Course overview

The MSc Crisis and Disaster Management is an innovative course, developed by internationally-recognised experts with cross-disciplinary expertise in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the Department for Strategy and Business Systems at the University of Portsmouth. The course is a mixture of taught units and a research project covering:

• hazard, vulnerability and risk assessments
• emergency planning
• disaster risk reduction
• logistics and financial planning
• business continuity
• disaster resilience

You will gain:

• a robust understanding of hazards, vulnerability and risk of disaster
• experience of using disaster risk reduction techniques
• awareness of ways of improving resilience within organisations or communities
• an understanding of emergency planning and business continuity planning
• awareness of crisis and disaster response, including media management
• knowledge of the financial planning and logistics for emergency management
• experience of qualitative and quantitative survey techniques
• mapping skills using GIS, GPS and remote sensing technologies
• work placement opportunities with emergency planning, crisis management or disaster response organisations

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)

SEES is one of the leading providers of applied geosciences graduates in the UK, with strong research and industry links in the UK and overseas. Teaching in SEES is underpinned by active research and consultancy, with many staff members collaborating with industrial and academic partners in the UK and overseas. SEES has been highly rated in the latest UK survey of research quality (RAE 2008): the majority of research was deemed to be of international standard, with nearly half judged as internationally excellent or world-leading.

Department of Strategy and Business Systems (SBS)

SBS is renowned for its friendly and supportive atmosphere, which encourages you to develop your abilities and realise your full potential. All of our teaching staff are experts in their subject areas, with many being actively engaged in research that informs teaching and provides an up-to-date education in an active learning environment. Links with employers and professional bodies ensure courses are relevant to the needs of industry and provide the skills they require from our graduates.

Postgraduate open days

The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences hold regular postgraduate open days throughout the year. These provide an informal opportunity to see the range of University and department facilities, plus give you a chance to discuss the course with members of academic staff. For further information or to book a place on an upcoming open day, please visit our webpage. If you are unable to attend an organised open day, but would still like to visit the department, please contact us to arrange an individual visit.

Course content

The course units are delivered in a series of three-day teaching blocks, taught between October and June, with assessment by coursework assignments. The full-time mode of study takes 12 months, with the part-time mode taking 24 months. A summary of the units is given below:

Disasters: hazard, vulnerability and risk (30 credits): this unit examines the following aspects of disasters:

• geological, meteorological, biological and technological hazards
• assessments of vulnerable/exposed features and risk of disaster
• rapid-onset and slow-onset (chronic) disasters
• impacts of climate change, disaster risk reduction and ways of improving resilience, particularly at community level

Logistics and Financial Planning for Disasters (30 credits): this unit explores:

• the logistics of emergency planning and disaster management (preparedness, response, recovery, as well as the economics of disaster (local, national and international)
• financial management of risk
• catastrophe modelling
• insurance and reinsurance

A wide range of case studies are used, notably from the UK, USA, Turkey and Caribbean states.

Disaster Management Techniques and Study Visits (30 credits): this unit examines techniques for disaster risk assessment, emergency planning and disaster crisis response. Training is given in technologies such as remote sensing, GPS and GIS. Study visits are made to organisations involved in disaster management, from oil spills through to humanitarian aid or major search and rescue deployments.

Crisis Management and Governance (30 credits): this unit focuses on organisational resilience and crisis planning, alongside procedures for crisis preparation and training, as well as risk identification frameworks. It also examines the value of effective corporate governance, internal controls and accountability. Subjects include the influence on risk planning of stakeholder analysis and management effectiveness.

Research Project (60 credits): this double-unit provides training in research techniques and critical analysis skills, including quantitative and qualitative approaches. The Research Project enables you to demonstrate to potential employers your skills in project planning and management, data collection and analysis, cumulating in the preparation of a 12,000 word illustrated report.

Teaching and assessment

You will be part of a large postgraduate community, including MSc and PhD students, in a vibrant and friendly department. The course units are delivered as a series of three-day teaching blocks, at three to four-week intervals from October to June, with all assessment by coursework assignments. Formal classes, such as lectures and seminars, enable you to gain the relevant knowledge, which is developed further through activity-based practicals and study visits. The in-class teaching is supplemented by extensive use of web-based and library learning resources.

You will be taught by experts, who have extensive industrial and consultancy experience and strong research portfolios. Course tutors are available to support your studies through face-to-face tutorials, email, telephone and e-conferencing. The Research Project dissertation (often linked to summer work placement activities) is submitted at the end of the academic year, with graduation of successful students taking place in July thereafter.

A personal tutor is assigned to each student and you will also have access to a specialist Academic Skills Unit (ASK) offering assistance on a wide range of issues, from essay writing to time management and referencing conventions. In addition, if English is not your first language, there are free courses available to help familiarise you with the use of English for academic purposes.

Study visits, work placements and studying abroad

Study visits are an important component of all our Master’s degrees as they reinforce learning from lectures and practicals, and provide you with important observational skills for your independent research project.  The study visits include training in recording fieldwork data, interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images, geomorphological surveys, mapping of hazard zones (for flooding, landslides and coastal erosion), vulnerability mapping and disaster risk assessment.

Many of our students undertake voluntary work placements  within emergency planning or disaster management organisations in the UK or overseas. In most cases these placements form the basis of the Research Project. Work experience is clearly of great value when applying for jobs and we strongly encourage you to take these voluntary placements.

There are plenty of opportunities for you to undertake your Research Project abroad; previous destinations include Brunei Darussalam, Costa Rica, Tenerife, Turkey, Dominica and the British Virgin Islands.

Career prospects

The University of Portsmouth has a long tradition of teaching applied geosciences and companies will often contact us directly when looking for graduates. We provide support in finding employment through close industrial contacts, career events, recruitment fairs and individual advice.

The vocational nature of the course is also designed to provide you with transferable skills such as project planning, literature and data reviews, field mapping, report writing, meeting deadlines, team working, presentation and communication. It also has strong research and analytical components, providing training for those who are interested in pursuing further research at PhD level.

Vocational employment is largely within the following sectors: organisations involved with emergency planning, risk management, insurance and re-insurance, civil defence and disaster relief.

Our Purple Door Careers and Recruitment teams will support you in developing the skills needed to pursue employment opportunities in your chosen career area.

Facilities and features

You will have access to a designated postgraduate workroom, which is fitted with a suite of computers, scanner, free colour and black and white laser printing, as well as photocopying facilities. In addition, you will have access to field equipment, including GPS mapping and slope survey kit, as well as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and image processing software (ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine, ER Mapper, ENVI). All of these facilities are fully supported by dedicated technical support staff and are freely available to all postgraduate students.

You will also have access to the University Library, which is open from 8am until midnight every day during term-time. It offers access to thousands of books, journals and other resources to help with study and research, and has a large IT area and group study rooms. No matter where you are, you will have easy access to the University's comprehensive online resources – as if you were on campus. Our online resources include thousands of ebooks (electronic versions of key textbooks) and academic and business journals.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for MSc Crisis and Disaster Management are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 5550
Email: sci-pgrad@port.ac.uk