Key details
Duration
Intake
Locations
Entry requirements
View full entry requirementsCredit points required
160Course code
Overview
The Master of Emergency and Disaster Management qualifies you with the skills and knowledge to work as an emergency and disaster management professional in a variety of contexts. This in-depth and unique program draws upon the expertise and practical experience of researchers and practitioners working from Australia's gateway to Indonesia and Southeast Asia which is arguably one of the regions of the world most prone to, and affected by, various types of disasters. This course focuses on informed practice and research, and critically examines issues through a multi-sectoral lens to explore the ways in which different professional and cultural perspectives may shape emergency and disaster management work.
During the course you will:
- Gain the essential knowledge and skills required to lead and manage all phases of the disaster management cycle
- Learn how to confidently apply your academic studies to practical responses
- Learn how to apply your skills, knowledge and experience in a way that's appropriate, collaborative and productive in the Asia Pacific region and beyond
- Have the opportunity to tailor your course by choosing from a broad range of specialised electives and drawing on relevant study opportunities both at CDU and elsewhere
- Acquire the technical, managerial and leadership skills to progress your current career or take a new professional direction.
Credit transfers and advanced standing
Pathways
Pathways for Higher Education to Higher Education
For information about credit transfer available to students with complete or incomplete study at this or other Institutions refer to Pathways for Higher Education to Higher Education
Credit transfer
For further information on credit transfer and how to apply visit ASK CDU
Credit transfers and advanced standing
Credit transfer
For further information on credit transfer and how to apply visit ASK CDU
Fees
Commonwealth supported places
Commonwealth Supported places are available in this course to students who meet one of the following residency requirements:
(a) be an Australian citizen, who will complete some of your course of study while resident in Australia; or
(b) a New Zealand citizen; or an Australian permanent visa holder; or an eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holder; who studies the entire course while living in Australia.
Further information about fees and charges can be found at Fees and Payments.
Non-Commonwealth supported places
Full fee paying places are available in this course.
Information about fees and charges can be found at Fees and Payments.
International tuition fees
The annual tuition fee for full time study is AUD $31,000.00. This equates to $3,875.00 per 10 credit point unit (0.125 EFTSL).
These fees are subject to increases annually, effective at the start of each calendar year.
You can find a list of International fees and payments you can expect to pay as part of your studies in Australia.
CDU offers a number of scholarships to international students to assist with the cost of study.
Why study a postgraduate degree at CDU?
"Study a postgraduate course at Charles Darwin University to upskill at work, fast-track your career, increase your job prospects or explore a new interest. We offer flexible study options so you don't have to put your life on hold while you learn.
- #2 Australian uni for postgraduate employment outcomes (GUG 2023)
- Top 100 university globally for quality education
- Our graduates enjoy higher than average employment rates and starting salaries"
Why study humanitarian, emergency and disaster management at CDU?
There is growing demand for skilled humanitarian and development aid professionals in today's world. Study Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management at CDU to learn how to help those affected by natural and man-made disasters, social injustice, and poverty.
- Gain hands-on experience with intensives and placements
- Learn from academics and industry professionals
- #2 Australian university for postgraduate employment outcomes (GUG 2023)
Why study a postgraduate degree at CDU?
"Study a postgraduate course at Charles Darwin University to upskill at work, fast-track your career, increase your job prospects or explore a new interest. We offer flexible study options so you don't have to put your life on hold while you learn.
- #2 Australian uni for postgraduate employment outcomes (GUG 2023)
- Top 100 university globally for quality education
- Our graduates enjoy higher than average employment rates and starting salaries"
Why study humanitarian, emergency and disaster management at CDU?
There is growing demand for skilled humanitarian and development aid professionals in today's world. Study Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management at CDU to learn how to help those affected by natural and man-made disasters, social injustice, and poverty.
- Gain hands-on experience with intensives and placements
- Learn from academics and industry professionals
- #2 Australian university for postgraduate employment outcomes (GUG 2023)
What will I study?
