<p>I am not at all a fan of practical majors in actual university that have a trendy, sound cool to them or that are generated not from an academic discipline but rather from a practical event (which would of course touch upon many areas of expertise- from business to policy to health). </p>
<p>Not that such training is not needed, or that we don’t need this kind of expertise, but it may be far better served in a non-university/diploma setting, or as an attached certification or minor as part of a broader, more established/foundational/academic major (such as MHP noted above). Managing a disaster effectively is a subset of effective management (which is what one learns with a business degree, MBA, or degree in public administration at undergrad or masters level). </p>
<p>My concern is often these fashionable things are cobbled together courses that universities spend far more time promoting than anything else (it become literally a marketing gimmick, something a bunch of folks sitting around a table think will be a big draw). I’ve been there, done that. And at the end, the student comes out with a very narrow practical degree that may have no jobs at the end that fit, and/or their degree isn’t broad and academic enough to be morphed into another kind of job or grad school. The kids take the risk, not the school.</p>
<p>I’d love a companion piece that addresses how well these graduates are getting jobs (something the university degree designers rarely worry about). It isn’t enough for us, or university administrators to assume there is this big demand, but who is doing the hiring and what exactly are they looking for?</p>