UMA to offer graduate certificate in emergency management

University of Maine at Augusta campus, showing Jewett Hall building

Courtesy / University of Maine at Augusta The University of Maine at Augusta has campuses in Augusta, shown here, and in Bangor. There are also UMA Centers in Brunswick, East Millinocket, Ellsworth, Houlton, Lewiston, Rockland, Rumford and Saco.

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By Staff

The University of Maine at Augusta will offer a graduate certificate in trauma-informed emergency management, the school announced Monday.

UMA said the online program will be Maine's first in the interdisciplinary field of emergency management, and the country’s only emergency management graduate program that is trauma-informed. It will launch in the fall semester.

The 16-credit program curriculum is rooted in the Emergency Management Cycle, recognizing the essential roles of preparedness, resilience, mitigation, adaptation, response, and recovery in all emergency management related fields.

The program integrates a trauma-informed perspective, recognizing the substantial impact of trauma to individuals and communities, as well as to the emergency responders themselves.

“The past year dealing with the pandemic has brought into focus the need for well-trained professionals in all areas of emergency management,” said UMA associate professor Kati Corlew, the program's coordinator.

“Providing a trauma-informed perspective is a very critical part of the graduate certificate program, and is an important part of an emergency management response, regardless of the type of emergency or the number of individuals involved,” Corlew continued.

UMA President Rebecca Wyke sees the program as "an excellent opportunity for those in all areas of crisis management to expand their skills in their current employment or to provide a credential that will lead to career advancement."

The graduate certificate will draw on faculty from across other University of Maine System schools to offer a curriculum that will increase emergency management capacity and professional expertise.

Registration for UMA’s fall 2021 classes opens on April 12. UMaine Augusta, part of the University of Maine System, has campuses in Augusta and Bangor, and eight UMA Centers located in Brunswick, East Millinocket, Ellsworth, Houlton, Lewiston, Rockland, Rumford, and Saco.

Information about and applications for all UMA graduate programs are available here.