Individuals working in public safety interested in emergency management positions can take a professional certificate program to become an emergency management specialist. The program is comprised of four core courses and a variety of elective courses to allow students to specialize in a particular area of interest.
The core curriculum includes training in disaster planning, mitigation, recovery and response. The elective course options include terrorism prevention, homeland security for business and industry, crisis communication and the media, and enhanced exercise design.
Some of the credits earned through the emergency management specialist certificate can be applied toward other specialist programs offered by the training institute and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), for broader career opportunities. Courses can also be evaluated for academic credit at California State University.