2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Bachelor of Science in Occupational Safety and Health Management
Requirements for a Major in Occupational Safety and Health Management
Students planning to major in occupational safety and health management (OSHM) must complete the following requirements:
Degree Requirements
The general university degree requirements must be met as identified in the General Academic Policies section of the Grand Valley State University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog. Note that some of the OSHM fundamentals courses listed as follows meet these requirements.
Fundamentals
Admission to major standing in the OSHM program requires approval of a secondary application. Applicants must meet at least the following:
- GPA of 2.3 or above in the following OSHM fundamentals courses
- Completion of each course in the OSHM fundamentals with a grade of C (2.0) or above with not more than one repeat
The OSHM fundamentals courses, 33 to 38 credits, are as follows:
- EITHER BIO 105 - Environmental Science (3 credits) OR BIO 104 - Biology for the 21st Century (4 credits) OR BIO 120 - General Biology I (4 credits) OR BOTH CMB 155 - Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (3 credits) AND CMB 156 - Discoveries in Cell and Molecular Biology: A Research-based Laboratory Course (1 credit)
- BMS 202 - Anatomy and Physiology (4 credits) OR BMS 208 - Human Anatomy (3 credits)
- CHM 109 - Introductory Chemistry (4 credits) OR CHM 115 - Principles of Chemistry I (4 credits)
- CHM 230 - Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry (4 credits) OR CHM 232 - Biological Chemistry (4 credits)
- MTH 122 - College Algebra (3 credits) OR MTH 125 - Survey of Calculus (3 credits) OR MTH 201 - Calculus I (4 credits)
- OSH 300 - Introduction to Occupational Safety and Health (3 credits)
- PHY 200 - Physics for the Life Sciences (4 credits) OR PHY 220 - General Physics I (5 credits) OR PHY 230 - Principles of Physics I (5 credits)
- PSY 101 - Introductory Psychology (3 credits)
- STA 215 - Introductory Applied Statistics (3 credits) OR STA 220 - Statistical Modeling for Engineers (2 credits)
- EITHER WRT 150 - Strategies in Writing (4 credits) OR BOTH WRT 120 - Strategies in Writing - Stretch I (3 credits) AND WRT 130 - Strategies in Writing - Stretch II (3 credits)
Core Courses
A minimum of 37 semester hours are required, including:
- OSH 310 - Hazard Control (3 credits)
- OSH 316 - Health and Safety Techniques (3 credits)
- OSH 326 - Principles of Industrial Hygiene (3 credits)
- OSH 330 - Principles of Loss Control (3 credits)
- OSH 350 - Behavioral Aspects of Safety (3 credits)
- OSH 390 - OSH Internship Preparation (1 credit)
- OSH 400 - Critical Incident Analysis (3 credits)
- OSH 410 - Ergonomic Safety Engineering (3 credits)
- OSH 414 - Environmental Safety and Health Regulations (3 credits)
- OSH 424 - Fire Science (3 credits)
- OSH 440 - Safety and Health Program Development (3 credits)
- OSH 490 - Internship in Occupational Safety and Health Management (3 to 6 credits)
- OSH 495 - Safety and Health Administration (3 credits)
Elective Courses
In addition to the preceding, students must take nine hours of electives from the list as follows:
- OSH 360 - Motor Fleet Safety (3 credits)
- OSH 370 - Product Safety and Liability (3 credits)
- OSH 416 - Advanced Industrial Hygiene (3 credits)
- OSH 430 - Construction Safety (3 credits)
- OSH 460 - Environmental Compliance Applications (3 credits)
Suggested Order of Coursework
This suggested order of coursework for students pursuing a major in OSHM assumes that students will complete the fundamentals and general education courses with the help of their advisor and apply for admission by February 1 of the winter semester of their sophomore year.
Year One
- General education-Foundations courses (9 credits)
- Free elective
- BIO 105 - Environmental Science (3 credits) OR BIO 120 - General Biology I (4 credits)
- CHM 109 - Introductory Chemistry (4 credits)
- PSY 101 - Introductory Psychology (3 credits)
- STA 215 - Introductory Applied Statistics (3 credits)
- WRT 150 - Strategies in Writing (4 credits)
Year Two
- General education-Foundations courses (9 credits)
- Free elective
- BMS 202 - Anatomy and Physiology (4 credits) OR BMS 208 - Human Anatomy (3 credits)
- CHM 230 - Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry (4 credits)
- MTH 125 - Survey of Calculus (3 credits)
- OSH 300 - Introduction to Occupational Safety and Health (3 credits)
- PHY 200 - Physics for the Life Sciences (4 credits)
Year Three
- OSHM electives (6 credits)
- General education-Issues (6 credits)
- OSH 310 - Hazard Control (3 credits)
- OSH 316 - Health and Safety Techniques (3 credits)
- OSH 326 - Principles of Industrial Hygiene (3 credits)
- OSH 390 - OSH Internship Preparation (1 credit)
- OSH 400 - Critical Incident Analysis (3 credits)
- OSH 414 - Environmental Safety and Health Regulations (3 credits)
- OSH 424 - Fire Science (3 credits)
Summer Between Third and Fourth Years:
Year Four
- OSHM elective (3 credits)
- Free electives as needed to complete 120 total credits
- OSH 330 - Principles of Loss Control (3 credits)
- OSH 350 - Behavioral Aspects of Safety (3 credits)
- OSH 410 - Ergonomic Safety Engineering (3 credits)
- OSH 440 - Safety and Health Program Development (3 credits)
- OSH 495 - Safety and Health Administration (3 credits)