Occupational Safety Concentration
Introduction
**Effective Fall 2026 the newly developed Occupational Safety MS program will offer occupational safety training ONLINE using primarily synchronous internet technology to create a virtual classroom experience in early evenings. Applications to these programs are currently open until July 1st with additional consideration possible.
Occupational safety practice involves identifying and addressing potential hazards, developing and implementing safety protocols and procedures, training employees, and creating a work environment that minimizes the risk of accidents, injuries, or illnesses.
When you get a degree in occupational safety, you will learn about the health, safety, and well-being of workers in their workplace. The selected coursework will enable students to approach safety problems from an engineering hazard control perspective while understanding how these problems fit into the broader societal spectrum of the public’s health. Students who complete the concentration in Occupational Safety are eligible to become a Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP ®) upon graduation.
Students in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences may choose to pursue a formal concentration in Occupational Safety as part of the MS degree program by noting such in their application materials. Apply today!
At a Glance
Concentration Requirements
Interested students can now enroll in our newly updated ONLINE, practice focused Master of Science (MS) program in occupational safety. Students will have the option to select a skills based selective course to enhance applied practice skills or laboratory skills to meet degree requirements. All students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to develop, manage, and evaluate occupational safety and health interventions.
MS students concentrating in Occupational Safety must complete all of the SPH School-Wide Core requirements for the MS degree, including 4 semester hours of EOHS 505. In addition, students must take the following courses as their divisional and elective choices to attain 46 semester hours of credit.
Occupational Safety
Required Non-Credit Training
- Title IX Training – Sexual Harassment
- IPHS 421 – SPH Success
- Quantitative Baseline Assessment
- SPH & UIC Policies Module
- Human Subjects Research (HSR)
- SPH Academic Integrity Tutorial (AIT)
Divisional Core Requirements
- EOHS 401 – Foundations of Environmental and Occupational Health (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 402 – Systems Approaches in Environmental and Occupational Health (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 421 – Occupational Health and Safety Practice (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 425 – Evaluation and Control of Airborne Contaminants (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 427 – Evaluation and Control of the Psychosocial Work Environment (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 495 – Environmental and Occupational Health Seminar (1 semester hour)
- EOHS 501 – Exposure Assessment Strategies (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 502 – Environment, Toxicology, and Disease (4 semester hours)
- EOHS 503 – Occupational Safety (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 563 – Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (3 semester hours)
- EOHS/EPID 571 – Injury Epidemiology and Prevention (3 semester hours)
Selectives
Select one of the following
- EOHS 528 – Applied Practice in Occupational Health Safety (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 529 – Applied Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Safety Laboratory (3 semester hours)
Admission Requirements
In addition to a BA or BS degree, students should have at least one year of college math and college-level science coursework in chemistry, and either biology or physics prior to starting our MS occupational safety concentration.
Funding & Traineeships
Traineeships are awarded to US Citizens MS, and PhD students interested in pursuing an Occupational Safety curriculum. Due to federal funding of the trainee program, only US Citizens and US Permanent Residents are eligible to be considered for these positions. Current students interested in consideration for the traineeship should talk to the traineeship director (contact information below). The traineeship is coordinated through the Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety.
Information Sessions
No upcoming events at this time.