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Masters in Occupational Health

College of Medicine and Health
PAC Course Code: CKX06
Qualification: MSc
Duration: 2 Years part-time from October 2012 - This course is run on a cyclical basis and is not due to commence again in October 2012
EU Fees: The fee for this programme for the academic year 2012/2013 is €2,925.00 euros. A similar fee will be payable in the second year of the programme in 2013/2014.
Closing Date - EU Applicants: Fri, 01 June 12
Closing Date - Non-EU Applicants: Fri, 01 June 12

Overview of Occupational Health (MSc)

The MSc in Occupational Health is an integrated course in occupational health, safety and welfare. It is a part-time taught programme running for 2 years. The course will be held on 2 evenings per week (Monday and Thursday 6:15 to 9.15p.m.) from October to May. The programme provides a multidisciplinary approach to occupational health including public health, occupational medicine and hygiene, psychology, law, risk assessment and management, training and development, ergonomics and epidemiology. The course is suitable for individuals already working in occupational safety and health, or other individuals with a strong interest in occupational health and a primary degree in a cognate area.

What will I be Studying?

Programme Organisation and Structure

The course consists of three elements, formal course work, self-directed learning using case studies, and project work leading to a thesis (EH6018).

Year 1
EH6008 Research Methods and Information Retrieval in Occupational Health

EH6009 Psychosocial Epidemiology

EH6015 Occupational Health and Safety Management in the Workplace

EH6016 Critical Appraisal of Publications and Legal Aspects of Occupational Safety and Health (10 credits)

Year 2
EH6017 Principles, Theory and Practical Application of Risk Assessment and Management Programmes in the Workplace

EH6018 Research Methods in Occupational Health II

EH 6041 Psychology Applied to Occupational Health and Safety.

A full description of the above modules is available from Book of Modules

Entry Requirements

Candidates for the MSc programme in Occupational Health must normally meet one of the following criteria:

a primary degree in a cognate area or equivalent plus relevant professional experience as adjudged by the College of Medicine and Health, or
a minimum of a Diploma in Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare from UCC or an equivalent Diploma from another institution and a relevant professional qualification and relevant work experience in occupational safety, health and welfare as adjudged by the College of Medicine and Health.

Selection will be based on academic achievement and relevant work experience. All applicants will be invited to an interview and have to satisfy the selection committee.

English Language Requirements:

IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL equivalent

Part-Time Taught Postgraduate Programmes

Please note that non-EU applicants are not eligible to study part-time programmes

Application Procedure

Application for this programme is on-line at www.pac.ie/ucc. For full details of the application procedure click here. Please note that you will be asked to fill in a supplementary information form as part of the applications process for this programme. This form is available to view here SupplementaryFormCKX06 (14kB)

All required documentation must be either uploaded to your application or sent in hard copy to The Postgraduate Applications Centre, 1, Courthouse Square, Galway.

Career Opportunities

The course is suitable for individuals already working in occupational safety and health such as health & safety advisors, health and safety officers, occupational health nurses or other persons with a keen interest in occupational health and safety.

This program is also suitable for those who want to build a new career in this area, for example nurses, HR personnel, public health and social science graduates and psychologists.

To find out more on how the course was experienced by some of the former students in the MSc and how it impacted on their career please read some of their testimonials:

- Orla Kelleher (Occ. Health and Safety Manager – Bons Secours Hospital)

Orla Kelleher found the MSc in Occupational Health most useful for her job as Occupational Health Manager at the Bons Secours Hospital in Cork.

Orla’s background is in nursing & midwifery and in the late 1990s she did the Higher Diploma in Occupational Health & Hygiene at NUIG following which she worked in the health and safety area in consultancy. She has been involved with the occupational health and safety area in the Bons Secours Hospital since its development and has been specialising in the Occupational Health area for the last five years.

“I was in the first MSc Occupational Health class and I found sharing working experiences with the other students very useful. We all tend to be quite isolated in our roles and had a lot to offer each other in class discussions. The work is very varied incorporating preventative, treatment, and risk management elements. I try to focus on preventive work as much as possible and spend a lot of time on training and policy development. The profile of occupational health requires to be strategically linked to corporate objectives and thus will enhance cost containment, well being, motivation and ultimately performance”.

The syllabus of the Masters was particularly useful to her working in the health care sector. She states it gave her a good grounding in the different aspects and finds it very helpful that she is well versed in the different aspects such as employment law which is important in her particular role. The research component has added to her confidence in practice.

Orla believes that the Masters has enhanced the overall perception of her job.

- Padraig O’ Mahony (Bricklayer – Self-employed)

I am a self-employed bricklayer for the last twenty years and I am 45 years old. Four years ago I decided to return to school to do the Diploma in safety, health and welfare at work in the hope of changing career. I decided this for two reasons. The first reason was after working in construction for over twenty years I was starting to feel the effects of the physical work I was involved in and secondly I hoped by changing career direction it would help me stay in employment longer than being employed in construction would allow.

On completion of this course I decided to do the MSc in Occupational Health as with the current economic climate I hoped it would improve my chances of gaining employment in the health and safety sector.

Yes the course lived up to expectations and was really enjoyable both socially and intellectually. The most enjoyable parts of the course for me were the psychosocial epidemiology module/health promotion, employment law and the thesis which was a real highlight. Psychosocial module/health promotion I feel was particularly important and relevant as there is too much emphasis on the technical side of safety in the workplace and the risk from ergonomic hazards (mainly due to the changes in health and safety regulations and insurance reasons).

There have been improvements in safety but a lot of work still needs to be done educating workers on the risks from ill health with regard to psychosocial hazards such as long working hours, oppressive management, and lack of psychosocial support as well as the risk from ill health due to smoking, obesity and fatigue etc.

There is a real need to integrate health promotion with specific health and safety issues if employees’ health is to improve. The thesis part of the MSc – a real highlight, showed me just how little research on health issues has been done in the construction industry and the importance of promoting health and educating workers on occupational health issues within this industry.

I feel this course helped me gain valuable work in the health and safety sector. As a person, it has greatly improved my confidence and a broader knowledge of health and safety issues.

- Jerry Buckley (Health and Safety Manager – Diamond Health&Safety)

I was one of the students that went through the first program and it was such a large and informative course that it opened my eyes to many aspects of Occupational Health that I didn’t know existed.

From a personal point of view the knowledge I gained has enlightened my understanding of everyday topics. I can now look at reports produced in the newspapers and on TV and understand the collection and collating of the data and how it can be used in a variety of ways to produce statics to support opposing points of view.

From a professional angle I was employed on the periphery of the health and safety profession and now I am self-employed with a nationally (and internationally) recognised Master’s Degree on a relevant discipline. What this gives me is validation of my knowledge by a national university and a level 9 qualification on the national framework for education. When I write reports or give advice it is an assurance to my clients that I can do so with an informed knowledge and an authority that is verifiable.

I would strongly recommend anyone interested in Occupational Health to participate in the program.

Find out More

Number of Places: 25 - 30

Ms. Sara Leitao

University College Cork
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health
Brookfield Health Sciences Complex
College Cork
Cork.
Tel: 00353 214205521 Fax: 00353 21 4901604

Email: s.leitao@ucc.ie

Alternatively please contact:

Mr. Willie Weir
Department of Adult & Continuing Education
University College Cork
Tel: 00353 (0)86 8326622

Email: w.weir@ucc.ie

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