The program is designed for holders of Masters Degrees in DEM and related fields (such as environmental studies/sciences, public policy, health, and many similar disciplines) who wish to pursue advanced studies and research. These new scholars – and the knowledge they produce – will contribute to developing theory and practice that will help those in Canada and around the world reduce the negative impacts of disasters and emergencies. The Doctoral Degree in Disaster and Emergency Management would join an already existing Bachelors of Disaster and Emergency Management (BDEM) and Masters of Disaster and Emergency Management (MDEM) that are offered at York University.
While DEM constitutes a significant and growing field in its own right, the field of Disaster and Emergency Management is also highly interdisciplinary. As such, the PhD program will be collaborative in nature, enabling students to pursue advanced studies and research in a number of relevant and related disciplines.
The PhD in DEM's program learning outcomes are outlined in six areas, including:
1
Breadth and depth of knowledge
2
Research and scholarship
3
Linking theory and application
4
Professional capacity/autonomy
5
Communication skills
6
Awareness of limits of knowledge
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Situate Disaster and Emergency Management (DEM) as both a field of practice and study, understanding the historical evolution, current state, and contemporary challenges in each.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the variety of fast- and slow-onset hazards that exist in Canada and globally, as well as fluency in hazard-specific and all-hazard approaches to emergency management, Understand the concepts of risk, vulnerability, and resilience, and be able to critically interrogate competing narratives about disasters and emergencies.
- Identify current practices in the construction, management, and governance of risk, and be able to identify areas that require improvement and emerging best practices.
- Critically reflect on the ideas of DEM as a profession and DEM as an interdisciplinary pursuit, and be able to practice in both academic and non-academic sectors in an ethical and methodologically rigorous way.
- Be able to articulate the differences between each discipline’s approach to studying DEM, effectively communicate with DEM researchers from each perspective, and appreciate the limits of one’s knowledge about in each of these disciplines (and how to continue learning within each).
- Appreciate differing forms of expertise, including from varying disciplines, professions, and epistemic communities, including Indigenous and traditional knowledge. Understand how these perspectives can be rigorously integrated into research and practice.
Learn More
The Graduate Program in Disaster & Emergency Management at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.