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.
The PhD in DEM program is designed to be completed in a period of approximately 4-5 years of full-time study, dependent on student progression and fieldwork requirements for the dissertation. The program begins with a series of core courses that are required to establish disciplinary competency and support doctoral student development. As the degree progresses, mentorship and development increasingly focus on supervisor guidance and independent research.
The PhD program is an advanced training program with the purpose of equipping graduates with the ability to advance theory, practice, and teaching within the field of disaster and emergency management. The program culminates in the preparation of a dissertation that makes an original contribution to scholarship in the field of disaster and emergency management.
All PhD candidates must have a faculty member supervisor agreed upon by the student, the faculty member, and the Graduate Program Director by the end of their first year in the program. Faculty member supervisors are responsible for ensuring that students develop an integrated, coherent plan of study.
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.