Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP) and Emergency Management and Homeland Security (EMHS) program are offering a new degree and majors for students interested in strengthening community safety and security.

Beginning in fall 2026, FSU students will have two new majors — the Emergency Management major and the Intelligence Studies major — available to them as part of the new Emergency Management and Intelligence Studies (EMIS) bachelor’s degree program.

The development of the degree program began more than four years ago and has undergone extensive review and revision by college and university officials, leadership and committees. The curriculum reflects EMHS faculty and staff’s extensive experience in the field and ensures graduates are best positioned for success serving their communities.

“The development of this degree program builds upon the proven success of our certificate offerings, which are well regarded within the field, while addressing a growing demand among students seeking to contribute to the safety and security of their communities,” said David Merrick, director of FSU’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program and Center for Disaster Risk Policy. “The state of Florida is recognized for having one of the nation’s most comprehensive emergency management and homeland security programs, consistently demonstrating leadership in innovation and research. This degree exemplifies FSU’s commitment to developing leaders dedicated to addressing critical issues at the local, state and Federal levels.”

The launch of the degree program was made possible thanks to the collaboration of all EMHS faculty and staff as well as leadership from COSSPP and the university as a whole.

“These new majors demonstrate FSU’s and the college’s commitment to applied learning, public service and academic excellence, while preparing students with the analytical, technical and leadership skills needed to succeed in emergency management, homeland security and intelligence careers.”

– COSSPP Dean Timothy Chapin

The new Bachelor of Science degrees will help prepare students for careers in emergency and disaster management, including roles in the government or private sector, along with state and federal intelligence community positions, and various public safety and public sector jobs. EMHS has leveraged existing faculty and staff to create the new degree program, while enhancing EMHS’s ongoing commitment to practical, experiential learning and community service.

The major in Emergency Management (EM) prepares students to become leaders in emergency management and homeland security. Students in this major will learn key principles of EM policy and planning, primarily through an analysis of real-world scenarios and problems. Students will also study the technical skills and tools required to manage the collection of disaster intelligence for effective response and recovery.

Graduates of the EM major are equipped to design resilient systems, support vulnerable populations and lead effective emergency operations in government, nonprofit and private sectors. Upon graduation, students are qualified for careers in the public and private fields of EM both domestically and internationally.

The major in Intelligence Studies (IS) prepares students to become leaders in the fields of homeland security and intelligence. Students in IS will focus on all aspects of the intelligence process. The program covers processing raw information from various sources into a finished intelligence product through a variety of techniques, all while examining information through a critical and unbiased lens. This track instructs students in the formulation of national security and intelligence policy by focusing on intelligence collection and reporting, as well as emphasizing the importance of intelligence partnerships, cooperation and collaboration. Upon graduation, students will have an education that translates into the practical experiences that employers in the intelligence field value.

“The addition of the new Emergency Management and Intelligence Studies bachelor’s degree is a direct response to the evolving challenges our communities, state and nation face,” said Timothy Chapin, dean of COSSPP. “These new majors demonstrate FSU’s and the college’s commitment to applied learning, public service and academic excellence, while preparing students with the analytical, technical and leadership skills needed to succeed in emergency management, homeland security and intelligence careers.”

For more information, visit em.fsu.edu.

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The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through Nov. 30, bringing with it an increased focus on these destructive storms.

Florida State University faculty are world leaders in the study of hurricanes and efforts to mitigate their impact. Faculty are available to answer questions and provide perspective for news stories throughout hurricane season and beyond.

Four faculty also participated in a virtual media briefing about this year’s hurricane season.

FORECASTING, FORMATION AND TRACKING
Mark Bourassa, professor, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, and associate director of the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
mbourassa@fsu.edu, (850) 644-6923
Bourassa uses on-site and remote (aircraft and satellite-based) observations as well as meteorological models to research air-sea interactions and how satellites measure what is happening on Earth’s surface. He is an expert on the network of global meteorological and oceanographic observations that inform forecasts, and the identification of tropical disturbances, which are possible precursors to tropical cyclones. Bourassa is also a team leader for the NASA Ocean Vector Wind Science Team.

