Engineering Technology
Boost your career in Occupational Health and Safety with flexible options for working professionals.
Engineering Technology, Occupational Health and Safety Concentration, M.S.
The Occupational Health and Safety Concentration in the Engineering Technology M.S. program is offered through the College of Basic and Applied Sciences.
The program, geared toward full-time professionals with night classes, addresses dynamic changes in business and industry. Technically competent professionals can improve their skills to help them successfully transition into leadership positions in their field of expertise and into a general leadership role outside their area of technical expertise as their careers grow.
Occupational health and safety specialists analyze workplaces to help prevent disease and injury to workers and damage to the environment related to biological, chemical, ergonomic, and physical factors. They may inspect work environments for potential hazards, design new programs and procedures, and enforce public health and safety regulations.
MTSU's graduate degree includes both thesis and non-thesis options. Courses cover a range of topics such as industrial hygiene, fire safety, federal and state safety and environmental laws, safety psychology, ergonomics, toxicology, industrial safety, and safety planning.
This program offers mostly evening classes to accommodate working adults attending school part-time.
Faculty members have strong academic backgrounds and practical work experience in engineering, industrial management, safety, and industrial hygiene.
Graduate assistantships are available to qualified students. Also, there may be internships, short-term work experiences, and cooperative education experiences available.
News Briefs
Health/beauty company promotes alumnus
MTSU alumnus Matt Powers enrolled in the Occupational Health and Safety master's program in 2010 when his employment ended due to economic factors. Powers was promoted to environmental, health, and safety (EHS) supervisor for a health and beauty care manufacturer in April 2016. "Being able to work on various projects for different companies while at MTSU was a big benefit," Powers says. He assisted on many projects in a co-op position at an aerospace company. A Plant and Soil Science B.S. graduate in 2007, Powers returned to MTSU for his M.S. because of the Occupational H&S small class sizes. "You actually got to know your professors, and they got to know you. Everyone there wants you to succeed," he says. "Industry contacts are also a big plus." Powers, now a certified safety professional (CSP) and associated safety professional (ASP), supervises recycling operations and three employees. He oversees confined space rescue and hazmat teams, makes regulatory reports, handles shipping off hazardous/non-hazardous waste, and answers EHS questions from co-workers, among other duties.
Grad enforces industrial hygiene regulations
Eva Glosson got passionate about occupational health and safety when three major mining disasters happened during her final semester as an MTSU Geology major. She minored in Environmental Science and Technology, where Dr. Carol Boraiko's class discussed the mine accidents. "Occupational safety and health isn't just common sense — it's a lot of little things. . . . You literally get to save lives every day," Glosson says. She did research with Boraiko on two published papers and landed a job with an Alcoa smelter in August 2008 in Washington state before finishing her Occupational Health and Safety M.S. online that December. She now is an industrial hygienist compliance officer with Washington state, which OSHA allows to enforce its own stringent health and safety regulations. "I don't know of any other master's programs where you have so many opportunities through internships, research, going to governors' conferences, things like that, that really help you with networking and understanding what you're going to walk into in the real world."
News Briefs
Health/beauty company promotes alumnus
MTSU alumnus Matt Powers enrolled in the Occupational Health and Safety master's program in 2010 when his employment ended due to economic factors. Powers was promoted to environmental, health, and safety (EHS) supervisor for a health and beauty care manufacturer in April 2016. "Being able to work on various projects for different companies while at MTSU was a big benefit," Powers says. He assisted on many projects in a co-op position at an aerospace company. A Plant and Soil Science B.S. graduate in 2007, Powers returned to MTSU for his M.S. because of the Occupational H&S small class sizes. "You actually got to know your professors, and they got to know you. Everyone there wants you to succeed," he says. "Industry contacts are also a big plus." Powers, now a certified safety professional (CSP) and associated safety professional (ASP), supervises recycling operations and three employees. He oversees confined space rescue and hazmat teams, makes regulatory reports, handles shipping off hazardous/non-hazardous waste, and answers EHS questions from co-workers, among other duties.
Grad enforces industrial hygiene regulations
Eva Glosson got passionate about occupational health and safety when three major mining disasters happened during her final semester as an MTSU Geology major. She minored in Environmental Science and Technology, where Dr. Carol Boraiko's class discussed the mine accidents. "Occupational safety and health isn't just common sense — it's a lot of little things. . . . You literally get to save lives every day," Glosson says. She did research with Boraiko on two published papers and landed a job with an Alcoa smelter in August 2008 in Washington state before finishing her Occupational Health and Safety M.S. online that December. She now is an industrial hygienist compliance officer with Washington state, which OSHA allows to enforce its own stringent health and safety regulations. "I don't know of any other master's programs where you have so many opportunities through internships, research, going to governors' conferences, things like that, that really help you with networking and understanding what you're going to walk into in the real world."
The median annual wage for occupational health and safety specialists was $70,210 in May 2015, and the job outlook is expected to grow by 7.4% in Tennessee—almost double the national projection. The majority of graduates are employed by industry or government. Some pursue other advanced degrees. Federal agencies include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Occupational health and safety specialists also work in management, scientific, and technical consulting services; education services; hospitals; and manufacturing.
Some types of positions held by graduates
- Certified industrial hygienist
- Chief safety officer
- Corporate safety director
- Director of employee safety and health
- Energy management specialist
- Environmental health and safety (EHS) officer or manager
- Environmental management specialist
- Environmental protection officers
- Environmental scientist or specialist
- Health and safety engineer
- Health and safety manager
- Occupational health and safety technician
- Risk control consultant
- Safety and health consultant
- Safety director
- Safety specialist
Employers of MTSU alumni include
- Amazon
- Bridgestone
- Coca-Cola
- ERS-USA
- Feintool Tennessee
- General Mills
- General Motors
- Lockheed Martin
- Middle Tennessee State University
- Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Dept.
- Nissan
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Select Staffing
- State of Washington
- Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation
- United Technologies
- Vi-Jon, Inc.
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