SOSU launches online master’s degree in Occupational Safety & Health

Press Release Date: 10-17-2007

Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s Department of Occupational Safety and Health in August successfully launched an online Master of Science degree in OSH with an initial enrollment of 26 graduate students.

Due to its primarily online or web–based format, the program has attracted interest from students all over the United States and overseas. Most of the students are currently working in full–time OSH positions and are taking classes from their homes and offices in California, Florida, Texas, and Colorado, among others.

The program includes graduate courses in Safety Program Management, Industrial Hygiene, Hazardous Materials, Construction, Airborne Contaminants, Legal Issues and Liability, and Emergency Program Management. Students benefit from instruction by some of the top safety professionals in their fields with numerous degrees, citations, certifications, and countless years of on–the–job experience.

SOSU’s Occupational Safety and Health Department has been on a steady track of growth since its inception in 1989. Expansion has doubled the size of the academic teaching and laboratory facilities. OSH has exceeded 300 in number of students majoring in occupational safety, passed the 800 mark in students taking at least one course, and logged its 650th alumnus. The department is now one of the largest Occupational Safety and Health programs in the United States.

New department facilities include two offices, a conference room, four labs (industrial hygiene/hazardous materials; ergonomics/construction; and acoustics, noise, and vibration; and an expanded 16–computer lab especially for OSH students).

Department Chair Dr. Wayne D. Jones said, “We’re very proud of what we have accomplished here at Southeastern. One of the ways I measure the success of our department is by the number of repeat companies that come to us seeking OSH professionals. I’m happy to say that we have dozens of companies returning to us year after year because we turn out students capable of taking a multi–million-dollar job and running with it right out of the gate upon graduation. I have letters from companies praising our graduates and the work they do. It makes me very proud.”

For more information about the program, call Dr. Jones at 580–745–2292 or e–mail wjones@sosu.edu.