Minor in Occupational Safety

    The purpose of this minor is to educate science and engineering students with basic concepts and fundamentals in the field of occupational safety.  This field seeks to protect the safety and health of workers.  Companies and organizations are interested in protecting the safety and health of their workers for humanitarian reasons, for regulatory reasons, and for economic reasons.  This minor seeks to recognize the importance of integrating occupational safety into corporate culture and across all business sectors.  Each scientist and engineer has a primary ethical obligation to hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.

    The minor will allow SDSM&T graduates to augment their education in their chosen major field with some emphasis on occupational safety and will improve their marketability to employers.  This minor is important, at least on the engineering side, for the following reasons:

  • An NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying) survey indicated that nearly all engineering disciplines included significant responsibilities for safety.
  • Most engineering curriculums do not include safety and health courses.
  • The ABET 200 curriculum guidelines state, "Students must be prepared for engineering practice through the curriculum culminating in a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating engineering standards and realistic constraints that include most of the following considerations: economic, environmental, sustainability, manufacturability, ethical, health and safety, and political."

    The Minor in Occupational Safety is offered to students enrolled in any Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree program at SDSM&T and must adhere to the policy for minors in the Undergraduate Catalog (p.51).  The minimum math/science competence must be demonstrated prior to notification of intent to seek the minor.  A minimum of 21 credits must be earned from the list of required courses, which includes a minimum of six elective credits.