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Department of Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences
With safety and sustainability at the core of organizational culture today, you can make a real difference as an occupational risk and safety professional. Learn how to protect people, property and the environment at the University of Central Missouri. Whether you’re a new student or a working professional, you’ll get exceptional value for your investment and be ready for your desired role.
UCM maintains a tradition of excellence in occupational risk and safety science and a firm commitment to your academic success. We introduced the nation’s first registered safety management degree over 50 years ago and continue to be a forerunner in accredited safety science education with options that meet your exact career goals — at some of the region’s most affordable tuition rates.
UCM offers choices for your future in safety science:
- Safety Management: Create and maintain working environments that safeguard employees and property.
- Environmental Management: Lessen an organization’s environmental impact, in turn helping ensure the well-being of its people.
- Risk Management: Use proven methods for assessing and mitigating risk to preserve the environment, as well as anyone and anything in it.
- Occupational Health Management: Safeguard workers and even whole communities when you minimize their exposure to hazardous materials.
- Industrial Hygiene: Learn to identify, analyze and manage health hazards in the workplace.
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ContactDr. Georgi Popov, QEP, CSP, ARM, SMS, CMC, FAIHA |
A BCSP Qualified Academic Program
ABET-accredited degree options
CSP-certified and award-winning faculty
Degree options unique to UCM
On-campus, hybrid and online offerings
Department scholarships available
Find your Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences future at UCM
Whether an undergraduate or graduate student of UCM’s Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences programs, you can maximize your potential through the ability to:
- Earn a professional designation: Add the Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) to your resume upon completion of your UCM Occupational Risk and Safety Science degree. This designation serves as an alternate path to the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) certification and is only available to students who complete a Qualified Academic Program (QAP) as recognized by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP).
- Access an extensive, modern laboratory: Apply your learning using our large selection of instruments, which include microscopes, a portable gas chromatograph, noise and vibration measurement equipment and benzene-specific photoionization detectors. Our strong partnership with Missouri Employers Mutual allows us to effectively maintain our tools and resources.
- Gain real-world experience: Take part in an internship, sometimes paid, to earn experience that will get you noticed. UCM’s reputation for producing quality safety management professionals makes us a first stop for organizations seeking interns and full-time employees.
- Build your professional network: Get involved with UCM’s chapters of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). You’ll attend meetings on UCM’s Warrensburg campus or in Kansas City, where you’ll make valuable professional connections for your future. You’ll also meet representatives from various organizations in construction, manufacturing, oil and gas and beyond at our “Careers in Safety Day,” hosted twice each year.
- Sharpen essential skills and get noticed: Work with UCM faculty to develop research projects and presentations and even present at professional conferences such as the American Industrial Hygiene Conference or ASSP’s Annual Safety Conference.
What can you do with a degree in one of UCM’s Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences programs?
Graduates of UCM’s Occupational Risk and Safety Science programs are in high demand. Your education and training will allow you to stand out in the job market, since employers will know you’re ready for the job on day one.
Whether you’ve completed a bachelor or master’s degree, you’ll be recognized not only for having skills specific to upholding safety and health but also those necessary for conducting business — communication, analysis and problem-solving, among others. UCM graduates — 100% of them — report success in finding their first job in:
- Safety Management
- Environmental Management
- Risk Management
- Occupational Health
- Industrial Hygiene
No matter if you’re helping to protect people and the environment or ensuring operational integrity, you’ll be well prepared for work in various industries with a UCM education that offers versatility and stability for your future.
Undergraduate Majors and Minors
- Occupational Safety, BS/Occupational Safety Management, MS (Accelerated Program)
- Occupational Safety, BS - Environmental Management Option
- Occupational Safety, BS - Occupational Health Management Option
- Occupational Safety, BS - Safety Management Option
- Environmental, Safety & Risk Management, BS
- Safety Minor
Earn your Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) designation along with your UCM BS degree!
All Occupational Safety majors are awarded the designation upon application at graduation. A GSP is an alternate path toward the professional certification of Certified Safety Professional (CSP). Only students who graduate from a Qualified Academic Program meeting the standards of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals are eligible for the GSP designation, making it highly respected.
ABET, Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission
These Safety degrees are accredited by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission of .
- Occupational Safety, Bachelor of Science – the only accredited bachelor's degree safety program in Missouri
- Industrial Hygiene, Master of Science – the only accredited graduate industrial hygiene program in Missouri
- Occupational Safety, Management Master of Science - the only accredited graduate occupational safety program in Missouri
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