Occupational Safety and Health, BS (43-276)

The primary focus for the safety profession is prevention of harm to people, property, and the environment. Safety professionals apply principles drawn from such disciplines as engineering, education, psychology, physiology, enforcement, hygiene, health, physics, and management. They use appropriate methods and techniques of loss prevention and loss control. "Safety sciences" is a twenty-first century term for everything that goes into the prevention of accidents, illnesses, fires, explosions, and other events which harm people, property, and the environment. (Career Guide to the Safety Profession, 3rd Edition.) Read more about the safety profession from the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Our graduates are employed in a variety of settings that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Oil and gas
• Construction
• Manufacturing and production
• Insurance
• Hospitals
• Universities
• Airlines
• Utilities
• Government at the local, state, and federal levels.

For more details on where safety professionals work, what they do, and the employment outlook, see the Career Guide to the Safety Profession.

At the time of graduation, students with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Safety will be able to:

1. Anticipate, recognize, and evaluate hazards for the development of control strategies through the application of math, science, business, and risk management concepts.

2. Formulate, design, implement, and evaluate safety, health, and/or environmental programs.

3. Communicate professionally both verbally and in writing as an individual and as a contributing member of a multidisciplinary team.

4. Identify and interpret applicable standards, regulations, and codes in a global society.

5. Conduct an accident investigation including root cause analysis and development of a corrective action plan.

6. Demonstrate the ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern scientific and technical tools necessary for professional practice of the fundamental aspects of safety, health, and environmental sciences (SH&E).

7. Design and conduct experiments and formulate an analysis and interpretation of associated qualitative, semi-quantitative, and/or quantitative data.

8. Apply SH&E knowledge and principles in an internship, cooperative, or supervised experience.

9. Understand and communicate professional and ethical codes.

10. Develop the business case and demonstrate the value of SH&E interventions

11. Develop SH&E training utilizing appropriate adult learning theories and techniques to meet diversity in occupational settings.

12. Articulate the need to maintain technical professional competency on contemporary issues in order to understand the impact of SH&E solutions in a global and societal context.

Graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Safety will be prepared to attain the following objectives:

• Anticipate, recognize, and evaluate hazards, exposures, and risk through development and management of control strategies for hazardous conditions and work practices.
• Uphold the responsibilities of the profession to protect people, property and the environment in a global or societal market with personal integrity and honesty through adherence to professional ethical codes.
• Acquire and evaluate evolving SH&E-related information through research, and the application and continuing development of abilities, skills, and knowledge gained in the program to identify practical solutions for safety issues.
• Continually enhance discipline-specific technical competencies, skills, and knowledge by seeking certification, and through active participation in professional societies, conferences, workshops, networking, continuing education, and/or other professional development activities.
• Develop, implement, and provide ongoing leadership for organizational SH&E programs.

• A minimum 2.2 cumulative GPA.
• The grade of C or better must be attained in all designated safety, math, and science courses.
• An assessment examination must be completed during the last semester of course work