You will need to complete 160 credit points, made up of:
Course structure
- 40 credit points of Core coursework units (4 units) that provide the theoretical underpinnings for professional practice in the field;
- 60 credit points of Specialist Electives comprising 20 credit points of study in research methodology and 40 credit points of study drawn from a range of disciplines including health, engineering, management, environmental science, social work or Indigenous knowledges. Specialist Electives allow you to focus on areas of interest and developing expertise;
- 40 credit points of Research project units where you will put your learning into practice;
- 20 credit points of General Electives which allows you to complement your qualification with studies from other academic fields or from other tertiary institutions offering study in emergency and disaster management fields.
A candidate must successfully complete units totalling 160 credit points as detailed below. All units are valued at 10 credit points unless indicated.
| Unit type | Credit Points | Specific requirements |
| Core (4 units) | 40cp | Compulsory Core units totalling 40 credit points as per list of units identified below: DEM511 Emergency and Disaster Management in Context |
| Specialist Electives (5-6 units) | 60cp | Specialist Elective units totalling 60 credit points. Students are required to complete 20 credit points of Research Methodology units plus 40 credit points from one or more of the available specialisations identified below. Select 20 credit points from the list below: Research Methodology PLUS Select 40 credit points from one or more of the specialisation groups listed below: Humanitarian Aid and Development Indigenous Knowledges Health Engineering and Information Technology Management Environment Public Policy Social Work |
| Research (1-2 units) | 40cp | Research units totalling 40 credit points as listed below:.
DEM820 Research Project (20 cp, repeatable) |
| General Electives (2 units) | 20cp | Units totalling 20 credit points may be selected from postgraduate units (at 500 level or above) offered by the University. Students may select units from any of the approved specialisations (as above) as electives or by cross institutional enrolment approved by the Course Coordinator. |
160cp | Total Credit Points |
Course Rules (unless otherwise indicated in the above course structure)
- See the Higher Education Course Rules (Award Requirements) in the Units and Courses Policy.
Study plan
Students commencing in Semester 1
The Recommended Study Plan provided below is suitable for a student commencing in semester 1 each year and enrolling in a standard full time load. Students enrolling in a reduced or part time load should use the table as a guide for planning and individual program of study.
| Legend: | CO = Core Unit | SE = Specialist Elective | SER = Specialist Elective Research | R = Research Core |
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 | ||
| Year 1 | |||
| DEM511 Emergency and Disaster Management in Context | CO | DEM512 Interdisciplinary Aspects of Emergency and Disaster Management | CO |
| Specialist Elective (Research Methodology) | SER | DEM513 Leadership in Emergency and Disaster Management | CO |
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | DEM514 Cultural, Social and Psychological Aspects of Emergency and Disaster Management | CO |
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | Specialist Elective (Research Methodology) | SER |
| Year 2 | |||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | Specialist or General Elective | SE/E |
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | Specialist or General Elective | SE/E |
| DEM820 Research Project (20cp) | R | DEM821 Research Project (20cp) | R |
Students commencing in Semester 2
The Recommended Study Plan provided below is suitable for a student commencing in semester 2 each year and enrolling in a standard full time load. Students enrolling in a reduced or part time load should use the table as a guide for planning and individual program of study.
| Legend: | CO = Core Unit | SE = Specialist Elective | SER = Specialist Elective Research | R = Research Core |
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 | ||
| Year 1 | |||
| DEM512 Interdisciplinary Aspects of Emergency and Disaster Management | CO | ||
| DEM513 Leadership in Emergency and Disaster Management | CO | ||
| DEM514 Cultural, Social and Psychological Aspects of Emergency and Disaster Management | CO | ||
| Specialist Elective (Research Methodology) | SER | ||
| Year 2 | |||
| DEM511 Emergency and Disaster Management in Context | CO | DEM820 Research Project (20cp) DEM821 Research Project (20cp) | R |
| Specialist Elective (Research Methodology) | SER | ||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||
| Year 3 | |||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||
Students Commencing in Summer Semester
The Recommended Study Plan provided below is suitable for a student commencing in Summer Semester each year and enrolling in a standard full time load. Students enrolling in a reduced or part time load should use the table as a guide for planning and individual program of study.
