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MSc Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Management

Become a confident practitioner who can influence health, safety and environmental improvements in the workplace – designed around your own industry experience
Code
PGB92A
B926AA (Apprenticeship)
Start
September 2024
Duration
1 year full-time
2 years part-time
Attendance
Full-time
Part-time
Fees
£10,500 (UK) *
£16,800 (INT) *
Course leader
Dr David Thomas

Why choose Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Management MSc at Middlesex?

The International Labour Organisation estimates that there are over a million work-related deaths and over 100 million workers affected by accidents or ill health each year. Companies are realising the importance and the financial benefits of protecting their employees.

This degree focuses on developing and implementing a safety culture through various approaches, such as process, behaviour-based safety, management systems, and adaptive systems. You will develop legal and technical knowledge so that you can lead workplace risk management processes. You will also gain skills in environmental assessment, which are highly valued by employers in health and safety roles.

The course is taught by a mix of academics and industry practitioners, leveraging our strong industry connections and professional body affiliations.

Whether you have experience in the field or are new to occupational health and safety (OH&S), this occupational health and safety and environmental management degree will enhance your understanding and prepare you for entry-level roles or to lead workplace risk management processes.

The MSc course will integrate your industry experience and help you to develop policies, implement interventions, and improve your negotiation, advocacy, management, leadership, communication, and teamwork skills.

All course tutors are practising consultants with strong ties to professional bodies, ensuring that you learn the latest developments and practices. You are encouraged to undertake an industry-based study for your project.

What you will gain

This Health and Safety master's degree course is designed for both experienced occupational health and safety (OH&S) professionals and those with workplace experience.

Fusing your existing experiences with theory the course gives you the knowledge, skills, and understanding needed for a successful career in occupational health and safety. You will develop a critical and creative mindset towards professional practice, enabling you to solve problems and prioritise solutions effectively.

You will also gain the ability to independently select, apply, and evaluate various inspection and investigation techniques. With this knowledge, you will confidently make decisions and recommendations in complex occupational health and safety and environmental (OHSE) situations.

As a student, you will gain valuable experience by accessing:

  • The Barbour Index – a leading source of health and safety information in the UK
  • Our excellent facilities include a specialised laboratory for environmental and occupational safety, providing access to monitoring and other equipment.

3 great reasons to pick this course

  • We are an international university
    We're ranked 5th in the UK and 14th globally as “most international university” – Times Higher Education World University Ranking, 2023
  • Internationally recognised course
    Our degree is internationally recognised, with excellent opportunities worldwide — specifically in the Middle East, West Africa and the Asia/Pacific region
  • IOSH accredited
    This programme is endorsed by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)

Find out more

Sign up now to receive more information about studying at Middlesex University London.

In this course, you will learn about the importance of organisational culture and how management and leadership strategies can improve safety performance. We will also cover risk communication, risk decision-making, hazard analysis, risk assessment, risk modelling, and determined risk acceptability.

You will gain practical knowledge of workplace hazards, such as chemicals, physical factors, and biological agents, and how they can act together to affect safety and health.

You will explore the main components of environmental management systems and their role in pollution prevention working with legislation, and environmental regulators.

Finally, you will create and develop your own case study on the risks associated with common commercial and industrial processes and the concept of Best Available Technology (BAT) in industrial environmental management and control.

  • Modules - typical course content

    • Environmental Assessment and Management (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module seeks to provide knowledge/insight of environmental pollution prevention, focusing on skills development using common pollutants.

    • Factors Affecting Risk and Strategic Risk Intervention (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module aims to provide an overview of the theory and application of risk management as it is applied at a strategic level from a multi-disciplinary, science-led perspective. You will explore the frameworks that can be used to relate the functions of risk management to better understand the process of decision making and the factors which influence it.

    • Applied Health and Safety and Technology (15 credits) – Compulsory

      The module aims to enhance your skills of inspection, testing and evaluation in respect to the physical and traumatic dangers presented by the nature/use of premises, plant, equipment and commonly occurring high risk processes. You will also gain the skills to promote remedial and proactive risk management improvement strategies in high risk environments.

    • Occupational Hygiene and Health (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module will allow you to thoroughly appraise and evaluate the legal, theoretical and practical aspects of anticipating, recognising, evaluating, controlling and managing the risks presented by a range of workplace hazardous agents. You will learn to integrate the concepts of healthy workplaces and health and wellbeing into occupational health and safety practice.

    • Philosophy and Leadership of Occupational Safety and Health Improvement (45 credits) - Compulsory

      This module takes an organisational and strategic view of management, leadership, partnership and policy for occupational health and safety together with key legal principles on which safety law is based. You will explore differing approaches to safety management and the internal and external organisational drivers. You will also acquire skills in risk assessment and management as well as accident investigation and safety improvement initiative.

    • Management of Workplace Safety (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module will provide an overview of the theory and application of risk management in the context of workplace, work environment and work equipment safety. This includes risks arising from physical and organisational aspects of the workplace in a range of contexts and settings.

    • Research Methods and MSc Project (60 credits) - Compulsory

      This module will give you the organisational and research management skills required to formulate research questions, design and implement an MSc project. Where appropriate, you will undertake fieldwork to generate quantitative and/or qualitative data, whilst other projects will utilise existing datasets collected from existing studies. Research skills are supported by knowledge of experimental design, quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques and communication approaches. These skills will be applied in the design and completion of practitioner-based research including the development of original and independent investigations. These aim to integrate theoretical knowledge and technical expertise to investigate a programme-relevant issue at the required postgraduate level.

To find out more about this course, please download the Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Management specification (PDF).

