<p>What graduate degree should I pursue if I want to be a contingency planner?</p>
<p>My undergraduate degree is going to be a double major in professional communications and international studies (which includes me extensively studying Spanish). I am about one year away from getting this degree.</p>
<p>I want to be a contingency planner specifically related to planning for influenza, viruses, epidemics, natural disasters, and other emergencies. </p>
<p>I’m thinking I should get a master’s in anthropology.</p>
<p>There’s a general certificate I can get in disaster management (in the department of public management and policy) at Georgia State University (I live in Georgia).</p>
<p>There’s also the path of pursing a graduate degree (PhD) in epidemiology.</p>
<p>I would think a degree in public health or epidemiology would be best, but your most accurate answers are likely to come from current professionals in the field - you should try contacting some and asking about their experience and education.</p>
<p>Are you looking to work in the field (ie CDC or local public health agencies)? If so, a masters in public health is definitely the way to go. Do research on different programs and see who offers a track that is well suited to your goals. A Ph.D in epidemiology is cool, but probably not something that will be useful to this particular goal.</p>
<p>You should get an MPH focusing on epidemiology, with a special concentration in public health preparedness. You don’t need a PhD unless you want to do research; if you want to work on the front lines, an MPH is plenty. You may consider doing a dual MPH/MPA (master’s of public administration) learning policy and administration in addition to epidemiology; I think that would make you a very attractive and marketable candidate. My school, Columbia, offers that dual degree option; probably almost every school with both degrees offers a dual degree option, as it is very useful/popular. You could also get an MBA/MPH at Emory.</p>
<p>If you are in GA and you want an inexpensive option, check out UGA’s MPH in epidemiology. THey also have a disaster management certificate there. Emory’s Rollins SPH has a very good MPH program - one of the top 10 - but it is, of course, expensive. They do have scholarships, though.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the advice! You all are right, i think getting a masters in public health would be a better choice, so I’m going to do that. I never thought about UGA because it’s kind of far from where I live, but I will consider it since it’s inexpensive. I would love to get into Emory though.</p>
<p>I just (this morning) accepted an offer to University of Washington’s Master of Infrastructure Planning and Management program (see [UW</a> Urban Design and Planning | MIPM](<a href=“http://urbdp.be.washington.edu/programs/graduate/mipm/]UW”>http://urbdp.be.washington.edu/programs/graduate/mipm/)). It deals with the preparedness of basic needs like food, water, public health, energy, etc in the aftermath of disaster. Epidemiology is one of the 7 subject they expect students to pick from for specialization.</p>
<p>The MPH makes a lot of sense if you interest is really in the disease side of things. If it is more in the disaster side of things, the MPH can work, as can a variety of other degrees. I’m currently getting an MS in disaster science and management at the University of Delaware. I suggest doing some research in the field and figuring out what exactly you area of interest is. A really good listing of schools with relevant degrees can be found on FEMA’s higher ed listing: [The</a> College List](<a href=“http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/collegelist/]The”>FEMA Higher Education Program | Higher Education College List)</p>
<p>On that site you can search by area of interest and type of degree sought. If you want more information about the disaster side of things, I’d be happy to answer any questions. On a side note, the term contingency planner isn’t one I’ve heard often in the field. More often hear is emergency/disaster planner or manager. This might be somewhat different on the disease side of things, however…</p>