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Through a partnership with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), a faith-based agency with more than fifty years of experience responding to disasters in Canada and the U.S.A., CMU has developed a program that focuses on the recovery phase of disaster management. (Disaster Management has four phases: preparedness, emergency response, mitigation, and recovery.)

The emphasis of CMU’s program is on the medium- to long-term phases of individual/family and community rebuilding following disasters. A key part of the program is a series of two terms of fieldwork, eight to ten weeks each, fulfilling CMU’s practicum requirement. The firstterm is spent serving with MDS. The second maybe either with MDS or with another agency that does disaster recovery work in North America or internationally. Through these two service terms, students receive hands-on and leadership experience in the rebuilding of disaster-affected, often vulnerable communities. Students are eligible to apply for bursaries of up to $2,500 in connection with each of these practicums and their corresponding course work.

The goal of the program in Disaster Recovery Studies is to help students understand the nature of disasters, their aftermath and the best ways to help people and communities recover physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually. Through this program, students will develop analytic competencies and leadership qualities for working in disaster recovery and relief organizations, or other social service and volunteer organizations.

Students who complete the program will also be able to pursue further specialized study in the field of disaster and emergency management, or further studies in the social sciences, including Social Work. While the program is designed for university students, courses in the program would also be valuable to the volunteer community or others in disaster-related work situations.

At CMU, Disaster Recovery Studies is available as a concentration of eighteen credit hours within a three-year or four-year major in Social Science. The program can also be taken as a minor alongside another major, for example, International Development Studies, Psychology, or History. Besides specialized courses in Disaster Recovery Studies, students will take relevant courses in business and management, social service, social psychology, communications, conflict transformation studies, or international development studies.


Disaster Management Studies video by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS)