Disaster Resilience Graduate Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Disaster Resilience is designed to teach students the full complexity of disaster risk and resilience at the intersections of science, engineering, social science, and public policy. This certificate program helps students overcome discipline-specific conceptualizations, and generate new transdisciplinary knowledge and solutions for achieving disaster resilience. Students will learn the limitations of disciplinary approaches to managing disaster and hazards risk, as well as the advantages of and approaches for integrating frameworks, methods, and perspectives used across disciplines. Students will also learn to conduct and evaluate case studies at different geographic scales, communication and critical vocabularies for effective stakeholder engagement, and collaborative skills needed for working effectively in interdisciplinary teams.
This certificate program is open to all graduate students at Virginia Tech.

How to Apply:
Fill out the online application for participation in the certificate program.

Upon processing of the application, you will be contacted
with information about the submission of additional
required materials. Thank you for your interest.

DRRM Admission Requirements

Degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking students will all have to apply to the certificate program.
Degree-seeking students will:

Submit a Graduate Certificate Application
Possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of 3.0 or better

Non-degree seeking students will:

Submit a Graduate School Application for Admission
Submit a Graduate Certificate Application
Submit official transcripts
Possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of 3.0 or better

Students who have not earned a degree in the United States must submit:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) minimum score of 90 on the internet-based test (iBT) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum score of 6.5
TOEFL scores of 20 or greater in Listening, Writing, Speaking, and Reading subsections.

Program Requirements

Number of Credit Hours: 12 credit hours of graduate level courses

Core Course – 3 credits

GRAD 5034: Interdisciplinary Foundations of Disaster Resilience (3 credits)

Restricted Core Cross-discipline Electives – 6 credits.

The core discipline elective requirement includes a 3 credit course focusing on the technical and engineering aspect of disasters and hazards, and a 3 credit course focusing on public policy and social science aspect of disaster and hazards.
Technical and Engineering Core Elective (3 credits). Choose one from the following list:

BIT 5474: Computer-based Decision Support Systems (3 credits)
CEE 5594: Geological Engineering (3 credits)
CEE 5854G: Advanced Coastal Engineering (3 credits)
GEOS 6204: Advanced Topics in Sedimentology, when the course topic is simulation and modeling in geosciences (3 credits)

Policy and Social Science Core Elective (3 credits). Choose one from the following:

SPIA 5124 Policy Decision-Making STEM-H (3 credits)
UAP 5214: Topics in Natural Resources and Natural Hazards Planning, when the topic is disaster resilience and natural hazards mitigation (3 credits)
UAP 5784: Economic Development Planning Topics, when the course topic is Community Resilience (3 credits)
PAPA 5354: Homeland Security and Response and Recovery (3 credits)

Electives – 3 credits
Electives are intended to broaden students’ understanding of disaster resilience and risk management. They can choose one technical course or one social science course from the following list or take an equivalent course approved by the DRRM faculty.

BIT 5414: Operations Management in a Global Environment (3 credits)
BIT 5474: Computer-based Decision Support Systems (3 credits)
BIT 5494: International Operations and Information Technology (3 credits)
CEE 5080: Infrastructure Asset Management (3 credits)
CEE 5204: GIS Applications in Civil Engineering (3 credits)
CEE 5464: Structural Dynamics & Earthquake Engineering (3 credits)
CEE 5470: Structural Design for Seismic Load Effects (3 credits)
CEE 5584: Geotechnical Aspects of Earthquake Engineering (3 credits)
CEE 5594: Geological Engineering (3 credits)
CEE 5660: Transportation Risk, Reliability & Security (3 credits)
CEE 5854G: Advanced Coastal Engineering (3 credits)
CEE 5734: Urban Hydrology & Storm-water Management (3 credits)
CEE 5844: Ocean and Coastal Wave Mechanics (3 credits)
CEE 5864: Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics (3 credits)
ENGE 5024: Design in Engineering Education and Practice (3 credits)
ENGE 5714: Topics in Engineering Education Research Methods (3 credits)
ENGE 6714: Topics in Engineering Education Research and Practice (3 credits)
GEOS 5154: Strong-Motion Seismology & Seismic Hazard Analysis (3 credits)
GEOS 5714G: Advanced Volcanic Processes (3 credits)
GEOS 6204: Advanced Topics in Sedimentology, when the course topic is simulation and modeling in geosciences (3 credits)
PAPA 5254: Homeland Security & Terrorist Threat (3 credits)
PAPA 5354: Homeland Security and Response and Recovery (3 credits)
UAP 5084: Collaborative Planning and Community Involvement (3 credits)
UAP 5134G: Advanced Land Use and Environment: Planning and Policy (3 credits)
UAP 5214: Topics in Natural Resources and Natural Hazards Planning, when the topic is disaster resilience and natural hazards mitigation (3 credits)
UAP 5364: Non-Governmental Organizations in International Development (3 credits)
UAP 5414: Natural Resources Planning Topics, when the course topic is urban environmental policy, planning, and management in developing and transitional countries (3 credits)
UAP 5784: Economic Development Planning Topics, when the course topic is Community Resilience (3 credits)
UAP 5854G: Advanced Planning of the Urban Infrastructure (3 credits)