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Emergency planner education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an emergency planner. Emergency planners usually study homeland security, business, or criminal justice. 64% of emergency planners hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 320 real emergency planner resumes to see exactly what emergency planner education sections show.
The most common colleges for emergency planners are the American University and the American University.
There are also many online emergency planner courses to help get the education required to be an emergency planner.
There are certain emergency planner certifications that you should consider. These emergency planner certifications include Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and Certified Homeland Security Manager (CHSM).
What education do you need to become an emergency planner?
What degree do you need to be an emergency planner?
- Bachelor's, 64%
- Master's, 20%
- Associate, 12%
- High School Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become an emergency planner?
- Homeland Security, 18%
- Business, 17%
- Criminal Justice, 12%
- Other Majors, 45%
Most common colleges for emergency planners
| Emergency planner common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| American University | 9.38% |
| University of North Texas | 9.38% |
| University of Maryland - College Park | 7.81% |
| Jacksonville State University | 6.25% |
| Auburn University Main Campus | 6.25% |
Best majors for emergency planners
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homeland Security | 18.0% |
| 2 | Business | 17.4% |
| 3 | Criminal Justice | 11.6% |
| 4 | Political Science | 7.6% |
| 5 | Management | 5.2% |
Best colleges for emergency planners
The best colleges for emergency planners are Northeastern University, Northwestern University, and Boston University.
An emergency planner with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for emergency planners. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become emergency planners.
1. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
2. SUNY at Albany
Albany, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$10,011
Enrollment
13,434
3. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,230
Enrollment
12,161
4. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
5. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
6. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
7. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
8. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
10. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Enrollment
31,321
20 best online courses for emergency planners
Advertising disclosure
1. Health in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
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3. Personal Emergency Planning (Coronavirus - COVID-19 Edition)
Learn how to prepare for and respond to all the different kinds of emergencies that could befall you including COVID-19...
4. Emergency Life Support First Aid Training
Learn important life saving first aid. Treatment of major illness and injuries...
5. Fintech Startups in Emerging Markets
The University of Cape Town’s specialization will give aspiring entrepreneurs the tools to understand the technological innovations and challenges the financial services industry faces in the emerging market context. The specialization covers foundations of the changing financial regulations, new technological applications like blockchain or artificial intelligence and design thinking for startups in emerging markets. Through real-world case studies, you will see how this technology can unlock...
6. Emergence of Life
How did life emerge on Earth? How have life and Earth co-evolved through geological time? Is life elsewhere in the universe? Take a look through the 4-billion-year history of life on Earth through the lens of the modern Tree of Life! This course will evaluate the entire history of life on Earth within the context of our cutting-edge understanding of the Tree of Life. This includes the pioneering work of Professor Carl Woese on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus which...
7. ISO 45001. Occupational health & safety management system
Upgrate your health and safety career by understanding the requriements for an OH & S management system from ISO 45001...
8. NEBOSH health and safety Management System
It Shows the Start point to Build your Health & safety Career and how to Join the field and becoming HSE Specialist...
9. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
10. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...
11. Complete Health and Safety Auditor Course. OHSAS 18001.
How to implement and audit a health & safety management system and obtain certification to OHSAS 18001 Standard...
12. The Physics of Emergence: Introduction to Condensed Matter
We know the fundamental equations governing the motion of every atom in our brain and every electron in our computers - the motion of each and every atomic and subatomic particle on planet Earth can, in principle, be calculated from well understood physical laws. And yet, the natural world (and the behavior of humans and computers alike) continues to surprise us. This is because when large numbers of objects interact together, they can exhibit qualitatively new emergent phenomena, which are not...
13. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...
14. Public Health in Humanitarian Crises 2
This course, Public Health in Humanitarian Crises 2, addresses public health issues of people affected by disasters, both natural or conflict-related. It discusses the many changes that occur in people’s lives when they are uprooted by a disaster, including many important topics related to humanitarian crises, such as when there is an epidemic a public health emergency; what do we mean with the humanitarian development nexus; what are the basics of disaster epidemiology and surveillance;...
15. Exploring Emerging Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Success
This learning opportunity is an open-access resource for lifelong learning. The aim is to identify the value and implications of using established and emerging technology tools for personal and professional growth and acquire strategies to develop lifelong learning habits to keep pace with technology change. This course is targeted to the needs of ALL learners, including college students, faculty, current and career-seeking professionals, and anyone from across the globe with a desire to learn...
16. Financial Regulation in Emerging Markets and the Rise of Fintech Companies
This course explores the developments that have fueled the emergence of fintech companies around the world. Following the changing regulatory environment, especially since the 1997 Asian and 2008 global financial crisis, governments have enacted far-reaching new financial regulations for safeguarding financial stability. However, banks and financial institutions have found it increasingly difficult to be profitable in these new regulatory environments. Technology is taking leaps forward in...
17. Leadership for Public Health Crises
Leadership for Public Health Crises will enable current and prospective managers, directors, unit heads, and elected officials to effectively lead their organizational response to profound health-related emergencies and to build leadership capacity across multiple sectors, agencies, organizations, and divisions. This series of courses prepares graduate students (in, e.g., public administration, public health, social work, business, homeland security, education, and related fields) and...
18. Systems Thinking In Public Health
This course provides an introduction to systems thinking and systems models in public health. Problems in public health and health policy tend to be complex with many actors, institutions and risk factors involved. If an outcome depends on many interacting and adaptive parts and actors the outcome cannot be analyzed or predicted with traditional statistical methods. Systems thinking is a core skill in public health and helps health policymakers build programs and policies that are aware of and...
19. Introduction to Digital health
This course introduces the field of digital health and the key concepts and definitions in this emerging field. The key topics include Learning Health Systems and Electronic Health Records and various types of digital health technologies to include mobile applications, wearable technologies, health information systems, telehealth, telemedicine, machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data. These technologies are assessed in terms of the key opportunities and challenges to their use...
20. The Influence of Social Context on Health
Why are some groups healthier than others, and how do these differences emerge and persist over the life course? How do social policies (e.g., housing, transportation, employment) relate to health and health inequalities? Why are there health disparities even in countries that have free universal health care? This course will address conceptual models for understanding health disparities in the US and internationally, how population science identifies the main sources of these disparities, and...
Top 10 most affordable universities for emergency planners
The most affordable schools for emergency planners are California State University - Bakersfield, suny farmingdale, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for emergency planners are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for emergency planners.
1. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
4. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
5. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
6. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
7. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
8. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
9. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for emergency planners
The hardest universities for emergency planners to get into are Northeastern University, Northwestern University, and Boston University.
Some great schools for emergency planners are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for emergency planners based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
4. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
5. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
6. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
Admissions rate
40%
SAT average
1,376
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
8. American University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
32%
SAT average
1,320
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
10. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for emergency planners
The easiest schools for emergency planners to get into are Wayland Baptist University, barry university, and notre dame college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an emergency planner without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for emergency planners.
1. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
4. University of North Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
992
5. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
6. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
7. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
8. The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,046
9. University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,020
10. The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,035
Average emergency planner salary by education level
| Emergency planner education level | Emergency planner salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $83,614 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $50,222 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $70,682 |
| Doctorate Degree | $92,057 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $54,248 |
Emergency planner education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025