How we'll teach you

The course is delivered by our academics and industry partners in person and via digital platforms. You will explore OHSE theory in lectures – some of which are given by external specialists. You will then apply and explore further in seminars through group work, discussions and problem-solving exercises based on real-life scenarios. Case study evaluations and discussions with professionals will further consolidate your understanding.

In workshops, you will learn to use equipment, including occupational hygiene and noise monitoring devices. You will also understand how to develop strategies for the management of health and safety in workplaces bringing theory together with your knowledge and experience of workplaces.

Your learning will be facilitated by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience.

Where will you study?

You will be based at our north London campus in Hendon.

Teaching vs independent study

For this master's level degree, the emphasis is on your own independent study. Academic-led teaching will take up approximately 15% of the 1800 hours required to complete this degree.

Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments including coursework and presentations. If you are a part-time student, it is advantageous if you are in relevant work and able to access your workplace for your project.

To succeed you must also do your own independent study and make use of online learning resources, including professional databases and Health and Safety Executive campaign sites. The enrolled student website (Unihub) also has interactive exercises, links to external sources of information and podcasts, and a message board for discussions.

Timetable

Whether you are studying full or part-time – your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.

We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.

Typical weekly breakdown

A typical week looks like this:

Learning

Hours per week

On-campus

10

Online

1

Independent study

5

Learning terms

On-campus: This includes tutor-led sessions such as seminars, lab sessions and demonstrations as well as student-led sessions for work in small groups.

Online learning: This is teaching that is delivered online using tools like Skype or Zoom, as well as work that you do yourself using online teaching resources.

Independent study: This is the work you do in your own time including reading and research.

Part-time study

You can also study this course part-time over two years. This means that you can combine this course with professional practice.

Academic support

We have a strong support network online and on campus to help you develop your academic skills. We offer one-to-one and group sessions to develop your learning skills together with academic support from our library, IT teams and learning experts.

Coursework and assessments

There are no exams but your coursework including personal reflection, essays and management reports will be assessed. The course concludes with your independent (workplace) project that determines half of your final mark.

Feedback

You'll evaluate your work, skills and knowledge and identify areas for improvement. Sometimes you'll work in groups and assess each other's progress.

Each term, you'll get regular feedback on your learning.

Our excellent facilities include a specialist environmental and occupational safety laboratory where you'll have access to specialist monitoring and other equipment.

Student support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health and disability support.

Additional needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work while you study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

How can the Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Management MSc support your career?

This course will equip you for a range of roles in areas such as occupational health, occupational hygiene, environmental management, risk management and consultancy, both in the UK and abroad.

You will be encouraged to seek and take up employment opportunities during your studies to view job roles from the occupational health and safety perspective. We will build on your experiences to embed a more comprehensive understanding of safety practices.

Career paths

Some of the roles our graduates have gone on to work as health, safety and environment advisor, or within a specialist consultancy or as a self-employed practitioner.

Previous students have worked for Transport for London, Ferrovial, St Georges, NHS trusts, Local Authorities, Government agencies, Universities, Human Factors (ergonomics) and facilities management

MDXworks

MDXworks, our employability service, will help you make the most of your experience and connections to achieve your career goals. You'll have unlimited access to one-to-one advice and support from specialists in your sector plus 24/7 online support. You can also make the most of events and networking opportunities, on and off campus.

Our dedicated lifetime career support, like our business start-up support programme and funding for entrepreneurs, has been recognised with the following awards:

  • The top 20 UK universities for business leaders and entrepreneurs – Business Money, 2023&
  • A top 10 university for producing CEOs – Novuana, 2023.

Start-Up accelerator programme

We can help you bring your business idea to life with our MDXcelerator programme which includes masterclasses with high-profile entrepreneurs, workshops, mentoring opportunities and competitions to secure seed funding.

Global alumni network

You’ll be studying with students from 122 countries who’ll become part of your personal global network. You'll learn how to work with a global mindset and make invaluable connections on your course for your chosen industry.

  1. UK entry
  2. International entry
  3. How to apply

The fees below refer to the 2024/25 academic year unless otherwise stated.

UK students*

Full-time students: £10,500
Part-time students: £70 per credit
Part-time students: £35 per dissertation credit

*Course fees are subject to annual inflation so the total costs for part-time study are shown here as a guide

For more information and to answer your frequently asked questions, please visit our postgraduate funding page.

The fees below refer to the 2024/25 academic year unless otherwise stated.

International*

Full-time students: £16,800
Part-time students: £112 per credit
Part-time students: £56 per dissertation credit

*Course fees are subject to annual inflation so the total costs for part-time study are shown here as a guide

For more information and to answer your frequently asked questions, please visit our postgraduate funding page.

The following study tools are included in your fees:

  • Free access to the resources, learning materials and software you need to succeed on your course
  • Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours
  • Free printing for academic paperwork
  • Free online training with LinkedIn Learning.

Financial support

We offer lots of support to help you with fees and living costs. Check out our guide to student life on a budget and find out more about postgraduate funding.

You may be eligible for one of our scholarships including:

  • The Alumni Postgraduate Award – for all UK/EU Middlesex alumni a 20% fee reduction
  • The Commonwealth Scholarship – full course fees, airfares and a living allowance
  • The Chevening Scholarship – full course fees
  • The European Academic Awards – £1000 to £7000 for students showing academic excellence
  • Regional or International Merit Award –up to £2,000 towards course fees

For international students, we also have a limited number of other awards specific to certain regions, and work in partnership with funding providers in your country to help support you financially with your study.

Find out more about our postgraduate scholarships.

Help from your employer

Your employer can contribute towards the cost of your postgraduate study as part of their staff development programme.

Fees disclaimers

1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase postgraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.


We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.

Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.

Other courses

Environmental Health MSc

Start: September 2024

Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time

Code: PGB919

Sustainability and Environmental Management MSc

Start: September 2024

Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time

Code: PGD110

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