MSc Occupational Safety, Health and Environment

Workplace safety and worker health is increasingly significant in tackling wider societal issues around morbidity, early mortality, and the influences of lifestyle on individuals and communities.

Through this course, we aim to develop your analytical and problem-solving skills, and to introduce you to the multitude of factors that can influence workplace safety and health. This is to help you become a practitioner in preventing accidents and ill health in the workplace, and in managing workplace environmental issues.

You’ll explore topics including risk perception and risk management, law, occupational hygiene, and environmental management.

You’ll learn how to critically assess the evidence on the health and wellbeing of a defined population, and how to analyse exposure data to evaluate toxicological risks to population health.

You’ll consider occupational health and safety philosophies for effective control and health protection purposes, and evaluate risk management systems for specific workplace environments, including the gas, oil and food industries.

You’ll go on site visits to a variety of industrial and commercial settings, such as manufacturing industries, construction sites and waste treatment plants. You’ll apply the knowledge you learn on visits to risk assessment, management and compliance requirements, maintaining workplace safety, and to building infrastructure and compliance systems.

For your dissertation, you’ll submit your research proposal (usually 1,000 words) and write a piece of work presenting your research findings (approximately 8,000 words). Past dissertation themes include stress management and safety impact in high-risk industry, silica exposure among construction workers and the impact of extreme climate on outdoor workers.

Upon successful completion of this course, you’ll receive a masters in Occupational Safety, Health and Environment and eligibility to register for Certified member status of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

You will normally have a good honours degree (minimum 2:2), or international equivalent, in any subject.

Other applicants with significant field experience and professional qualifications are also encouraged to apply.

Overseas applicants will require IELTS with an overall score of 6.5 with no less than 5.5 in any category, or an equivalent accepted English qualification. Accepted English qualifications can be viewed here.