A bachelor's degree in emergency management is offered at 80 schools across
34 states, and 87 of those programs report enough for us to rank
them. In-state tuition runs from $1,000 at Elizabeth City State to
$46,784 at Adelphi University, with the midpoint at $10,440.
Graduation rates average 46%, and that is the number worth watching: it varies far
more between these schools than tuition does, and it decides whether you finish.
58 of the 87 ranked programs can be completed online. That is unusually
high for a bachelor's degree, and it reflects who actually enrols. A large share of students
in this field already work in fire, police, the military, public health or county government
and are studying to move up rather than to break in.
The Top 15 Bachelor's In Emergency Management Programs
Scored on five weighted factors, described in full on
the methodology page. Every program listed
reports both a graduation rate and tuition, which is what it takes to be ranked here.
Top 15 bachelor's degree in emergency management programs by score
#
School
State
In-state tuition
Graduation rate
Online
Score
1
University of Central Florida
FL
$4,478
78%
Yes
84.4
2
Florida International University
FL
$4,721
74%
Yes
80.6
3
American Public University System
WV
$8,400
57%
Yes
77.5
4
American Public University System
WV
$8,400
57%
Yes
74
5
Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies
MO
$7,800
43%
Yes
72.2
6
Idaho State University
ID
$6,104
39%
Yes
71.6
7
Pennsylvania College of Technology
PA
$15,450
53%
Yes
71.4
8
University of Central Missouri
MO
$8,550
54%
Yes
70.2
9
University of Alaska Fairbanks
AK
$8,072
38%
Yes
69.9
10
University at Albany
NY
$7,070
61%
Yes
69.7
11
Voorhees University
SC
$11,630
43%
Yes
69.7
12
Columbia Southern University
AL
$5,944
33%
Yes
69.2
13
Pierce College District
WA
$4,775
31%
Yes
69.2
14
University of Akron Main Campus
OH
$10,735
52%
Yes
68.9
15
Arapahoe Community College
CO
$4,058
29%
Yes
68.8
What Each Bachelor's Degree In Emergency Management Covers
These are the 14 highest-scoring programs on the list, written up so the difference
between them is visible before you request information from any of them. Where a program sits
in a state ranked separately below, the longer write-up is on that state's page.
Everything below comes from the school's own program page, linked at the end of each profile.
Where a school quotes a salary, a growth projection or someone else's ranking, that is left
where it was found. The pay figures on this site come from one source, named at the bottom of
the page.
UCF's page describes this as the first undergraduate emergency management degree in Florida, and it is the only one of the nine that requires you to pair the major with a minor.
FIU builds FEMA ICS 300 and 400 and the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program certifications into the coursework, so you can leave with credentials as well as the degree.
FEMA ICS 300, ICS 400 and HSEEP certifications available
Up to 30 elective credits for documented work experience
Florida AA transfers need 60 additional credits
Objectives aligned to FEMA Higher Education Core Competencies
This is one of the few emergency management degrees anywhere carrying a programmatic accreditation, and its accreditor is the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress rather than any body specific to this field.
IFSAC-accredited program
Laboratory disaster simulations across the curriculum
This is the sibling of the emergency management degree above at the same institution, trading the all-hazards disaster cycle for terrorism, intelligence and national security.
Terrorism, intelligence and national security focus
Chemical, nuclear and biological threats taught explicitly
High school diploma or GED, no entrance exam
Sibling degree to the school's emergency management BA
Drury splits the degree into three tracks, so a paramedic, a firefighter and a county emergency manager take the same core and separate for the final two courses.
Three tracks: emergency management, fire service, EMS
36 credit hours in the major
Academy training and certifications evaluated for credit
Idaho State charges every online student the in-state rate no matter where they live, and builds the degree to FEMA Higher Education curriculum guidelines.
Penn College charges every student in-state tuition regardless of where they live, which makes its published price the same wherever you are applying from.
In-state tuition for all students regardless of residency
Online degree follows the same curriculum as on campus
Open and rolling admission
Minors and immersions available alongside the degree
Central Missouri requires three experiential courses including a 150-hour practicum, and runs a residency where students live at the Warrensburg Fire Department and go out on calls.
150-hour practicum plus two more experiential courses
Live-in residency at the Warrensburg Fire Department
EMT certification earned during the degree
Five focus areas from business continuity to public health
UAF pairs the emergency management content with a business administration curriculum, and the same department carries a ladder running from a 12-credit endorsement up to a master's.
Business administration curriculum paired with the major
Taught in the College of Business and Security Management
12-credit homeland security endorsement as an entry point
Graduate certificates including Arctic and climate security
UAlbany requires 100 hours of approved training on top of the coursework, split across foundation, professional development, community engagement and your concentration.
100 hours of required approved training
Emergency Management or Homeland Security concentration
Voorhees runs the longest degree of the four at 125 credit hours, and pairs emergency management with hazardous material management rather than with homeland security or intelligence.
125 credit hours, above the usual 120
36 credit hours of core courses in the major
Hazardous material management named alongside emergency management
Housed with the sciences rather than public administration
This is the emergency management degree with the homeland security concentration attached, which is why Columbia Southern appears twice on this page and why the two entries are closer than they look.
