Department of Public and Environmental Wellness
433 Meadow Brook Rd • (248) 370-3562 • Fax (248) 364-8657 (map)
https://www.oakland.edu/shs/public-and-environmental-wellness/mssm/

Program Director
Darryl Hill, Lecturer
dhill@oakland.edu

Program Delivery

The Master of Science in Safety Management degree program is delivered fully online at in-state rates for both residents of Michigan and non-resident students.

Program Description

The Master of Science in Safety Management focuses on occupational safety, health, and environmental issues in the workplace. Through an effective balance of health and safety classes, business administration coursework, and application of the developed skills to safety-related case studies, students develop the analytical tools and skills necessary for making sound health and safety decisions in industry and business.

The program consists of two concentrations: a Technical concentration and a Management concentration. The Technical concentration is designed for those looking to enter the field, while the Management concentration is intended for those with a safety-related bachelor’s degree-seeking to advance their education and career.

The Technical concentration provides a gateway into the field by focusing on occupational health and safety in the workplace. Students take courses related to occupational hygiene, safety, standards, and more in addition to core courses in areas such as safety administration and analysis, research, and risk management/loss control.

The Management concentration focuses on the business aspects of managing safety in the workplace through business administration coursework with application to safety. In addition to core courses in areas such as safety administration and analysis, research, and risk management/loss control, students take business courses in accounting, human resources and legal aspects of business, and more.

The Master of Science in Safety Management is accredited by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Admission terms and application deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in Oakland University Graduate School by the semester deadlines listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.

February 15 (early) April 15 (regular) and July 15 (late) for fall semester
October 1 (early) and November 15 (regular) for winter semester
March 1 (regular) for summer semester
International applicants

Application Requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines:

Graduate application requirements

Additional department application requirements

Management Concentration

The Management concentration is designed for both recent college graduates and in-service safety professionals. Applicants must have:

Earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental health and safety (EHS) or occupational safety and health (OSH) or;
Earned a bachelor’s degree and have four years of professional occupational safety and health (OSH) related work experience or;
Earned a bachelor’s degree and completed 22 credit hours of undergraduate prerequisite Oakland University EHS and natural science coursework listed below:

EHS 2250; EHS 2350; EHS 3300; EHS 3380; EHS 3350; EHS 4410 and CHM 2010 or PHY 1010 or PHY 1200 or equivalent.
Earned bachelor’s degrees considered for admission must be from regionally-accredited institutions of higher education.
Three (3) letters of recommendation from an academic instructor.
Applicants should have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0.

Technical Concentration
The Technical concentration is designed for college graduates without a prior safety-related degree or work experience.

Applicants must have:

Earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited institution of higher education and completed the following:

Prerequisite requirements for the Technical concentration:

Six (6) credits hours of undergraduate Oakland University EHS coursework in the following:
1. EHS 2250 - EHS Training Methods
2. EHS 3380 - EHS Engineering and Technology and;

2. Undergraduate course (one each) in the following courses:
1. CHM 2010 - Intro to Organic and Biological Chemistry (or equivalent)
2. PHY 1200 - Physics of Everyday Life (or equivalent)
3. BIO 1002 - Human Biology (or equivalent)

3. MIOSHA Training Institute Level 2 Safety and Health Management Systems Certificate
1. Students must have completed or be enrolled in the certificate program.
2. Certificate recipients are eligible for undergraduate competency credit for 3 courses
(EHS 2350, EHS 3300, and EHS 4410)

2. Applicants should have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0.

Admission Review and Assessment

Admission to graduate school at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Oakland University Graduate School, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, goal statement, letters of recommendation, prerequisite courses and any other admission requirements established by the academic department.

Academic Advising

Students who are considering applying to the Master of Science in Safety Management program may contact the academic adviser for the School of Health Sciences to review prerequisite courses and application requirements. Upon acceptance to the program, students are assigned a faculty adviser.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Safety Management degree is awarded upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 35 credits in an approved program of study. Students must complete the following courses then select and complete the required courses from either the Technical or Management Track or the Technical Concentration.

Core Requirements (23 credits)

course Introduction to EHS Research (4 credits)
course Advanced Safety and Health Administration (3 credits)
course Risk Assessment and Loss Control (3 credits)
course Applied System Safety Analysis (3 credits)
course Capstone Course (4 credits)
course Operations Management (3 credits)
course Quantitative Methods for Managers (3 credits)

Technical Concentration

Course Requirements (12 credits)

course Fundamentals of Occupational Hygiene (3 credits)
course Construction Safety ( 3 credits)
course Environmental Standards ( 3 credits)
course Ergonomics ( 3 credits)

Management Concentration

Course Requirements (12 credits)

course Financial Accounting (3 credits)
course Legal Environment of Business (3 credits)
course Organizational Behavior (3 credits)
course Strategic Human Resource Management (3 credits)

Satisfactory Academic Standing

Satisfactory Academic Progress is the term used to denote a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor Satisfactory Academic Progress for all financial aid recipients each semester.

Students who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, may lose their eligibility for all types of federal, state and university aid. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for additional details.

Good Academic Standing

All graduate students are expected to remain in good Academic Standing throughout the entire course of their graduate program. To be in good academic standing, a graduate student must make satisfactory progress toward fulfilling degree requirements, including the completion of critical degree milestones as set forth by the academic program. Department requirements: An overall GPA of 3.0 (B) or higher for all coursework taken in the professional program is required for graduation, and no grade below 2.7 (B-) may be applied toward this degree. For courses graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U), no coursework graded Unsatisfactory (U) may be applied to this degree.

Graduate students who are not in good academic standing for any reason are subject to probation and/or dismissal from further graduate study.

Related Program Information

Plan of Study

All accepted applicants, in consultation with their assigned faculty adviser, must develop a plan of study that details specific courses the students will use to satisfy their degree requirements. The plan of study must be approved by the faculty adviser and submitted by the student to Oakland University Graduate School.

Master’s and graduate certificate students must submit a department-approved plan of study by the end of their first semester of graduate coursework. Doctoral students must submit an approved plan of study prior to completion of the first year of coursework. (See the Graduate Student Responsibility section of this catalog.)

Note: Credit granted for successful completion of a course toward an undergraduate degree program may not be repeated for a graduate degree. If a substitution is approved, the minimum number of program-approved graduate credits will be required. A Petition of Exception - OU Course Waiver/ Substitution requesting the substitution must be approved.

Time Limits

If more than six years have passed since the student has been admitted to the MSSM program, and all requirements have not been completed, the student must petition the program coordinator and Oakland University Graduate School for an extension. Students who are deemed inactive may be dropped from the program, although they may petition for reinstatement.

All graduate certificate students are expected to complete their degree within the Program Policy for time limit established by the University.

Safety Management

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