Colleges and Schools
Acquire the knowledge and multicultural skills required to work in the critical and fast-growing career areas of security, emergency management, and public safety. In one of the first online, graduate-level crisis management and response programs, you’ll have the opportunity to study psychological theories and learn conflict management and negotiation skills as you prepare to work with trauma and disaster victims. Demand for professionals trained in this relatively new discipline is anticipated to be high, as evidenced by the number of job openings in crisis management and emergency planning.
Eduventures Inc. report, March 2008
Learning Outcomes
Based on completion of required coursework, you should:
- Understand and apply psychological concepts and principles to contemporary and global issues
- Apply ethics and multicultural understanding and competence to public safety efforts including emergency preparedness, disaster relief, and treatment of trauma
- Apply principles of statistics and research design to the conceptualization, analysis, and evaluation of psychological research
- Apply theories of counseling and psychotherapy to scenarios requiring mental health responses
- Integrate the psychology of terrorism into understanding foundations of public safety
- Understand and apply conflict management and negotiation skills
- Understand and apply psychological concepts, interventions, and approaches to public safety, emergency preparedness, disaster relief, and treatment of trauma
Completion Requirements
- 56–63 total quarter credit hours
- Foundation course (1 cr.)
- Core courses (35 cr.)
- Specialization courses (15 cr.)
- Capstone (5 cr.) or thesis course (12 cr.)
- Program of Study
Estimated time to completion: Approximately 1.5 years, depending on individual progress and credits transferred. For a personalized estimate of your time to completion, call your enrollment advisor at 1-866-492-5336.
Walden offers frequent start dates so that you can begin when it’s convenient for you. Next Start Date: March 2. Admission policies vary by program. Call 1-866-492-5336 or apply now.
CurriculumThe courses are delivered in a prescribed sequence. Each quarter includes two concurrent 12-week courses.
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
| Quarter 1 | ||
| PSYC 6001 | Foundations for Graduate Study in Psychology | 1 |
| PSYC 6211 | Contemporary Issues in Psychology | 5 |
| Quarter 2 | ||
| PSYC 6205 | History and Systems of Psychology | 5 |
| PSYC 6740 | Disaster, Crisis, and Trauma | 5 |
| Quarter 3 | ||
| PSYC 6701 | Culture and Psychology | 5 |
| PSYC 6305 | Statistics 1 | 5 |
| Quarter 4 | ||
| PSYC 6310 | Research Design | 5 |
| PSYC 6741 | Psychology of Terrorism | 5 |
| Quarter 5 | ||
| PSYC 6331 | Interviewing and Observational Strategies | 5 |
| PSYC 6722 | Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories | 5 |
| Quarter 6 | ||
| PSYC 6742 | Conflict Management, Negotiation, and Peace | 5 |
| PSYC 6393 | M.S. Psychology Capstone | 5 |
Thesis Option
This program does not require a thesis. However, upon consultation with an advisor, you may choose to take two 6-credit-hour thesis courses (PSYC 6390 Thesis) instead of PSYC 6393 M.S. Psychology Capstone. The thesis option extends the program by at least one quarter.
For more information about the thesis option and a personalized estimate of your time to completion, call your enrollment advisor at 1-866-492-5336.
