The University of Georgia has launched a new graduate certificate in crisis, risk, and disaster communication. The certificate is a collaboration between the Crisis Communication Think Tank in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Risk Management and Insurance program in the Terry College of Business, and the Institute for Disaster Management in the College of Public Health.

“This certificate is important because we need to focus on crisis management from a more proactive, preparedness-oriented perspective,” said Yan Jin, C. Richard Yarbrough Professor of Crisis Communication Leadership and director of the CRDC certificate, in a press release. “We are surrounded by increasingly complex and challenging crises and conflicts. This certificate provides students with comprehensive training in skills and mindset to provide leadership with advanced guidance in strategic communications management.”

The CRDC certificate is designed to provide graduate students with the skills and experience they need to become experts in communicating during complex crises. The program will be available to graduate students in fall 2024.

Students in all graduate programs can earn the certificate by taking two core courses at Grady College, including risk and crisis communication and strategic conflict management. Students then choose one of two concentrations: a business concentration or a public health concentration and take two additional courses in management, risk management and legal studies or disaster management, depending on the concentration.

The certificate is the first of its kind in the country. The three colleges involved in the creation of the CRDC are all nationally recognized as leaders in their fields. The Risk Management and Insurance Program at the Terry College of Business is considered the best insurance program in the United States, according to US News.

“We will train our students to think longer term, have a clear vision and act with purpose. They will advise their organizations and senior management with confidence and courage on how to manage crises ethically and effectively,” Jin said in the press release.