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Home » Bachelor of Disaster & Emergency Management » DEM Degree Options & Requirements

DEM Degree Options & Requirements

Students in each of the various degree options are required to complete (1) a specified set of core courses and (2) a specified number of credits from a list of course options. The latter are selected from DEM and non-DEM courses.  As the DEM program is housed in the School of Administrative studies, all DEMS courses are cross-listed with ADMS.

The university calendar is a great way to stay organized. This is where York University, the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and DEM-Specific requirements are listed. Visit the DEM degree requirements page, and look under the ‘Program-Specific’ tab.

Not sure which courses you need to satisfy your degree requirements? Check out these handy checklists.


Bachelors (BDEM)

90 Credit Program

51 credits in the major: 39 required credits and at least 9 additional DEMS credits from a list of course options.


Honours BDEM

120 Credit Program

57 credits in the major: 39 required credits, 12 additional DEMS credits and up to 6 credits from non-DEMS courses from a list of options.


Honours Specialized BDEM

120 Credit Program

66 credits in the major: 39 required credits, 15 additional DEMS credits and up to 12 credits from non-DEMS courses from a list of options.


Honours Minor

Added to another honours program

33 credits in the major: 27 required credits and 6 additional DEMS credits from a list of course options.


Honours Double Major BDEM

Combined with other honours program

48 credits in the major: 39 required credits and at least 9 additional DEMS credits from a list of options.


Honours Major/Minor BDEM

Combined with other honours minor

57 credits in the major: 39 required credits, 12 additional DEMS credits and up to 6 credits from non-DEMS courses from a list of options.


Emergency Management Certificate

A minimum cumulative grade point average of 4.00. Students must also submit application to graduate from a certificate program. 18 core credits required, six credits outside the major.

Degree Requirements

In order to graduate you need a minimum cumulative GPA of 5.0. A 5.5 Major GPA is required for the Honours and Specialized Honours. A minimum overall cumulative GPA of 5.0 with a major GPA of 5.0 is required for Bachelor’s 90 credit degree. The BDEM is designed as a professional baccalaureate degree. Students in the double major degree program must have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 5.5 in the courses constituting the major in disaster and emergency management. Students will be responsible for tracking their progress and GPA in the minor, and can use the online GPA calculator to assist with this. 

Language Requirements

YELT – Overall band 1-3
TOEFL – Computer: 237, Paper: 580, iBT: 95
IELTS – 7