Major in Emergency Management Administration
(Major Code: 603)
The Emergency Management Administration (EMA) Program awards a professional management education to firefighters, emergency medical service providers and law-enforcement personnel through Internet classes. The EMA Program’s goal is to prepare students for advanced levels of administration and management within the emergency services professions.
The EMA Degree Program was specially designed by West Texas A&M University in cooperation with the Texas Engineering Extension Service for non-traditional students who can complete the program while remaining employed full time in governmental or industrial emergency management positions. WTAMU’s four-year EMA Program is the only four-year professional emergency management program in the state of Texas combining the curriculums of public administration and business management.
The degree plan requires completion of an associate’s degree at a community college or completion of appropriate technical-education courses at accredited technical-education facilities such as the National Fire Academy. Since the EMA Program requires 36 hours of electives, up to 36 hours of academic credit can be earned through the transfer of technical courses taken at community colleges or technical-education facilities.
To be eligible for the EMA Program, a prospective student must have technical credit from a community college or technical-education facility, must be currently employed in an emergency management profession and must have at least five years experience in an emergency profession by the time of graduation.
The EMA major requires completion of a general education core curriculum of 42 credit hours, many of which may have been completed at a community college. The degree includes 42 credit hours of advanced professional-development courses within a 120-semester-hour degree plan. Many non-traditional students also transfer credit hours from other four-year universities in Texas and around the nation. At least 39 hours of advanced work (3000- or 4000-level courses) must be earned at WTAMU. At least 30 of the final 39 hours to earn the EMA degree must be taken at WTAMU. Because the hours transferred to WTAMU are unique to each student, a student should request a formal degree plan immediately after being admitted to WTAMU.
Contact the EMA academic adviser or the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice for additional information about the EMA major.
