New CHSS master’s programs focus on Diversity & Inclusion, Holocaust & Genocide Education, Emergency & Threat Response Management

Rowan University’s College of Humanities & Social Sciences has launched three new master's degree programs designed to help students gain the skills to compete and thrive in diverse fields of service, leadership, planning and scholarship.

This fall, CHSS began offering the MA in Diversity and Inclusion, the MA in Holocaust and Genocide Education and the MS in Emergency and Threat Response Management.

“The programs not only align important skills that graduate students and professionals need to be successful in an increasingly changing global society, but will also prepare them to interact with and serve people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, experiences and world views,” said Nawal Ammar, dean of CHSS.

MA in Diversity & Inclusion

The master’s degree and certificate of graduate studies (COGS) in diversity and inclusion will prepare graduate students and professionals to assume leadership roles to become change makers in the area of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and within other organizations nationally and globally. More and more, businesses are recognizing the importance of a diversified workforce that leverages wide-ranging talent to tackle complex problems from multiple perspectives.

“As we become more aware of the lived experience of people and groups of which we are not members, nothing can be more important to our ability to contribute and thrive in our culture and our careers than a knowledge-based sensitivity to the nuances of race, ethnicity, native-born and immigrant experience, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, and ranges of bodily and neurodiversity,” said Nadine Rosechild Sullivan, professor of sociology and coordinator of the diversity and inclusion program.

The new master’s degree and COGS offer students the opportunity to engage in intellectual and academic experiences to gain a deep understanding of those around them, grounded in social science research methods.  Understanding these methods will help them facilitate change in nearly every environment, including businesses, corporations, non-governmental and community organizations, and educational institutions.

“Providing students with the opportunity to discuss ideas and concepts through a variety of lenses and experiences with professors and classmates from different backgrounds with different worldviews can help change minds and shape ideas,” said Emily Blanck, history professor and executive director of the Rowan Center for Interdisciplinary Studies.

In the capstone course, taken in the second year of the program, students will work with Rowan’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to develop a project on campus to put their skills into action.

“By the time students take the capstone course they should have an expertise and knowledge of the discipline that will enable them to work with a department at Rowan that reflects their interests.  For example, a student interested in medicine might be able to work with the medical schools, or a student interested in disability studies could work with Student Success Programs, Rosechild Sullivan said.

MA in Holocaust & Genocide Education

The first program of its kind in the U.S. that focuses on Holocaust and Genocide Education, rather than Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the new MA “is unique in that it marries deep interdisciplinary content knowledge with effective and innovative teaching strategies,” said Jennifer Rich, executive director of the Rowan Center for the Study of Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights and assistant professor of sociology.

“The MA in Holocaust and Genocide Education meets a critically important need to engage students in broad questions about human rights and social justice to help them develop and implement strategies to engage in social change.”

According to Rich, students will undertake a course of study grounded in interdisciplinary content and knowledge about the Holocaust and other genocides. They also will learn how to develop and assess Holocaust and genocide educational programs, how to develop new educational programs to use in a wide variety of settings, and how to incorporate technology into their work. 

Students completing the degree will be well positioned to work in K-12 educational settings, museums, NGOs and non-profits or to further their studies.

“The program fills a much-needed gap in higher education and benefits both students and professionals in multiple ways. For those who work in K-12 education, it gives students the tools they need to effectively meet the Holocaust education mandate,” Rich explained. 

New Jersey is one of 14 states to have a mandate for Holocaust education, expecting all public school students to learn about the Holocaust from "the earliest possible moment.  In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Never Again Act, putting a national focus and emphasis on Holocaust education.

“Students who enroll in this program will learn what good, effective Holocaust and genocide education can--and should--look like,” noted Rich.

Students will gain the tools they need to teach not just about the Holocaust and other genocides, but about “hard histories” more broadly, including America's complicated history, Rich noted. Students seeking to work in museum settings will focus on how to create content for museums and the multiple audiences they will reach, including in-person and digital exhibits, Rich added.

MS in Emergency & Threat Response Management

From natural disasters, a global pandemic, uncontrolled wildfires, and devastating hurricanes and floods that have impacted countless lives, affected economies and has caused serious damage to infrastructures, the year 2020 has demonstrated the need for professionals in emergency and threat response management.

“The need for professional to plan, prevent and manage disasters both large and small has grown significantly over the past decade,” said DeMond Miller, professor of sociology and director of disaster science & emergency management. “Across the country and around the globe, professionals in emergency management are called upon to assess risks and provide solutions in situations that destroy property and people’s sense of security.”

Rowan’s M.S. in emergency and threat response management helps students and professionals meet the pressing need to fill state and regional leadership gaps that exist while, also, helping communities and organizations build resilience through a whole community approach to a variety of threats now and in the future.

The program prepares students for management positions in emergency management and homeland security in government and industry and is an excellent choice for students and professionals who are first responders or working in or seeking careers in disaster policy, crisis management and prevention, cybersecurity, disaster planning, health services, military, fire and law enforcement, among others.

“The curriculum covers operations management, planning and response and terrorism with additional options for the study of disaster public health and executive leadership via graduate certificates,” Miller explained. “The degree provides students with a global outlook, interpersonal skills and emergency management knowledge and skills.”

Learn more

To learn more about the new graduate programs in Diversity and Inclusion, Holocaust and Genocide Education and Emergency and Threat Assessment Management, visit www.chss.rowan.edu.