Bradford D. Johnson, assistant professor, Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
bdjohnson@fsu.edu
Johnson’s expertise spans tropical cyclone forecasting, hazard interpretation and science communication. His research integrates geospatial analytics, numerical weather prediction and artificial intelligence to assess the atmospheric and societal impacts of extreme weather events, with an emphasis on urban areas and land use change. He leads projects examining public responses to hurricane forecast graphics and works to improve communication of risk using plain language for diverse stakeholders, including policymakers, emergency managers and the public. His interdisciplinary background and federal program leadership experience position him as a valuable resource for interpreting tropical cyclone hazards and their broader implications.

David Zierden, state climatologist; associate in research, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
dzierden@coaps.fsu.edu, (850) 644-3417
Zierden’s research focuses on climate variability in Florida, the factors that go into seasonal hurricane forecasts and the large-scale environmental factors that affect the hurricane season, including the El Niño/La Niña cycle. He studies how forecasting can be applied to industries including agriculture, forestry and water resources.

COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Pedro L. Fernández-Cabán, assistant professor, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response (RIDER) Center
plfernandez@eng.famu.fsu.edu, (850) 410-6251
Fernández-Cabán’s research couples laboratory and field experiments to assess the structural performance of civil infrastructure during windstorm events. His recent work focuses on developing state-of-the-art machine learning models to predict hurricane wind fields and their interaction with coastal landscapes. Fernández-Cabán’s research leverages ground-level anemometric datasets collected during landfalling hurricanes and advanced wind tunnel techniques to better model the impact of coastal storms on civil infrastructure.

Katie Kehoe, assistant professor, College of Fine Arts
mkk22f@fsu.edu
Kehoe primarily works in performance and site-specific installations with a focus on natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. She led a 2024 project that honored the resilience of the rural Florida community of Steinhatchee in the aftermath of hurricanes Idalia and Debby. The project, “Learning from Local Experience to Strengthen Disaster Resilience,” was part of a pilot research initiative that examines how rural communities recover from extreme weather events such as hurricanes.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
David Merrick, director of the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program; director of the Center for Disaster Risk Policy
dmerrick@fsu.edu, Office: (850) 644-9961, Cell: (850) 980-7098
Merrick has worked in state emergency management for more than 21 years in roles including planning, external affairs and air operations. He developed and oversees the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program’s Disaster Incident Research Team, which deploys to disaster impact areas to perform field research on disaster and emergency management. This team has deployed to disasters such as hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Michael, Ian, and Helene to support federal, state and local agencies. His research interests include emergency management planning and policy, remote sensing and unmanned aircraft systems, and information technology in emergency management.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Shi-Ling Hsu, D’Alemberte Professor, College of Law
shsu@law.fsu.edu, (850) 644-0726
Hsu is an expert in the areas of environmental and natural resource law, economics and property. He has published in a variety of legal journals, co-authored the casebook Ocean and Coastal Resources Law and has appeared on the American Public Media radio show “Marketplace.” Before entering academia, he was a senior attorney and economist for the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C.

Erin Ryan, Elizabeth C. and Clyde W. Atkinson Professor and associate dean for Environmental Programs, College of Law
eryan@law.fsu.edu, (850) 645-0072
Ryan specializes in environmental governance and environmental, water, property and land use law and oversees the Center for Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law at the FSU College of Law. She has appeared in the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Foreign Policy, Huffington Post, London Financial Times, National Public Radio, Thomson-Reuters Beijing and local NBC and CBS Television News.