Emergency management core with a homeland security concentration
$278 per credit hour, $250 for active-duty military
Akron is one of very few universities anywhere where this subject has a school of its own rather than a department that hosts it, and it requires both a capstone and a senior internship to graduate.
Taught by a school built for this subject, not a department hosting it
Required senior internship and a separate capstone
Disaster research methods and disaster vulnerability as required courses
What A Bachelor's In Emergency Management Costs Nationally
Across the 87 ranked programs, in-state tuition sits at $6,758 at the
lower quartile, $10,440 at the midpoint and $23,040 at the upper
quartile. 42 of them charge under $10,000 a year and 18 charge more
than $25,000. That is close to a fourfold gap between the cheap end and the dear end for
a degree pointing at the same occupation.
The spread is not a quality signal. Price in this field tracks whether the institution is
public and whether you count as in-state far more than it tracks anything about the teaching,
which is why cost carries weight in the model rather than being reported and ignored.
How the scoring weighs it.
Completion Is The Number Most Worth Reading
The median graduation rate across these programs is 45%. 14 sit below 30%
and 22 sit above 60%, so the spread on completion is far wider than the spread on
anything else scored here, and it is the factor that decides whether the tuition figure above
is a cost or a loss.
Read it with its limits. IPEDS reports completion at institution level for first-time
full-time students, not per program, and this field enrols an unusual share of people already
working shifts in fire, EMS, policing or the military who study part-time and finish on a
longer clock than the measure assumes. A low rate at a school built for working adults is a
question to put to the admissions office, not a verdict on the degree.
Where These Bachelor's In Emergency Management Programs Are
FL has 9, NY has 8, TX has 7, PA has 5. Those are the only states holding at
least five. The rest of the 87 are spread thinly across
30 more states, often one or two per state.
The 13 pages below cover 59 of those programs. Program count is
not the only reason a state earns one: Missouri holds three, and one of the larger job markets
in the country for emergency management directors, on a median that sits well below the national figure.
Where the study decision and the work decision pull against each other like that, the state is
worth its own page.
Emergency management is the field and the degree, not a job title. The occupation the federal
government tracks against it is
emergency management director,
SOC 11-9161, and that is the code behind every wage figure in this section.
Emergency management directors earn a median of $93,330 a year. Half earn less than
that. The bottom 10% make $54,210 and the top 10% clear $166,430, with the
middle half between $67,910 and $126,490. Where you land depends mostly on
sector: federal and large-metro county roles sit at the top of that range, rural county
emergency management at the bottom.
Weigh that against the size of the occupation. BLS counts
13,500 emergency management directors nationally, and
87 ranked bachelor's programs feed into it along with master's programs and
people arriving from fire, police and military careers. The degree is a way in, not a
reservation.
What Accreditation Means For An Emergency Management Degree
Nursing has CCNE and engineering has ABET. Emergency management has CAEMHSE, which accredits
degrees in this field but is not among the specialized accreditors CHEA recognizes and is held
by very few programs, so the accreditation that matters when comparing this list is still
institutional, covering the whole university. Check any school here in the
Department of Education's database.
EMAP accredits government emergency management agencies rather than degrees, and
FEMA's Higher Education Program listing is recognition rather than accreditation. Because none of that can be scored,
the ranking weights outcomes and cost instead.
Common Questions About A Bachelor's In Emergency Management
How long does a bachelor's degree in emergency management take?
Four years full time, the same as any other bachelor's. 58 of the 87 ranked programs can be finished online, which is what makes the degree workable for people already holding a job in public safety or local government.
Is a bachelor's degree in emergency management worth it?
That depends on what you pay for it. In-state tuition across the ranked programs runs from $1,000 to $46,784 a year, with the midpoint at $10,440. Emergency management directors earn a median of $93,330, but the occupation is small: BLS counts 13,500 of them nationally. Paying $46,784 a year for a degree feeding a job market that size is a different proposition from paying $1,000.
What accreditation should an emergency management program have?
Institutional accreditation, which covers the whole university and is verifiable in the Department of Education database. A programmatic accreditor does exist for this field, CAEMHSE, but it is not among the specialized accreditors CHEA recognizes and very few programs hold it, so its absence tells you nothing. EMAP accredits government emergency management agencies rather than degrees, and FEMA’s Higher Education Program keeps a listing that is recognition rather than accreditation. A school implying any of these is the equivalent of CCNE or ABET is a reason to look harder.
What can you do with a bachelor's in emergency management?
Emergency management coordinator, planner and analyst roles in county and state government, hospital and health-system preparedness, business continuity in the private sector, and federal work at FEMA and DHS. The director title that BLS tracks is a mid-career destination rather than a first job.
Do these programs prepare you for the CEM?
They put you on the path. The Certified Emergency Manager from IAEM requires documented work experience, training hours and references on top of a degree, so it is something you earn several years into the job. Some programs build FEMA Independent Study coursework into the curriculum, which shortens the runway.
Which states have the most emergency management programs?
FL with 9, NY with 8, TX with 7, PA with 5 lead. Those four are the only states with at least five programs, which is the threshold for a ranking of its own. The remaining programs are spread across 30 more states.
Sources For These Bachelor's In Emergency Management Rankings
Program counts, tuition, graduation and admission rates: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education.
