Emergency Management Programs at Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University appears in our ranking of the Top 20 Emergency Management Degree Online Programs.
The School of Human Services and Social Sciences at Jacksonville State University is home to the Department of Emergency Management, which offers three degree programs for students. Students can work with others in the university’s Center for Disaster and Community Resilience and gain experience through special programs that are part of the Emergency Management Coalition for Eastern Alabama. Some of the opportunities available for those students include internships in the field and practicum work.
Jacksonville State University offers a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management that includes 30 credits of courses in this area. Introduction to Emergency Management is the first class that students take because it introduces them to some of the subjects they will study later. This program lets students take 10 emergency management classes but requires that they take four required courses, including Populations at Risk, Research in Disasters and Emergency Management and Disaster Response and Recovery. They must also take an emergency management capstone course. Some of the top minors for these students include Public Safety Telecommunications and Homeland Security.
Students with a bachelor’s in management or business can enroll in the university’s Masters in Emergency Management, which includes 10 courses. Capstone in Emergency Management is a course they take in their final years or semesters. They will do some research and write their own paper or do a project that they present in front of the class. Graduate students will also take classes such as Research Methods in Emergency Management, Emergency Preparedness, Hazard Mitigation and Foundations of Emergency Management. A graduate certificate program in emergency management is available online and includes five of the same classes that degree-seeking students take.
Jacksonville State University is home to one of the only Doctor of Science in Emergency Management programs in the country. Students will take one seminar class each year on the Jacksonville campus and take courses on research and design, practice areas and administration and policy. Those courses include Disaster Management Principles and Practice, Risk-Based Response and Recover Strategy Development and Operations and Emergency Management Program Management. Students will take a Dissertation Research class six times as they complete their dissertations. The university allows them to do their final work on any topic that relates to emergency management.
About Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University is a public university named after the city of Jacksonville, Alabama. Established as Jacksonville State Normal School in 1883, it served as the primary normal school in the area at the time and offered students the chance to enroll in education programs and develop teaching skills. It became the Jacksonville State Teachers College in 1930 when it transitioned to a traditional college and Jacksonville State College in 1957 after changing its curriculum to include other educational opportunities and programs. The school remained a college until adopting the Jacksonville State University in the late 1960s after earning full university accreditation.
Often called JSU, it has a main campus in Jacksonville, which is one of the largest cities in northeastern Alabama. The university also has two smaller campuses called the Little River Canyon Center Campus and the McClellan Center, which is home to the Institute of Emergency Management. JSU offers a handful of online programs and courses that both online and traditional students can take. The university grew rapidly over the early part of the 21st century and now boasts an enrollment of more than 8,500 students.
Jacksonville State University Accreditation Details
JSU has its regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The Commission on Colleges that is part of this association determines if a university should get accreditation and if it can keep it. JSU had no issues with maintaining its accreditation over the years. The nursing, dietetics, music, art, design, teaching and theater programs all have their own accreditation too.
Jacksonville State University Application Requirements
The admissions requirements put in place by JSU vary across different levels. Undergrads applying to the emergency management program. Incoming freshmen should have a high school grade point average of at least 2.0 and a score of at least 1030 on the SAT or 20 on the ACT. They can send their transcripts and scores to the university after completing the online application and paying the application fee.
Graduate students will follow a simple process but will submit more documents to JSU. They can pay the $35 application fee and submit their applications online before supplying the university with their official grades and GRE scores. The university asks for three reference forms that list the names and contact information for a student’s references too. Students applying to the emergency management certificate program must meet these same requirements.
Students applying to the JSU doctoral emergency management program must submit their applications by the end of January. Its committee will review those applications in February and notify students by the middle of March as to its decision. Doctoral candidates must pay a $35 application fee when they submit their applications and write a statement of purpose that outlines all their career goals and what they hope to accomplish in the program. This program also requires that students submit three reference forms, an official GRE score, a resume, and their official transcripts.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition rates at JSU start at $324 per credit hour for Alabama residents and climb to $648 per credit hour for nonresidents. Undergrads pay different rates to take online classes. Those students pay $377 per credit hour, regardless of their residency statuses. Online students also pay $382 per credit hour for graduate classes and $461 per credit hour for doctoral courses. Traditional graduate students also pay $382 per credit hour as a resident, but they pay $764 per credit hour as a nonresident. The university charges doctoral candidates $371 per credit hour as a resident and $742 per credit hour as a nonresident.
Most students attending JSU will use student loans every year. The government offers subsidized loans for undergrads and unsubsidized loans for graduate and doctoral students. Prospective and returning students who complete the FAFSA can qualify for grants and some of the work opportunities available from the university. Jacksonville State University also offers scholarships that students can use to pay for any of its emergency management degree programs.