Master of Science in Disaster and Health Crisis Management
Course Overview
The Master of Science in Health Crisis Management is a two-year MSc entirely in English. It is a blended program, offering a combination of online and on-campus activities. It aims at equipping its students with essential skills for understanding national and international crisis scenarios and implementing a systemic approach to emergencies, disasters, and health crises.
Upon completion of the course, students will possess knowledge and have developed specific skills to assume the role of a new professional figure, that of the Health Crisis Manager, with advanced competencies for disaster management and its health-related consequences. This professional figure may hold prominent positions in public or private organizations involved in crisis situations, either in response or prevention, aimed at limiting damage to human health.
The curriculum proposed is highly interdisciplinary. It includes training activities in the fields of psychology, sociology, and politics in emergency, disaster, and humanitarian crisis contexts, as well as in international humanitarian law and disaster management. It covers also historical and geographical aspects related to disasters and humanitarian crises, and provides economic knowledge in the field of integrated emergency management, including resilience, capacity building, and business continuity. Finally, it includes integrative training activities focused on medical disciplines, aiming to deepen understanding of the implications of disasters on human health and healthcare systems.
The training path includes seminars, distance and in-person group work, virtual reality simulations, tabletop exercises, and full-scale exercises based on real events, with the aim of applying the knowledge acquired during the course of study and providing both technical and non-technical skills considered essential for fieldwork.
Course
Structure
Structure
What the course has in store
Admission
Requirements
Requirements
What you need before you enroll
Application
Procedure
Procedure
Administrative information
Profile and careers
Profile
The Master of Science in Disaster and Health Crisis Management aims to introduce a new professional figure, the Health Crisis Manager, equipped with advanced skills to manage disasters and their implications on human health. This figure will be able to take on roles related to the study, understanding, and management of emergency situations, disasters, and health crises at national and international levels, adopting a systemic approach.
The envisaged competencies include:
Management of disasters and humanitarian interventions with a focus on prevention, development, and resilience, emphasizing economic and social aspects, support for the most vulnerable, and improvement of settlement and environmental conditions.
Use of operational tools for analysis and monitoring, and relevant technologies for emergency interventions, along with the soft skills necessary for fieldwork.
Systematic understanding of emergencies, disasters, and health crises, considering sociological concepts such as vulnerability, and knowledge of epidemiology, surge capacity, and business and crisis continuity.
Career opportunities
Graduates from this Master’s Degree will have the opportunity to hold key positions in public or private organizations involved in crisis and emergency management or in their prevention and mitigation. Some possible career prospects include:
Officers in public administrations and international organizations in the field of cooperation and aid to developing countries;
Consultants for assemblies and political institutions, public or private associations;
Design and implementation of activities for NGOs and other non-profit organizations, such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent;
Experts in Civil Protection;
Researchers at Universities and Research Centers dealing with issues such as Civil Protection, Disaster Medicine, Climate Change, Cooperation, and Development;
Officials in supranational and international organizations such as the European Union, World Health Organization, IFRC, ICRC, IOM, UNHCR, OCHA, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP;
Consultants, also in private companies, regarding risk management, crisis management, Business Continuity Management.
Post-graduate studies
Numerous opportunities exist for students wishing to continue their studies in the field of disaster management and humanitarian assistance, who may choose to further deepen their training through the Advanced Master Degree in Disaster Medicine or to enter the world of research through the PhD in Global Health, Humanitarian Aid, and Disaster Medicine, both offered by the University of Eastern Piedmont. Alternatively, they may choose to continue their postgraduate studies at Universities and Research Centers they got to know during their studies, thanks to the dense network of international collaborations underpinning the degree program.