{"id":154765,"date":"2026-09-02T09:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765//?p=154765"},"modified":"2026-09-01T14:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:36:28","slug":"ucf-emergency-and-crisis-management-masters-program-becomes-first-to-earn-naspaa-accreditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765//ucf-emergency-and-crisis-management-masters-program-becomes-first-to-earn-naspaa-accreditation/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Emergency and Crisis Management Master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019s Program Becomes First to Earn NASPAA Accreditation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For more than a decade, UCF Emergency Management Professor Claire Connolly Knox has helped shape conversations about what the standards for emergency management education should look like./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

Now, UCF is helping set them./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

This summer, UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019s online Master of Emergency and Crisis Management (MECM), which Knox founded and directs, became the first emergency management graduate program to earn accreditation from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA)./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

166su is one of six programs nationwide /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2014 and the only emergency management program /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2014 to be newly accredited by NASPAA, recognizing its commitment to high-quality education that prepares skilled emergency management leaders./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

NASPAA is considered the global standard for public service education, accrediting programs that prepare students to become leaders, managers and analysts in public service. Earning accreditation requires a rigorous, years-long process that includes self-study, site visits and peer review./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

“… this accomplishment is not just for us and our program. We did it to advance our discipline …” /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2014 Claire Connolly Knox, UCF emergency management professor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

For Knox, a professor in 166su/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019s School of Public Administration, it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019s a milestone years in the making for a growing discipline she and other emergency management scholars have helped build./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u201cTalking about accreditation has been a very eye-opening conversation considering that this is still a relatively new discipline, and one we are collectively building and shaping for the next generation as we go,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u201d Knox says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019s a huge milestone, but this accomplishment is not just for us and our program. We did it to advance our discipline, and I’m excited to see how NASPAA accreditation elevates that./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

Creating the Blueprint/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

As natural and human-caused disasters become more frequent, educated emergency management professionals play a critical role in assisting communities with mitigating risks, preparing for crises, responding when disaster strikes and supporting recovery afterward./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

166su/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019s MECM program prepares students to protect and lead communities through those processes with advanced coursework, research, and embedded real-world experience. For the past three years, the program has also held the distinction of being the nation/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019s No. 1-ranked emergency management graduate program by U.S. News & World Report./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n

That success didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/u2019t come by chance./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154765/n