| Legend: | CO = Core Unit | SE = Specialist Elective | SER = Specialist Elective Research | R = Research Core |
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Summer Semester | |||
| Year 1 | |||||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||
| DEM511 Emergency and Disaster Management in Context | CO | DEM512 Interdisciplinary Aspects of Emergency and Disaster Management | CO | ||
| Specialist Elective (Research Methodology) | SER | DEM513 Leadership in Emergency and Disaster Management | CO | ||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | DEM514 Cultural, Social and Psychological Aspects of Emergency and Disaster Management | CO | ||
| Specialist or General Elective | SE/E | Specialist Elective (Research Methodology) | SER | ||
| Year 3 | |||||
| DEM820 Research Project (20cp) | R | ||||
| DEM821 Research Project (20cp) | R | ||||
Specialist Elective availabilities per semester:
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
| Research Methodology | |
EMG505 Research Methodologies in Global Learning | EMG505 Research Methodologies in Global Learning IAS501 Research Methods (20cp) IAS522 Indigenous Research Methodologies PHM527 Research Ethics and Impact PHM553 Biostatistics PHM588 Qualitative Research (new title 2021) |
| Humanitarian and Aid Development | |
| DEM300 Community-Based Risk Management Study Period 2 HCS261 Fundamentals of Humanitarian Practice | HAD100 Introduction to Disasters, Humanitarian Aid and Development HAD250 Humanitarian Needs Assessment DEM516 Reflective Case Study: Humanitarian, Emergency and Disaster Management |
| Indigenous Knowledges | |
| IAS531 Indigenous Policy Agendas in Federal and State Politics IAS533 Indigenous Knowledges and Epistemologies IAS534 Partnerships and Engagement in Indigenous Land and Sea Management IAS539 Intercultural Mediation IAS547 Indigenous Knowledges and Wellbeing | IAS530 Neo-colonialism, Advocacy and the Critique of Development IAS532 Indigenous Knowledges, Property Rights and Economic Participation IAS534 Partnerships and Engagement in Indigenous Land and Sea Management IAS548 Healthy Country, Healthy People |
| Health | |
| PHM523 Health Promotion PHM536 Health Systems, Planning and Evaluation PHM554 Public Health Economics and Decision Making PHM567 Public Health PHM592 Global Health | PHM570 Epidemiology and Control of Communicable Diseases |
| Engineering and Information Technology | |
| ENG519 Sustainability ENG573 Communication Systems PRT551 Project Management Risk and Reliability PRT571 Asset Security and Risk Management | ENG519 Sustainability ENG573 Communication Systems |
| Management | |
| ECO505 Economics of Sustainability (replaces ECO504 from 2022) BUS506 Global Megatrends (replaces MAN506 from 2022) BUS504 Sustainable Enterprise (replaces MAN508 from 2022) MAN514 Management for the Executive (replaces MAN509 from 2022) | BUS508 Business Analytics (replaces BUS501 from 2022) ENT501 Sustainable Entrepreneurship (replaces BUS502 from 2022) MAN516 Resilience Management and Leadership (replaces COM501 from 2022) ECO505 Economics of Sustainability (replaces ECO504 from 2022) HRM503 International Human Resource Management (final offering in S2 2022) MAN515 Operations Management (final offering 2021) |
| Environment | |
| ENV501 Tropical Invaders and Biosecurity ENV502 Remote Sensing ENV508 Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Thinking ENV513 Environmental Planning and Policy ENV517 Natural Resources and Indigenous Livelihoods ENV518 Analysis and Synthesising Spatial Data ENV520 Wildlife Management ENV521 Community Engagement for Bio-Security and Natural Resource Management Study Period 2 | ENV506 Environmental Monitoring and Modelling |
| Public Policy | |
| MPP501 Theoretical Approaches to Public Policy in Northern Contexts MPP505 Policy and Ethnography | HGE501 Topics in Human Geography: a Remote Perspective MPP502 Evidence-Based Policy Development in Northern and Indigenous Contexts |
| Social Work | |
| SWK521 Analysing Social Work Foundations (compulsory intensive) SWK523 Social Work Theory for Advanced Professional Practice (compulsory intensive) SWK524 Communities, Social Change and Development SWK525 Loss, Grief and Mental Health SWK526 Leadership in Social Policy SWK527 Critical Partnerships for Practice: Individuals, Groups and Families | SWK522 Co-creating Social Justice in Practice (compulsory intensive)
|
Entry requirements
Admission criteria
Successful completion of a recognised bachelor degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, masters degree or equivalent international qualification. Applicants who don't meet the entry requirements, are advised to consider applying for the Graduate Certificate of Emergency and Disaster Management or contact the course coordinator in the College of Indigenous Futures, Education and the Arts by email to cifea_qateam@cdu.edu.au for further advice.
