SAFETY GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAM

Dr. D. Allen Stern, Division Chair

Program Description

No human endeavor or undertaking can be done without involving the field of safety. Safety professionals work in a variety of situations alongside management to ensure the health and safety of all employees.

The graduate curriculum in Safety is divided into several areas of emphasis: Ergonomics, Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Health, Safety Management, Occupational Safety, and Mine Safety. The Master of Science degree has a 36 semester credit hour requirement. A thesis may be submitted which would require 32 credit hours of graduate coursework with no more than 6 credit hours to be earned by the thesis. A final (written) comprehensive examination is administered to all candidates, thesis and non-thesis, by a committee of three members of the graduate faculty in the College of Information Technology and Engineering, including the student's advisor.

Admission Requirements

For regular admission, applicants to the Environmental Science and Safety programs must complete General Admission and Program requirements prior to registering for the first semester of courses.

1. General Admission Requirements for the Division

Each applicant for admission must have an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university, and must satisfy at least ONE of the following criteria:

• Score at the mean or above on the verbal GRE
• Score at the mean or above on the quantitative GRE
• Score at the mean or above on the analytical GRE
• Score at the mean or above on the Miller Analogies Test
• Have an undergraduate GPA of 2.50 or above
• Have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (F.E.) exam and/or the Professional Engineer (P.E.) exam

In other words, if the final undergraduate GPA is 2.5 or above you are exempt from taking the standardized test (GRE or MAT).

2. Program Requirements

In addition to the general requirements all students entering a program must have completed prior to admission the following courses or their equivalent:

Safety Emphasis (other than Industrial Hygiene):
Includes: Occupational Safety and Health, Safety Management, Ergonomics

• MTH 130 (or equivalent), PHY 101 and 101L (or equivalent), and CHM 203 (or equivalent).

Safety Emphasis: Industrial Hygiene

• MTH 130 or (equivalent), PHY 101 and 101L (or equivalent), and CHM 203 and 204 (or equivalent).

3. Admission Process/Material

To apply to the Marshall University Graduate College, visit the Graduate Admissions website. You can apply online or use a PDF form. Refer to the Graduate Application menu item on the left of the page at that site.

If you are from outside the US, you may find Marshall's International Student Information website a useful resource.

Degree Requirements

Core Courses:

SFT 599 Occupational Safety Program Management (Occupational Safety and Safety Management emphases only)
SFT 610 Philosophical and Psychological Concepts of Safety
SFT 630 Current Literature and Research in Occupational Safety and Health

Areas of Emphasis

Occupational Health (36 hrs including core courses)

Required Courses

• SFT 540 - Industrial Fire Prevention (3 hrs)
• SFT 554 - Industrial Hygiene I (3 hrs)
• SFT 597 - Occupational Safety Program Development (3 hrs)
• SFT 645 - Safety Engineering and Equipment Design (3 hrs)
• SFT 660 - Human Factors in Accident Prevention (3 hrs) or
  SFT 560 - Fundamentals of Ergonomics (3 hrs)
• ES 660 - Environmental Law I (3 hrs)

Electives:

Students must take the remaining nine hours of electives from the following:

• SFT 553 - International Safety
• SFT 565 - Incident Investigation
• SFT 589 - Process Safety Management
• SFT 650 - Internship (Chosen with Advisor's approval and permission)
  Or students may elect to take the Thesis option (SFT 681).

Safety Management (36 hrs including core courses)

Required Courses

• CMM 508 - Leadership and Group Communication (3 hrs) or
  CMM 520 - Communication and Conflict (3 hrs)
• PSY 518 - Psychology of Personnel (3 hrs) or
  PSY 520 - Introduction to Industrial Organizational Psychology (3 hrs)
• MKT 511 - Marketing and Management (3 hrs)
• ES 620 - Environmental Management Systems (3 hrs)
• ES 660 - Environmental Law I (3 hrs)
• SFT 554 - Industrial Hygiene I (3 hrs)
• SFT 597 - Occupational Safety Program Development (3 hrs)
• SFT 660 - Human Factors in Accident Prevention (3 hrs)

Electives

Student is to choose three additional hours of 600-level courses with advisor's permission or students may elect to take the Thesis option (SFT 681).

Industrial Hygiene (36 hrs including core courses)

Required Courses

• SFT 560 - Fundamentals of Ergonomics (3 hrs)
• SFT 647 - Industrial Hygiene II (3 hrs)
• SFT 647L - Quantitative Industrial Hygiene Lab (3 hrs)
• SFT 649 - Biophysical Hazards and Monitoring (3 hrs)
• SFT 651 - Toxicology and Epidemiology (3 hrs)
• SFT 661 - Advanced Ergonomics (3 hrs)
• SFT 663 - Work Environment Issues (3 hrs)
• SFT 679 - Problem Report (3 hrs)

Electives

Students must take the remaining three hours from the following:

• SFT 589 - Process Safety Management
• SFT 660 - Human Factors in Accident Prevention
• SFT 553 - International Safety
• Others as approved by advisor

Mine Safety

The Mine Safety graduate program is offered in cooperation with the National Mine Safety and Health Academy, Beckley, WV. The program is designed for underground and surface mining and is applicable to all aspects of the metallic and non-metallic mining industry. The Division Chair of Applied Science Technology grants permission for admission to this area of emphasis. Please contact the Division Chair for further information prior to applying for admission to this program.

Program-Related Links

www.asse.org - American Society of Safety Engineers
www.worldsafety.org - World Safety Organization
www.onlinehealthresources.com/Occupational-Health-and-Safety - Occupational Health and Safety resources
http://www.asse.org/foundation/publications/careerguide.php - Career Guide to the Safety Profession
www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/construction/index.html - OSHA - Teen Workers: Build a Safe Work Foundation