This fall, the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) begins offering a new graduate level program in the interdisciplinary field of emergency management. The online program will admit its first cohort in fall 2021 and applications are now being accepted.

The Trauma-Informed Emergency Management (TEM) program is Maine’s first graduate program in the interdisciplinary field of emergency management, and the country’s only emergency management graduate program that is trauma-informed, according to UMA, in a news release. The 16-credit TEM program curriculum is rooted in the Emergency Management Cycle, recognizing the essential roles of preparedness, resilience, mitigation, adaptation, response, and recovery in all emergency management related fields. The program integrates a trauma-informed perspective, recognizing the substantial impact of trauma to individuals and communities, as well as to the emergency responders themselves.

“The past year dealing with the pandemic has brought into focus the need for well-trained professionals in all areas of emergency management,” said Kati Corlew, UMA associate professor of psychology and coordinator of the new program, in a news release. “Providing a trauma-informed perspective is a very critical part of the graduate certificate program, and is an important part of an emergency management response, regardless of the type of emergency or the number of individuals involved.”

The graduate certificate is appropriate for current and future emergency managers, crisis workers, town planners, not-for-profit and community-based organizations, educators, school board members and administration, data managers, counselors, and others in private and public sectors who seek to increase their organization’s or community’s preparedness for emergency.

“The new graduate certificate in Trauma-Informed Emergency Management is an excellent opportunity for those in all areas of crisis management to expand their skills in their current employment or to provide a credential that will lead to career advancement,” said UMA President Rebecca Wyke. “As a completely online program, it is a flexible educational option allowing individuals to maintain family and work obligations.”

This UMA-based program collaboratively draws expert faculty from across other University of Maine System schools to offer a robust curriculum that will increase emergency management capacity and professional expertise.

Registration for UMA’s fall 2021 classes begins on April 12, 2021.  Now is the time to learn more about UMA online degree and graduate certificate opportunities.   

UMA transforms the lives of students of every age and background across the State of Maine and beyond through access to high-quality distance and on-site education, excellence in student support, civic engagement, and professional and liberal arts programs.  UMA has campuses in Augusta and Bangor, and eight UMA Centers located in Brunswick, East Millinocket, Ellsworth, Houlton, Lewiston, Rockland, Rumford, and Saco.

For more information, please visit https://www.uma.edu/.