Essential requirements
English language requirements
To gain entry into Charles Darwin University, all Higher Education applicants must satisfy the University's English Language Proficiency Requirements for their chosen course of study. International applicants will be required to supply evidence of this at the time of application.
The minimum English language requirement for this course is met by either undertaking previous education in an English-speaking country or undertaking one of the following English language tests and obtaining the minimum requirements listed below.
| CDU English for Academic Purposes 4 (ZEAP40) | Successful completion of EAP004 English for Academic Purposes 4 |
| IELTS Academic Module | A minimum overall score of 6.5 with no band less than 6.0. |
| Cambridge Advanced English (CAE) | A minimum overall score of 176, with no skill below 169. |
| Common European Framework Certificate of English Proficiency | A minimum overall grade of C1, valid for three years from the date of the test to the date of commencement at CDU. |
| Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic module | A minimum overall score of 58 with no score lower than 50. |
| TOEFL Internet-based Test (iBT) | A minimum overall score of 79 with a minimum writing score of 21. |
* All tests are valid for two years from the date of the test to the date of commencement at CDU, unless otherwise specified.
* Where applicable, international applicants must also satisfy the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) English language requirements for student visa applications.
Do you have a question regarding English requirements at CDU? Please email: international@cdu.edu.au.
My dream is to be of service to others, especially to the vulnerable people in the community. I'm studying humanitarian aid to broaden my knowledge so that I will be able to be of service and encourage other people as well to serve humanity.
Lloyd
CDU student
No other university in Australia would provide you with the unique skill set and professional growth that CDU offers.
Hasan
CDU student
My dream is to be of service to others, especially to the vulnerable people in the community. I'm studying humanitarian aid to broaden my knowledge so that I will be able to be of service and encourage other people as well to serve humanity.
Lloyd
CDU student
No other university in Australia would provide you with the unique skill set and professional growth that CDU offers.
Hasan
CDU student
Course details
Accreditation
This course is accredited by the University in accordance with the Higher Education Standards.
Inherent Requirements
There are inherent requirements for this course. Students must read and understand the requirements for this course.
Australian qualification framework
This course is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9.
Additional information
Contact details
For further information about the course, enrolment procedures, closing dates and other administrative issues please contact Student Central on:
You make CDU
Together we are a positive force for change in our communities and the world.
You make CDU
Our students choose to study with us because we share the same vision – to make a positive change. Whatever your motivation is, we can guide you in the right direction.
You make CDU
Together we are a positive force for change in our communities and the world.
You make CDU
Our students choose to study with us because we share the same vision – to make a positive change. Whatever your motivation is, we can guide you in the right direction.
How to apply
There are many ways to apply to CDU. The method you use depends on your course type, where you live and whether you are a new or returning student to CDU.
Remember to apply early for your best chance at securing an offer to study with us.
SATAC
SATAC is the application channel for residents of NT, ACT, SA, WA, QLD, VIC or TAS.
UAC
UAC is the application channel for residents of NSW.
International applications
Applications must be submitted online through our application portal, Studylink. You'll need a valid email address to create your online account. Once you have started your application, you will be able to save it and resume it later. There is no application fee when you apply online.
You may be able to lodge a direct application; however, there may be restrictions on your geographic location. If you cannot submit a direct application via the application portal, please apply through one of our registered agents.
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