Studying Emergency Management at Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University appears in our ranking of the 50 Most Affordable Schools for an Emergency Management Degree.
Northwest Missouri State University offers an emergency and disaster management major for undergraduates who want to work for rescue organizations and fire or police departments. It can also prepare students for working with FEMA and other government agencies. Students can also major in one subject and minor in emergency and disaster management. The minor requires that they take 27 credits of courses and allows them to do internships in the summer or the school year for additional credit.
All emergency and disaster management majors must complete two special programs. The first takes place over three days in the Mozingo Outdoor Recreation Area. Students will go through a training session that teaches them how to respond to a variety of emergency situations. They’ll also have the chance to practice those skills during mock situations. The second program takes place over four days in Florida. The university has a center there designed to look like a disaster area. Students spend each of the four days practicing the same things they would do during a humanitarian relief effort. The university also offers training for students who want to become volunteers with the campus’s community emergency response team.
Emergency and disaster management majors can begin taking courses in this major in the first semester of their freshman years. They will first take Planning, Mitigation and Preparedness, which is a course that looks at how professionals plan and prepare for disasters. Introduction to Disaster Response and Recovery is another required course that introduces students to some of the subjects in this field. Some of the other classes that they take include Principles of Humanitarian Relief, Homeland Security and Defense, Crisis Communication and Natural Disasters. Northwest Missouri State University allows students to do internships and study abroad programs too.
About Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a former teaching college in Maryville, Missouri. Established in 1905, it became the main teaching school for the surrounding district. At the time, there were five of these districts in the state. As the Fifth District Normal School, it offered teaching opportunities for students in the teaching lab on its campus. It would later become the Northwest Missouri State Teachers College and then the Northwest Missouri State College, which is the name it held until it officially became Northwest Missouri State University. The university, which also uses the names Northwest, NMSU and Northwest Missouri, is home to the Missouri State Arboretum and an Administration Building that is on the National Register of Historic Places due to its architectural significance.
Northwest Missouri State University Accreditation Details
The accreditation held by NMSU covers all the degree and certificate programs that it offers and the university as a whole. It has main or regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Students who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) prior to the university’s deadline can get financial aid because of HLC accreditation. They can also use that accreditation if they want to transfer credits into the emergency management program. The music, nutrition/dietetics and education programs offered by this Missouri university also have accreditation.
Northwest Missouri State University Application Requirements
Some of the factors that Northwest uses when making admissions decisions include a student’s standardized test score and his or her high school curriculum. The university accepts those who scored 980 on the new SAT or 1060 on the old version of the test as long as they also have a high school GPA of 2.0 or higher. Students can have the same GPA and score at least 21 on the ACT. NMSU awards students a score based on where they graduated in their high school classes, their test scores and their grades. It also has an online calculator that they can use to see their index score based on these factors. They must have a score of at least 100 on that index to receive an acceptance letter.
The university also asks that students take at least four units of English classes and other courses that are part of the college prep curriculum. This includes one year of Algebra and two additional years of math classes, three years of science and social science classes and at least one year of fine arts courses. Once a student submits a transcript, test score and application, the university will review that information and make a final decision. Northwest will occasionally accept students who do not meet all of its requirements if its admissions board believes they will do well in the university.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Missouri residents qualify for the Northwest in-state tuition rate of around $327 per credit hour. This includes the tuition itself and more than $30 in fees. Students who do not live in Missouri pay $549 per credit hour, even if they move to the university for school. Northwest charges an extra $10 per credit hour for any blended courses that students take and an additional $40 per credit hour for all online classes that students take. Emergency and disaster management majors must pay the same tuition rate for the special programs that they do away from the campus too because those programs award them credits. A basic room in one of the university’s traditional residence halls will add $2,636 or more to a student’s cost each semester. Students must also purchase a meal plan that starts at $1,730 per semester.
Northwest Missouri bases its financial aid decisions on the information provided on the FAFSA and a student’s application. Students with a minimum GPA of 2.75 and an ACT score of at least 19 will qualify for a merit scholarship of $1,000. The distinguished scholar award is worth $4,000 and goes to those with a GPA of at least 3.75 and a minimum ACT score of 27. Similar awards go to students who are not from Missouri. These scholarships automatically go to students based on the information they share on their applications, but the university also has other scholarships that students can view and apply for online. They can also get grants and loans when they file for aid with the FAFSA. Northwest Missouri State University encourages any student applying to the emergency and disaster management program to apply for financial aid at the same time.