Occupational Safety and Health Degree

Description

The Occupational Safety and Health Program, formerly Industrial Health and Safety, offers a degree and certificates. It is geared toward providing training and education in various aspects in the industries of health and safety (Oil and Gas, Energy, Construction, and Manufacturing, among others). It is ideal for those wishing to learn more about California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal OSHA) policies, expectations, and requirements. The Program will also be ideal for health and safety officers at places of business and industry, safety trainers and teachers, operations managers and supervisors, field staff, and others.

Students may earn a Degree: Associate in Science in Occupational Safety and Health, and/or Certificates upon the successful completion of program requirements. Link to the certificate descriptions, below.

Some courses are not offered online. Several courses in this Program are offered exclusively at the WESTEC facility in Shafter, California, and surrounding Kern County areas. Please see additional information here: http://westec.org/. Please note: This link is to an external website.

Earnings Potential

An associate degree in occupational safety and health offers you the salary potential of $51,113 two years after graduation from Taft College, with expected increases to $96,978 by five years, based on five-year studies of graduates by California Community Colleges. These do not reflect salaries with a four-year degree.1

There are careers in a range of fields with varied earnings potential, based on education levels and/or on-the-job experience. For example, the median annual wage for occupational health and safety specialists is $77,560 and $51,120 for occupational health and safety technicians, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The employment in these fields is projected to grow five percent from 2021 to 2031. For careers that typically require a minimum of a four-year degree, the median annual wage for health and safety engineers is $99,040; and $103,150 for industrial production managers, with projected job growth over the same decade of four and three percent, respectively.2

1 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Salary Surfer. 2021. https://salarysurfer.cccco.edu. Accessed 19 April 2023.

2 “Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 8 Sept. 2022. www.bls.gov/ooh. Accessed 19 April 2023.

Programs and Course Notification

Substantial program changes have been submitted to the state for approval to include the most relevant courses, and pre-existing courses have been inactivated or will not be made readily available for students to complete.

Any course listed below may be used as a substitute for any Occupational Safety and Health (formerly Industrial Health & Safety) major program requirement of equal or less unit value listed in current and prior catalogs. Substantial program changes have been submitted to the state for approval to include the most relevant courses and pre-existing courses have been inactivated or will not be made readily available for students to complete.

OSH 1532 Industrial Health & Safety Compliance; OSH 1552 Respiratory Protection for Hazardous Materials Handling & Permit Required Confined Spaces; OSH 2058 Occupational Safety & Health Standards & OSHA 30 Hour Construction Industry Training Program; OSH 2061 Occupational Safety and Health Standards & OSHA 30 hour General Industry Training Program; OSH 2065 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety & Health Standards; ENER 1503 Environmental Awareness & Regulatory Compliance (* See Office of Instruction Memo 12/01/2017)

Course Requirements

The following degree and certificate requirement links will take you to the Taft College Catalog. Please plan to return to the Taft College website and our Occupational Safety and Health Program.

To earn an Associate in Science in Occupational Safety and Health (formerly IES), students must complete: (1) all course requirements with a minimum grade of “C” in each course; and (2) complete General Education Graduation Requirements with an overall GPA of 2.0 or better.  See the degree requirements in the Taft College Catalog. Please note: This links to an external website.

To earn the Certificate, Occupational Safety and Health Basic Employee Safety in General Industry (Locally Approved Certificate), see the course requirements in the Taft College Catalog. Please note: This links to an external website.

To earn the Certificate, Occupational Safety and Health Midlevel Certificate of Achievement (Locally Approved Certificate), see the course requirements in the Taft College Catalog. Please note: This links to an external website.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the requirements for the major in Occupational Safety and Health, a student will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of federal and state standards Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in general industries.
  2. Apply integrated technical knowledge resulting in functional application of health and safety processes.

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