EVACUATION
Eren Ozguven, associate professor, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, director of the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response (RIDER) Center
eozguven@eng.famu.fsu.edu, (850) 410-6146
Ozguven directs the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response Center, which improves the quality of life in Florida and the Southeast by identifying disaster vulnerability, improving infrastructure and investigating ways to minimize negative impacts of natural disasters. His research interests include transportation accessibility, modeling of emergency evacuation operations, artificial intelligence and the simulation of transportation networks. Recent scholarship focuses on the relationships among different infrastructure networks in Florida and how that contributes to disaster preparation.

Maxim A. Dulebenets, associate professor and graduate program director, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
mdulebenets@eng.famu.fsu.edu, (850) 410-6621
Dulebenets’ research mainly focuses on operations  and optimization. His research group has developed efficient algorithms that can be used to schedule large-scale evacuations in preparation for major natural hazards. His models capture realistic features of emergency evacuation planning, including potential impacts of evacuation settings on evacuees themselves. His recent studies propose new types of optimization models and solution algorithms for emergency evacuation planning under pandemic settings, considering a higher risk of virus spread in overcrowded emergency shelters.

RISK AND INSURANCE
Patricia Born, Payne H. & Charlotte Hodges Midyette Eminent Scholar in Risk Management & Insurance, College of Business
pborn@business.fsu.edu, (850) 644-7884
Born studies the insurance market structure and performance, professional liability, health insurance and the management of catastrophic risks, such as hurricanes and other natural disasters. She is a past president of the American Risk and Insurance Association and the Risk Theory Society.

Charles Nyce, Dr. William T. Hold Professor of Risk Management and Insurance and chair of the Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate & Legal Studies Department, College of Business
cnyce@business.fsu.edu, (850) 645-8392
Nyce’s research focuses on catastrophic risk financing. He has written numerous articles on risk management and insurance topics, including title insurance, enterprise risk management, predictive analytics and natural hazards.

PUBLIC HEALTH
Chris Uejio, professor, Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
cuejio@fsu.edu
Uejio studies how the physical environment influences human health and well-being. His recent research includes investigations of tropical cyclones, extreme heat and health. Uejio has been quoted in the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, Wall Street Journal, Science Friday and other news outlets about public health issues, including heat waves and hurricanes.

URBAN PLANNING
Dennis Smith, planner in residence, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
djsmith3@fsu.edu
Smith is the director of the Mark & Marianne Barnebey Planning & Development Lab, which uses the academic and professional resources of Florida State University to connect with public and private partners to provide capacity and innovative planning for the sustainable growth and long-term viability of Florida communities. His work has focused on risks to the built environment, including projects for resiliency, transportation modeling, evacuation planning for high-risk areas and vulnerability assessment. He has extensive experience managing state and federal programs and a thorough knowledge of laws relating to land use, transportation and disaster recovery.

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Researchers at Florida State University are helping to develop the next-generation technologies and breakthroughs that will have positive impacts on Florida and the world. In medicine, childhood literacy, weather forecasting, food safety and other fields, FSU researchers are providing expertise and solutions to help solve difficult problems.

Here are some of the ways FSU is making a difference:

Magnifying Impact: The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

FSU is home to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the largest and most powerful facility of its kind in the world. Each year, it hosts thousands of researchers whose work tackles critical questions in materials, technology, energy, health and the environment. With generous support from the Florida Legislature, MagLab scientists and engineers have developed a revolutionary process that would potentially extract $20 billion worth of previously untapped rare earth materials from phosphogypsum stacks across central Florida.

Pioneering Medical Research to Combat Rare Pediatric Diseases

The Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases (IPRD), a key initiative of the FSU College of Medicine, is transforming the landscape of rare disease research, treatment and advocacy. Some of IPRD’s cutting-edge initiatives include establishing a whole-genome sequencing lab, expanding genetic counseling services and funding over 20 active research projects. With strong backing from university leadership, legislative funding and community partnerships, the institute is accelerating medical advancements that will improve the lives of children and families worldwide.

