The Graduate Certificate in Disaster Management will enhance the knowledge base of public health professionals, as well as other disaster management personnel in the management, preparedness, response, and recovery from natural and man-made disasters. The design of the Certificate engages the student in critical thinking skills that enable them to reduce the health complexities of disasters. The Certificate is also intended to increase the managerial and leadership skills of public health professionals working with international refugees and displaced populations after a disaster.

Prerequisites

The applicant must have an earned Bachelor's degree from an accredited academic institution. For international students a copy of their degree that is equivalent to the Bachelor's degree (as per the USF admissions requirement) along with a certified copy of their transcript and a letter of reference from a supervisor are required.

Required Courses

            Fifteen (12 - 15) credit hours are required for completion of the Certificate Program

Application Process 
Please visit http://www.gradcerts.usf.edu/admissions.asp to access the application. In addition, to the application forms please submit:

1. Official transcripts showing attainment of the bachelor's degree if from other than USF. International applicants must provide original transcripts certified as equivalent to the U.S. bachelor's degree.
2. A 250-word letter of interest stating why you wish to pursue this course of study
3. A resume
4. A letter from a supervisor if a waiver of the field experience is being considered.

Standardized Test Requirements

There are no specific test requirements.

Registration Process for Individual Courses

Follow the accepted procedure for graduate level courses.

Time Limit for Completion of Certificate

Time limits on certificate completion comply with university standards.

Tuition and fees: Standard graduate tuition rates and fees apply for graduate students who also pursue this graduate certificate and for non-degree graduate certificate students taking these courses on campus. Please visit http://www.usf.edu/controller/cashaccounting/tuition for tuition rates.

The following rates apply only to non-degree seeking graduate certificate students who take these graduate certificate courses online:

• Fla. Resident -- $456.79 per credit hour
  ($331.79 per credit hour tuition+ $125 per credit hour fee)
• Non-resident -- $465.40 per credit hour
  ($818.66 per credit hour tuition - $478.26 per credit hour waiver* + $125 per credit hour fee)
• A flat fee of $37 is assessed once per term.
• Additional fees may be assessed by the college.

*Non-resident, non-degree graduate certificate students will be charged an out-of-state matriculation fee of $478.26, but these students will receive a waiver of $478.26 per credit hour for fully on-line graduate certificate credits taken via the web. Students must be admitted to the graduate certificate and registered in the eligible course section prior to the first day of class in order to receive the waiver.

Course Location

This Certificate is offered only on-line with computer-specific requirements. For information on accessing the university web portal, myUSF, please visit:

http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/students_tech_requirements.htm

Department contact information

Dr. Wayne Westhoff at (813) 974-6621 or wwesthof@health.usf.edu

Dr. Boo Kwa at (813) 974-6635 or bkwa@health.usf.edu

New Student Advisor

advisor@health.usf.edu

Special Notes:

• This graduate certificate does not require that you submit GRE scores with your application
• You may apply any semester as a certificate-seeking student, however, the course sequence begins in the fall semester with two courses, the spring semester with two courses, and then ends in the summer semester with the field experience.
• The College of Public Health website is http://www.publichealth.usf.edu
• The College of Public Health graduate certificate website is http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/gradcert.html
• The College of Public Health toll-free number is 888-USF-COPH and press 1 for Student Advising