Disaster and Emergency Management

Home » Explore our Programs » Disaster and Emergency Management

Bachelor of Disaster and Emergency Management (BDEM)

Work Experience Double Major Minor

Gain the knowledge and abilities necessary for a career in emergency management, where you will aid in the mitigation of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from disasters and emergencies.

Program Information

The Disaster and Emergency Management program provides students with the academic knowledge and technical skills necessary to aid in the prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery from regional and global disasters and emergencies. Students learn to apply key concepts, methodologies and strategies used by emergency management professionals, and apply them to complex real-life challenges.

Degree Information

Campus: Keele
Faculty: Liberal Arts and Professional Studies
Degree: Bachelor of Disaster and Emergency Management (BDEM)
Degree Options: Double Major, Minor, Single Major, Specialized

Duration

3, 4 yrs

Experiential Education

Field Placement

Honours Option

Yes

OUAC Code

YPJ

Degree Overview

Interdisciplinarity
Disaster and Emergency Management is an interdisciplinary field. DEM Faculty at York University have backgrounds in the social sciences, geology, statistics, geography, and computer science, to name a few. Together they have a wide range of research interests - from humanitarian policy to GIS-technology, and terrorism to business continuity

Field Experience
You will have the opportunity to complete a field experience course that will help to foster a greater understanding of the complexities and realities faced by emergency management professionals, while gaining real-world work experience that will be invaluable in your future emergency management career.

Events and Training
You will have the opportunity to attend disaster management events both on and off campus. These include training courses, conferences, field trips and DEM-themed socials. You will find a community when you enroll in the DEM program at York as there is no shortage of things to do.

Enter a Rapidly Expanding Field
Upon graduating from York you will be entering one of the fastest growing industries in the world, armed with knowledge of how emergency management intersects with other disciplines and with strategies on how to help save lives, reduce damage and speed up a community’s recovery.

Through the exploration of topics in our courses such as business continuity planning and disaster risk management, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to apply key concepts, methodologies and technologies used by emergency management professionals to complex real-life challenges.

Sample Courses:
DEMS 1701 Disasters: Case Studies of Causes and Impacts
DEMS 2700 Fundamentals of Emergency Management
DEMS 3701 Disaster Risk Management
DEMS 3703 Business Continuity Planning
DEMS 3704 Emergency Management Communications
DEMS 3708 Social Issues in Disaster Management
DEMS 4440 Environmental Disasters
DEMS 4709 Terrorism: The New Threat

Career Options

Our Disaster and Emergency Management program provides you with an opportunity to experience exciting and rewarding careers both in Canada and overseas. With an increasing demand for disaster and emergency managers, coordinators, consultants and business continuity experts, our program will prepare you for a wide variety of roles in this expanding field.

Careers:

Disaster Recovery Coordinator	Disaster Risk Specialist	Emergency Management Consultant
Emergency Management Coordinator	Emergency Preparedness Coordinator	Emergency Response Officer
Emergency Services Planning Director	Emergency Services System Director	Emergency Systems Specialist
Incident Commander	International Development Worker	Public Safety Professional