Master's degree in Occupational Health and Safety

Barcelona School of Building Construction (EPSEB)

The aim of the interuniversity master’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety (master's degree website), organized by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), is to provide professionals with the knowledge, abilities and skills necessary to take on high-level professional responsibilities in the field of occupational health and safety. Students specialise in various non-medical areas of prevention, including occupational safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics and applied social psychology, enabling them to update their technological knowledge and to embark on a doctoral thesis.

General details

Duration and start date: 1.5 academic year, 90 ECTS credits. Starting September
Timetable and delivery: Afternoons. Face-to-face
During the 2020-2021 academic year, students who are unable to attend in person at the beginning of the academic year will be given the opportunity to stream classes.
Fees and grants: Approximate fees for the master’s degree, excluding other costs, €2,490 (€6,225 for non-EU residents).
More information about fees and payment options
More information about grants and loans
Language of instruction: Spanish
Information on language use in the classroom and students’ language rights.
Location: Barcelona School of Building Construction (EPSEB)
Official degree: Recorded in the Ministry of Education's degree register

Admission

General requirements

Academic requirements for admission to master's degrees

Specific requirements

Graduates of foreign universities or higher education institutions must submit the original homologation certificate and a photocopy (or certified copy) of the qualification that grants access to the master’s degree.

Admission criteria

The qualification obtained in the applicant’s academic record. The average mark obtained from the qualifications according to the following evaluation: Pass - 1; Merit - 2; Excellent - 3; Distinction - 4; Fail - 0.
The curriculum vitae.
Letters of reference and tasks related to workplace risk prevention will be considered positively.

Places

Pre-enrolment

Pre-enrolment closed (consult the new pre-enrolment periods in the academic calendar).

How to pre-enrol

Enrolment

How to enrol

Legalisation of foreign documents

All documents issued in non-EU countries must be legalised and bear the corresponding apostille.

Curriculum

First semester

Second semester

Third semester

CompulsoryECTS
OptionalECTS
ProjectECTS

Professional opportunities

Professional opportunities

Graduates of this master’s degree course will be experts able to work as technical staff with high-level workplace risk prevention functions. It should be remembered that, since 1995, the Prevention Law 31/1995 and Royal Decree 39/1997 make it obligatory for companies to have preventive resources organised as internal or external health and safety services, which must consist of qualified technical staff.

Competencies

Generic competencies

Generic competencies are the skills that graduates acquire regardless of the specific course or field of study. The generic competencies established by the UPC are capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and social commitment, knowledge of a foreign language (preferably English), teamwork and proper use of information resources.

Specific skills

In-depth knowledge of the relationship between working conditions and health, and ability to analyse the main occupational health problems and prevent workplace accidents.
Ability to differentiate between workplace accidents, occupational illnesses and work-related illnesses.
Knowledge of the activities of the medical services, the fundamental aspects of health promotion in the workplace and the structure of the health and safety system (public bodies with authority in such matters, private insurance companies, etc.).
Knowledge of legislation on workplace health and ability to follow updates to this legislation, identify the autonomous community, national and European technical bodies related to workplace health and safety and interpret specific legislation and technical regulations concerning matters of safety in the workplace.
Sufficient technical knowledge to carry out risk assessments and to suggest corrective measures for general hazards related to the workplace, facilities, working equipment, fire hazards, explosions, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, applied psychosociology, etc.
Ability to apply prevention-related techniques: product safety, management of capital assets and road safety, and communication techniques in the prevention of workplace risks.
Ability to identify and differentiate between the basic elements of organisation, management and integration of health and safety within a company.
Good negotiation techniques, research techniques into workplace health, design and evaluation of ventilation systems, etc.
Ability to identify and differentiate between advanced techniques of noise evaluation and control in industry, mechanisms for transmission and entry routes for biological agents.
Ability to identify and differentiate between specific risks associated with construction, machinery, agricultural installations, offices, computer equipment, etc., and to develop intervention plans to correct them.
Ability to coordinate health and safety activities with health awareness activities and to provide first aid.
Ability to promote the system of responsibilities regarding workplace risk prevention.
Ability to develop emergency plans, training plans and information plans for employees, including detection of needs and establishment of evaluation systems and monitoring measures.
Ability to communicate appropriately with employees and their representatives and with other technical and management agents in the company with responsibilities in the area of workplace health and safety conditions.
Ability to evaluate chemical, physical and biological risks in relation to physical and mental strain at work, etc., and to suggest corrective measures.
Ability to draw up health and safety plans, biological waste management plans, works safety plans, etc. Ability to apply epidemiological methods to solving problems and to design epidemiological studies to check hypotheses.
Ability to manage disasters related to the climate, road accidents involving hazardous chemical products, radioactive substances or fires.
Ability to prevent and detect psychosocial problems and to implement techniques of adaptation between the demands of the job and the employee's abilities.
Ability to encourage healthy behaviour, habits, consumption and lifestyles and the active participation of employees in their own health, while encouraging a culture of health and safety within the company and the creation of healthy environments.
Ability to exchange and integrate information with multidisciplinary teams and to exercise workplace risk prevention in accordance with ethical criteria.