MSc Crisis and Disaster Management

This course offers an exciting opportunity to learn about environmental and manmade hazards, vulnerability and risk, planning and logistics, disaster response and crisis management. You’ll develop your skills as a confident, professional emergency planner and responder, able to manage people and situations in the field.

Uniquely to Portsmouth, students participate in SIMEX – the UK’s largest annual international disaster response simulation exercise – for responders and agencies to practise and learn from the disaster response.

You'll graduate with the skills you need for a successful career in emergency planning and disaster management and response, either in the governmental or non-governmental sectors, anywhere in the world. You'll also get transferable skills in project planning, data analysis and communication, putting you in a strong position to pursue a career in other industries.

Course highlights

• Learn new skills, including disaster management techniques, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing for mapping, social surveying methods, approaches to risk analysis, and the design of emergency management training exercises.
• Be supported by expert staff and practitioners who are active in the field, with extensive industrial and consultancy experience working for government agencies, businesses and NGOs.
• Have the opportunity to complete a work placement with an emergency planning, crisis management or disaster response organisation and complete a final project based on your experience.
• Take part in field training with the UK and international emergency services, the military and NGOs, building your skills in emergency management, disaster response and safety issues within hazardous environments.
• Gain transferable skills such as project planning, data analysis, report writing, teamwork, presentation and communication.
• Hear from experts with organisations such as the Red Cross, NHS, local authorities, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, the armed forces, Oil Spill Response, NGOs, humanitarian and United Nations agencies.
• Careers our graduates have progressed into including emergency management and response for 'blue light' services (police, ambulance, coast guard, fire and rescue), city and county council contingency planning, the oil industry, and risk management and continuity specialists in the business.

We’re proud to be a breath of fresh air in the academic world – a place where everyone gets the support they need to achieve their best. We’re always discovering. We don’t fit the mould, we break it. Just as the world keeps moving, so do we.

We’re closely involved with our local community, and we take our ideas into the global marketplace. We partner with businesses, industry, and government to set the course for a better future. And we educate and transform the lives of our students to help them achieve their potential. We stand out, not just in the UK but in the world. We excel in research areas from cosmology and astrophysics to cybersecurity, forensics, and sport science. Since the first day we opened our doors, we've looked towards the future. And we're here to help you shape it.