Health and Safety (Occupational Safety Management) M.A. or M.S.

The master’s degree program in health and safety requires a minimum of 32 semester hours of which at least one-half must be at the 600 level. A minimum of 18 to 24 hours (depending on the area of specialization) must be taken within the department, and (again, depending on the area of specialization) a minimum of six credit hours must be taken outside the department. Two degrees are offered for some of the specializations: the M.A., requiring a six-hour thesis; and the M.S., which entails a three-hour individual field research project. The minimum time to complete the course of study on a full-time basis is normally one full calendar year. It would be realistic, however, to plan for more than one year of study if the thesis option is selected or if the specialization requires the thesis.

The occupational safety management specialization is intended for persons interested in achieving managerial positions in industrial safety. The curriculum, which leads to a master’s degree in health and safety with a specialization in occupational safety, provides a broad foundation of theoretical and practical knowledge of safety administration. It emphasizes the skills and methodologies of problem solving and analysis so critical for sophisticated planners and managers in the private and public sectors of occupational health and safety. Content areas include systems safety, human factors engineering, program management and evaluation, safety law, and policy analysis. Employment opportunities are usually found in industry; federal, state, and local government agencies; insurance companies; the military; labor unions; consulting firms; and health care facilities.