education

• Maximum of 18 credit hours (6 credits per area) from courses in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences.

• Courses can count toward both the ADES requirement and the University-wide Liberal Education requirement.

• The required 1st year ADES courses fulfill the Social and Natural Science requirements.

Year One: Required Courses

• Intro to Disaster Studies • Intro to Emergency Management • Our Dynamic Earth• Intro to Psychology• General Psychology • Intro to Physical Geography• Intro to Weather and Climate• Environmental and Resource Issues• Written Expression

Year Two: Required Courses

• Natural Disasters

• Emergency Planning and Management

• Hazard and Risk Assessment

• Intro to Information Technology

• Intro to Geographic Information Systems

• Social Institutions and Social Processes

• Organizational Psychology I & II

Years Three and Four: Required ADES Courses

• Environmental Disasters: Appraisals and Responses

• Emergency Management Law

• Disaster Response and Management

• Disaster and Development

• Directed Reading (Conflict Resolution)

• Disaster and Emergency Practicum

Science Concentration (BSC)

• Biology• Chemistry• Geology• Geography

• Psychology• Environmental Studies• Mathematics &

Computer Science• Physics and Astronomy

Students select 6 courses (18 credit hours) from other Science departments:

Planning and Management Concentration (BA)

• Anthropology• Business

Administration• Economics• Geography• Justice Studies

• Psychology• Philosophy• Political Science• Rural Development• Sociology

Students select 6 courses (18 credit hours) from other Arts departments:

Balancing Core and Supporting Courses

• The challenge that the ADES program is solving is how to focus students on a discipline that has not yet matured and will be best studied in a cross disciplinary approach.

• The combination of core ADES courses with an inclusive set of electives forming the ‘major’ area of study ensures students have a balanced perspective.

Theory in Practice

• The applied aspects of the program come through in four main ways:

1. Use of the Emergency Operations Lab

2. Assignments based on ‘practical’ tasks, including preparing policy related documents

3. Incorporating current practitioners as guest speakers

4. Client-focused final practicum projects