Occupational Health and Safety Masters Program

Occupational Health and Safety Masters

The requirements for Admission to MTSU's Occupation Health and Safety Program within the Engineering Technology Department are:

• Bachelors Degree from an Accredited College or University with a minimum GPA of 2.75
• Completion of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)

Requirements for the MS Degree:

• Thesis or Non-thesis Options
• Thesis option requires the completion of 30 semester hours including up to 6 hour credits in thesis research approved by advisor
• Non-thesis requires the completion of 36 hours
• For Thesis option: 21 of the 30 course hours must be at the 6000 level
• For Non-thesis option: 26 of the 36 course hours must be at the 6000 level

Graduation Requirements:

• Maintain a 3.0 (B) Average
• Complete and pass a Comprehensive Written and Oral Defense of Exam prepared by a 3 member Faculty Committee
• Complete either as an undergrad or graduate student an approved research tool (such as statistics) with a grade of C or better

The specifics of our OHS Concentration include:

• Night Time Program, Most Classes are 6-9 pm
• 15 week semesters
• Approximate 2/3 to 3/4 of program students are part-time students, working full time

Major Professor

• Public Health Professional of 25+ years of Experience
• CIH, CSP
• BS, Chemistry and Geography - ETSU, 1980
• Masters in Public Health - U of South Florida, 1897
• Ph.D. Public Health (Conc. I.H.) - Temple U, 2003

Personal Philosophy of Teaching Occupational Health and Safety

• The Occupational Health and Safety Program at MTSU is a generalist program. It is not designed to be either a pure Safety or Industrial Hygiene program but is a blend of both with a minor amount of Environmental.
• Safety is an applied discipline and academic courses can only take you part of the way to the goal of being a Safety, Health, and Environmental professional.
• Life long learning on the job, professional organizations, short courses, professional conferences and professionalinteraction must be practiced as well.
• Most Courses will involve writing such as technical papers, term paper, "Company" OEL justification plus take home "discussion question exams".
• Oral presentations (PowerPoint) on an assigned topic is a usual requirement.

MTSU Occupational Health and Safety and Industry Interactions

• In order to force "real world" experience into our courses there is usually one industry component to each course.
• Safety Hazard Assessments, JSA or JHAs, Industrial Hygiene Assessments and Sampling, with policies on various topic are typical assignments

Courses in Occupational Health and Safety Major

Safety Planning (ETIS 6010): The human side of safety includes discussion into history of safety movement, accident causation theory, safety motivation techniques, Worker Comp, EAP Programs, Accident Investigation & Reporting, ADA, FMLA, Workplace Violence Programs, Safety Committees, Worker Stress & Psychology Human Resource Management, Environmental and Quality Management Programs related to safety ISO 9000, ISO14,000, OHSA 18,000, Training Methods and Techniques

Safety Technology & Engineering (ETIS 6020): Topics include: Risk Analysis, Data and Information Sources, OSHA programs, Machine Guarding, LOTO, Machine Guarding, Electrical Safety, Fire Prevent and Control, Waling & Working Surface Hazards, Fall Protection Hazards, PPE, Haz. Comm., Chemical Hygiene and Process Safety Management, Metal Working Hazards, Transportation Safety, Excavation and Trenching. The course also can provide the OSHA 30 hour card.

Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (ETIS 6040)

• A general industrial hygiene course designed to provide an in-depth overview of the principle topics of the industrial hygiene field.
• Includes:
  • Environmental Assessment either ISO 14,000 or Phase I Site Assessment Exercise
  • Indoor Air Quality Assessment (CO2, CO, Mold, Humidity)
  • Ventilation System Assessment (Exhaust Ventilation and General Dilution Ventilation measurement).

ETIS 6070: Anthropometric Factors in Accident Prevention: An introduction to ergonomic factors in injury and accident prevention.

Fire Safety ET 4440/5440: Fire Hazards, Prevention Techniques and Systems, Fire Prevention and Inspection techniques.

Additional Courses in OHS:

• Energy and the Environment (EST 5810)
• Energy Auditing (EST 5849)
• Pollution Control Technology (EST 5770)
• Six Sigma (ETIS 6190)
• Technical Project Management (ETIS 5915)
• Productivity Strategies/Lean Systems (ET 6390)
• Methods of Research (ETIS 6620)
• Independent Study Courses
  • ETIS 6910/6920: Problems in Engineering Technology
• Thesis Research (ETIS 6640)

Strong Points of the MTSU OHS Program:

• Easy Commuting Distance from majority of Middle Tennessee
• Night program geared toward the part-time student
• A Generalist Program that provides experience and training in Occupational Health and Safety. Teaches information gathering techniques and OSH program building techniques and sources.
• Program Flexibility to tailor the program to interests of the student

 

For more information, contact:

Carol Boraiko, PhD, CIH, CSP Occupational Health & Safety Dept. of Engineering Technology Middle Tennessee State University cboraiko@mtsu.edu 615.898-2106