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Emergency Management Degrees at ATU

Arkansas Tech University appears in our ranking of the Top 10 Emergency Management Master’s Degrees Online.

At Arkansas Tech University, both undergraduate students and graduate students can study Emergency Management either in the classroom or online. The master’s program is entitled Emergency Management and Homeland Security. The coursework is identical whether the student takes classes on campus or online.

The undergraduate courses comprise the standard 120 credit hours, 45 of which must be in the Emergency Management specialty. Of those 45, six credit hours must be a practicum, and six hours must be an externship. The Bachelor of Science in emergency management also includes a capstone project.

Students pursuing a Master of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security must complete 36 credit hours to earn the degree. There are two tracks: thesis and nonthesis. Nonthesis students only have to complete Research I. Thesis students must complete both Research I and Research II. Nonthesis students must take EMHS 6423, or Professional Practical Experience & Project Development whereas thesis students take EMHS 6123, or Applied Data Science.

All students at both levels study disasters of all sorts, ranging from floods and fires to terrorist attacks. They not only study statistical trends and standard responses but also the psychology of disaster victims and, in the case of terrorists, the criminal mind.

About Arkansas Tech University

The university originated as an advanced, agricultural high school in the first decade of the 20th century. It was designed to enable rural students to study agriculture and agronomy, and it tailored its schedules around the harvest to accommodate them. In the time since then, the university has grown to a sizable institution that educates a student population of nearly 12,000. Despite its size, Arkansas Tech University has a student-to-faculty ratio of 18-to-1, and the student approval rate is 82 percent.

U.S. News and World Report ranks Arkansas Tech University No. 102 in the South Region. The ranking among Top Public Schools is No. 44. Perhaps the university’s biggest claim to fame is that it was the first one in the country to offer a degree in Emergency Management. In 2006, it was likewise the first university to receive full accreditation for that curriculum from the Council for the Accreditation of Emergency Management Education.

Arkansas Tech University Accreditation Details

The university’s regional accreditation comes from The Higher Learning Commission, which makes special notice of the Emergency Management department. Other departments have received their own, individual accreditations, including:

  • Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing
  • Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
  • Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education
  • Computing Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc.
  • Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc.
  • Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Related Professions
  • Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
  • Council for the Accreditation of Emergency Management Education
  • National Association of Schools of Music
  • Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation
  • Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education
  • Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
  • Arkansas State Board of Nursing
  • Arkansas Department of Health Cosmetology Division
  • Arkansas Department of Health Division of EMS
  • National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation

Arkansas Tech University Application Requirements

For undergraduate students, the high-school GPA must be 2.0, and the student must have completed all of the required courses for graduation. Students must achieve at least 19 on the ACT, a 990 on the SAT, or both. In lieu of a high school GPA of 2.0 or better, students may also submit their GED scores, which must be 600 or above.

Graduate students must hold at least a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. International students’ degrees must be from a college or university that has achieved their home countries’ version of regional accreditation. All graduate students must have at least a 3.0 GPA, overall, with no more than six credits worth of Cs or lower. They must also submit statements of purpose and full resumes.

Students who do not meet these criteria may still be conditionally admitted, but only the dean has final say on conditional admissions.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Arkansas Tech University tuition is calculated by credit hour, residence, and level. In-state undergraduate tuition is $226 per credit hour while out-of-state tuition is $452 per credit hour. Student fees come to $76.25 per credit hour. Students who live in states that border Arkansas, namely Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas, are considered “in-state.”

In-state graduate tuition is $284 per credit hour. Out-of-state graduate tuition is $568 per credit hour. The fees are the same. Room and board for students residing on campus ranges from $2,000 to $3,000 and depends on the residence hall selected. Certain courses have additional fees, such as chemistry labs, so students should check the university’s website for further information. International students need to remember that the prices are given in American dollars.

Financial aid is available, based on need, in three separate categories: loans, grants, and scholarships. Students may also qualify for work-study, which is a kind of grant. Graduate students may be awarded teaching assistant positions or research fellowships. Grants and scholarships are given gratis as long as the student qualifies. Loans, as the name implies, must be repaid with interest. There are two kinds of loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. Both accrue interest, but only the unsubsidized loan accrues it while the student is still enrolled in school.

Students may also seek merit-based scholarships and grants privately or seek private loans from a credit union or bank. Most students apply for and receive a variety of aid packages, and many of them wind up paying nothing at all to study at Arkansas Tech University. Students should begin the financial aid process by obtaining and filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The school will use this form to determine the student’s qualifications for the different forms of aid.

Arkansas Tech University is always striving for the future, and its focus is on student results.