Enhancing Extreme Weather Predictions with Innovative Techniques

Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering have developed Empirical Quantile Mapping with Linear Correction (EQM-LIN), a groundbreaking technique that improves the accuracy of extreme weather forecasts. Through integrating advanced statistical modeling with bias correction techniques, EQM-LIN enhances weather projections, aiding disaster preparedness. Initially focused in South Florida, this research is expanding statewide to help stakeholders identify flood-prone areas and protect vulnerable infrastructure.

Equipping Children with a Lifetime of Literacy

Since 2002, the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) has been a driving force in advancing literacy through evidence-based research and innovation. By developing reading resources, assessment tools and interventions, FCRR supports learners of all ages, ensuring reading is accessible to all. Collaborating with educators, policymakers and researchers worldwide, FCRR’s efforts are transforming literacy education and improving learning outcomes.

Leading Innovations in Food Safety

Researchers at the Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences are developing rapid, standardized tests for detecting foodborne pathogens. Offering unmatched speed and efficiency, these tests are invaluable for stakeholders such as food processors and testing labs. FSU research also helped to develop the RIGHTTest, a seafood identification tool used by SeaD Consulting to detect mislabeled shrimp. Innovations like these promote transparency and accountability, playing a crucial role in ensuring public safety in the food industry.

Advancing Research and Response in Emergency Management

The Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program at FSU stands out for its leadership in preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation across diverse emergency scenarios. Its members actively contribute to the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s State Emergency Response Team (SERT) and the Florida Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) system, assisting in air operations and disaster response efforts, such as those following Hurricane Idalia. Beyond field operations, the department is nationally recognized for its cutting-edge research. A current study on information transmission within unmanned aircraft systems explores potential cybersecurity risks to U.S. infrastructure. As innovations in technology advance, this research plays a vital role in safeguarding government agencies and the public.

Empowering Veterans for Academic and Career Success

FSU’s Student Veterans Center (SVC) is a national leader in supporting student veterans and helping them achieve academic and career success. Enlisting in the U.S. military equips individuals with valuable skills such as strong decision-making and self-discipline, which are highly sought after by employers. However, challenges like limited prior higher education and a lack of workforce experience can impact veterans’ career opportunities. The SVC not only makes higher education more accessible but has also increased student veteran graduation rates by 15% in recent years. By ensuring veterans have the support they need to complete their education, the SVC helps produce highly skilled and desirable employees for the workforce.

Expanding Health Care Access and Research

With the goal of improving access and innovation in health and health care in Northwest Florida, Florida State University has announced plans to build an acute care hospital in Panama City Beach. The planned hospital will be located in the same medical district and adjacent to a new medical office building that opened in July 2024 and currently offers primary care, urgent care, cardiology and pulmonary services. Beyond meeting community health care needs, the campus is distinguished by its commitment to advancing research in aging and digital health, ultimately enhancing the quality of life in this region and beyond.

Restoring Apalachicola Bay

The Apalachicola Bay System Initiative (ABSI) was established at FSU’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory to help restore what was once a top fishery. After four years of research and stakeholder engagement, ABSI developed a community-centered restoration and management plan for Apalachicola Bay. This plan outlines five key goals supported by research-backed strategies, serving as an ‘ecosystem roadmap’ that the legislature is encouraged to adopt. Implementing this framework will restore the bay and foster a thriving economy.

Optimizing AI to its Fullest Potential

Recognizing the growth of AI, Florida State University is equipping future professionals with expertise in emerging technologies. The College of Nursing, for example, is the first nursing school in the nation to offer a concentration in AI Applications in Healthcare, bridging the gap between AI and nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and efficiency in health care delivery. At the College of Law, groundbreaking research explores the intersection of AI and law, reinforcing FSU’s leadership in legal education. Through integrating AI into coursework, FSU ensures students are prepared to succeed in an evolving world across all fields of study.

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