Emergency Response Meteorologist Certification*

The Emergency Response Meteorologist (ERM) Certificate prepares graduates for employment as an ERM or Incident Meteorologist. This certification is only available to students who complete a B.S. in Applied Meteorology at the Prescott campus. It gives students additional knowledge and skill to provide decision support services more effectively to meteorology customers. This additional training will prepare graduates to work in emergency operations centers for national or local government agencies and help guide decisions related to meteorology.

Students in this certification program learn about the U.S. incident command structure, gaining official National Incident Management System (NIMS) certification issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Intermediate and Advanced Incident Command Certification through local emergency management personnel.

Students will also achieve familiarity with geographic information systems (GIS) as essential for mapping geophysical datasets and visualizing emergency plans and incident response operations. Then, students will have the opportunity to apply the meteorological-relevant information to configure and operate various hazard models used in emergency management scenarios to predict the impacts of floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfire behavior, and the spread of hazardous materials.

Certification Requirements

The ERM Certificate is only available at the Prescott Campus to students majoring in Applied Meteorology. It requires the successful completion of the IS-100.C, IS-200.B, IS-700, IS-703, IS-706, and IS-800.C  NIMS certificates as well as ICS-300 and ICS-400. It also requires satisfactory performance in all required courses, which must be completed with a “C” grade or better.

It is highly recommended (but not required) that students complete an internship as part of their cooperative education during the year preceding graduation. Students may earn credit for their internship activities. This will provide practical on-the-job experience while shadowing real emergency response meteorologists at various locations around the country. Internships also provide valuable networking opportunities and open doors to future employment.

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This program is offered within the Applied Meteorology program at ERAU and not as separate training. To complete the Emergency Response Certification program, the student must also complete the Applied Meteorology degree and must earn a “C” grade or higher in all required courses. For more information, contact the Chair of the Applied Aviation Sciences Department.

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GSIS 499 is a directed study and will need Department approval.