Bachelor of Science in Health & Safety

General Information

In recent years, various studies of accidents and illnesses in the workplace have led to increasing requirements for worker protection.As a result, there has been a very significant increase in EU driven legislation in the health & safety area.The Irish Government has been active in transposing much of this legislation into Irish Statute law and this has led to a significant growth in health & safety awareness at both management and employee level. There is, therefore, a significant responsibility on the part of the employer to protect the workforce and provide a safe place of work.This has led to a demand for people with health & safety qualifications to fulfil legal and practical requirements in the workplace.The Health & Safety course at the University of Limerick is distinctive in delivering a broad knowledge base to students across a range of health & safety areas.Our graduates, with a sound, scientific understanding of health & safety issues, are employed as safety professionals across a range of occupational settings.

The main areas of study in the programme include

• Occupational Hygiene - designing monitoring programmes for the workplace, assessing potential worker exposure to dusts, vapours, noise, biohazards etc.
• Toxicology & Health - how occupational hazards potentially affect the health and well-being of the worker
• Safety Analysis - the design of safe operating systems & processes
• Legislation - understanding the legal framework which underpins health & safety practice in both Ireland and Europe
• Risk Management - identifying safety hazards and quantifying and managing the associated risk
• Ergonomics - assessing people in their physical environment in relation to levels of comfort, posture, manual handling, musculo-skeletal disorder and injury avoidance methods
• Environmental Management - addresses significant environmental issues both in the workplace and outdoor environments which may impact on health & safety.

Course Structure

The degree programme is four years in duration. Early modules are dedicated to enhancing the students understanding of the basic sciences relevant to health, safety and the environment (biology, chemistry, computing, maths and physics). Basic concepts used in these subjects are applied to specific health & safety applications. Later modules in the programme focus on the areas of safety legislation, occupational hygiene, toxicology of exposure, occupational health, safety management, ergonomics and the assessment of risk.

Entry Requirements

Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the Established Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with at least Grade C3 in two Higher Level subjects and Grade D3 in four Ordinary or Higher Level subjects (including Mathematics; Irish or another language; and English).

In addition applicants are required to hold at least the following in the Leaving Certificate or an approved equivalent:Grade C3 in Higher Level Mathematics and a Grade D3 in a Higher or Ordinary Level paper in any one of the following: Physics, Chemistry, Physics with Chemistry, Engineering,Technical Drawing/Design & Communication Graphics,Technology, Agricultural Science, Biology.
OR Grade B3 in Ordinary Level Mathematics (Grade D3 in Higher Level Mathematics also suffices) and Grade C3 in one of the following Higher Level papers:Applied Mathematics, Physics,Chemistry, Physics with Chemistry, Biology, Agricultural Science.

Students can also enter this programme of study via the Science Choice degree LM117. A Special Mathematics Examination will be offered at UL following the Leaving Certificate results for those students who did not achieve the Mathematics requirement.

Career Prospects

A demand exists for graduates with specific expertise in the health & safety area.Opportunities exist across all sectors of industry, public service organisations, state agencies, consultancy companies and local authorities.These health & safety positions require graduates to have significant skills in the areas of legislation, safety management and occupational monitoring skills.One specific advantage of the B.Sc. Health & Safety qualification is that the graduate is equipped with the skills and safety knowledge to gain employment across a range of industrial sectors along with consultancy groups, local authorities and other organisations.

Graduates are employed in

• Chemical & Biotechnology based industry
• Energy generation
• Electronics manufacture
• Transport Sector
• Public Service
• Medical Sector
• Construction / Mining industries
• Safety / Environmental Consultancy companies
• Local Authorities

Graduates of our programme receiving a good honours degree are eligible to pursue taught M.Sc. programmes and Ph.D.s by research in various aspects of health & safety science.