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Graduate Program

Florida International University in Miami, Florida, offers a 30-credit Master's in Disaster Management through the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work.

The graduate degree program has been developed in response to the growing recognition and need for graduate-level education in disaster management. Drawing on faculty from across FIU's nationally recognized colleges and programs as well as disaster practitioners with international and national preparedness and response disaster experience, the program's curriculum is interdisciplinary in nature and scope and designed to develop and improve the skills of disaster practitioners and those interested in entering the exciting field of disaster management.

Contact Us

For more information, contact Dulce Suarez, Graduate Director, at (305)-348-0451 or dboza@fiu.edu. 

More Information
  • Curriculum

    The graduate degree program has been designed to be completed within a year and will cover national and international disaster management. Offered on the Modesto Maidique Campus (Saturdays only), as well as fully online format, students will be required to complete two courses every eight weeks until all coursework is completed. The graduate degree program consists of the following ten courses:

    • Comparative Disaster Management Systems
    • Disaster Preparedness and Planning Methodologies
    • Disaster Response and Recovery
    • Introduction to Vulnerability Analysis and Hazard Mitigation
    • Crisis Communications
    • Special Topics in Disaster Studies
    • Foundations in Humanitarian Assistance and Coordination
    • Disaster Health Readiness
    • Environmental Disasters and Human Health
    • Disaster Field Operations

    For a description of the courses, please visit the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work Catalog Course Descriptions.

  • Disaster Field Course

    The graduate degree program culminates with a disaster field course whereby students will engage in a field simulated exercise focusing on the practical issues that arise in a disaster (rapid damage and public health assessment, shelter and site planning, field cluster sampling, water, sanitation and hygiene, personal security, food aid, and operational approaches to relations with the military).

  • Tuition
    As the second most affordable value-added graduate degree program offered through the University, tuition includes the cost of the disaster field simulation exercise. In addition, the in-person martket rate program ($24,990) includes university fees, books, parking and meals, which will be served prior to each class on Saturday's. The full online tuition ($19,990) does not include parking nor books. However, it does include the cost of the disaster field course simulation including uniforms, meals, and shelter for the period of the exercise.

Our Rankings

  • No. 2 Best Online Master’s Program (Online Master’s Degrees, 2023)
  • No. 4Best Graduate Degree Program (Best Accredited Colleges, 2021)
  • No. 7Best Crisis/Emergency Disaster Management Master’s Degree Schools (CollegeFactual.com, 2024)
  • No. 23 Best Master’s in Emergency Management Degree Programs (2023, Intelligent.com)

Master of Arts in Disaster Management 2019-2020 Cohort Profile


  • 79%White
  • 18%African American
  • 61%Hispanic
  • 62%Male
  • 38%Female
  • 35 Average Age
  • 3.34 Average GPA
  • 4%Non-governmental Organization Employed
  • 7%Emergency Management Employed
  • 14%Fire Service Employed
  • 18%Law Enforcement Employed
  • 17%Other Employed
  • 86%have a bachelor's degree
  • 7%have a master's degree
  • 94%Currently Employed
  • 47%FIU Alumni
  • $76kAverage Annual Salary
  • 15%Veterans

 The infographic profile below provides some information about our current cohort of students.