Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Catalog description

In this course, students will come to understand the history of homeland security as it evolved from the traditional fields of civil defense and emergency management studies. Students will further come to appreciate the problems and prospects of establishing proactive homeland security and emergency management capabilities in a modern threat environment calling for a higher level of preparedness and significantly more awareness. Knowledge will be obtained about how to provide security against various hazards, natural or manmade (e.g., hurricanes, floods, bombings, chemical, biological, or cyber attacks), how to protect critical infrastructures (e.g., transportation, agriculture), and how to plan for effective response and recovery efforts (e.g., first responder, law enforcement, humanitarian relief efforts). The principles and practices of emergency planning and management (e.g., risk analysis, emergency preparedness, incident command) are also discussed in this and other courses throughout the curriculum. Instruction also focuses on new and emerging principles of operating in the interagency, multi-jurisdictional cooperation involving the private sector, law enforcement, academia, nonprofits, and private citizens.