Program Overview

Master's Degree in Occupational Health and Safety

The Master's Degree in Occupational Health and Safety is a comprehensive program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage occupational health and safety in various industries. The program is offered by the Official Masters School at the Rey Juan Carlos University.

Basic Information

The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of occupational health and safety, including the legal framework, risk assessment, and prevention measures. The program consists of 60 ECTS credits and can be completed in one academic year.

Objectives

The objectives of the program are to:

• Provide students with a comprehensive understanding of occupational health and safety
• Equip students with the skills necessary to manage occupational health and safety in various industries
• Prepare students for careers in occupational health and safety

Competences

The program aims to develop the following competences in students:

• Basic skills:
  • CB6: Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and/or application of ideas
  • CB7: Apply the knowledge acquired and their ability to solve problems in new or little-known environments
  • CB8: Integrate knowledge and face the complexity of formulating judgments based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments
  • CB9: Communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and ultimate reasons that support them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way
  • CB10: Have the learning skills that allow them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous
• General competencies:
  • CG01: Ability to know and manage the sources of information and knowledge that support the Occupational Risk Prevention Technician
  • CG02: Ability to know the fundamentals and techniques necessary for the identification of risks, evaluation, and planning of preventive action in the company
  • CG03: Ability to know the regulatory framework, concepts, and principles applicable to occupational risk prevention
  • CG04: Ability to know the existing collective and individual protection measures, depending on the nature of the risks
  • CG05: Ability to perform the functions of Senior Technician in Occupational Risk Prevention in any of its specialties
  • CG06: Ability to develop reasoned reports that allow identifying, evaluating, and planning the risks derived from work
  • CG07: Ability to, in the face of different risk situations, establish the obligations that may be required, as well as draw the consequences of their lack of compliance
  • CG08: Ability to know the preventive measures applicable in the field of industrial hygiene to eliminate or reduce the results derived from exposure to chemical, physical, and biological agents in the work environment
  • CG09: Ability to understand the fundamental concepts of Ergonomics and Psychosociology at Work in order to develop and apply job design techniques
  • CG10: Ability to carry out actions to promote the health of workers in the company, from a care, preventive, and rehabilitative perspective, proposing the necessary measures to comply with the obligation to monitor the health of workers, in accordance with the regulations applicable in this regard
  • CG11: Ability to identify and the different possibilities of organization of prevention in the company, in accordance with the principles of integration of prevention in the objectives of higher quality of the company and better protection of the environment
  • CG12: Ability to integrate knowledge and deal with the complexity of formulating reasoned judgments in the field applicable in a company in terms of occupational risk prevention, based on information that may be incomplete or limited
• Specific competencies:
  • CE01: Know in depth the relationship between working conditions and health and establish the differences between health problems resulting from work accidents, professional illnesses, and work-related illnesses
  • CE02: Evaluate the risks that can cause accidents at work, applying the necessary techniques to identify, evaluate, and plan preventive activity through the analysis of risk factors in the company
  • CE03: Prepare and analyze accident rates and determine the weak points and strengths of the organization according to the procedures established in the implemented prevention management system
  • CE04: Design and develop communication activities that allow the effective management of information in terms of occupational risk prevention
  • CE05: Design emergency and evacuation plans, in cases of serious and imminent risk to the safety and health of workers
  • CE06: Recommend safe behaviors and ensure the monitoring of the conditions that workplaces must meet, taking into account electrical and fire risks
  • CE07: Identify and evaluate hygienic risks (chemical, biological, and physical) in characteristic productive sectors and prioritize the preventive measures to be applied to control the risk
  • CE08: Identify and analyze the training needs and demands on occupational risk prevention of workers in different work contexts, as well as knowing how to adjust these needs to the jobs
  • CE09: Prepare an ergonomic study of workstations, identifying the risks of the workstation and the work environment, recommending measures to control risk
  • CE10: Identify and recommend preventive measures against psychosocial risks that may have a negative impact on the health of workers, especially those related to workload, fatigue, and stress
  • CE11: Know in depth techniques related to occupational risk prevention such as product safety and quality, environmental management, industrial safety, and road safety and integrate these techniques into the design of occupational prevention processes and plans
  • CE12: Design training plans in the company and develop activities that allow staff to carry out their work properly, avoiding accidents at work
  • CE13: Develop and implement the policies and objectives of the health and safety management system in different types of companies
  • CE14: Understand and implement the phases of the audit process of occupational risk prevention management systems
  • CE15: Prepare documents and reports on issues related to audits of occupational risk prevention management systems
  • CE16: Master the technical language in terms of standardization and certification in the field of occupational risk prevention
  • CE17: Interpret the regulatory framework applicable to the prevention of occupational hazards and, specifically, Law 31/1995, of November 8, and its implementing regulations
  • CE18: Know how to apply the knowledge acquired on occupational risk prevention to the usual dynamics of the business world
  • CE19: Plan, develop, and publicly defend the master's thesis that integrates knowledge and skills in occupational risk prevention
  • CE20: Know in depth the deontological rules of the Higher Technician in Prevention of Occupational Risks

Admission and Enrollment

The requirements for access to the proposed title are according to article 18 of Royal Decree 822/2021, of September 28:

1. Possession of an official Spanish Graduate or Graduate university degree or equivalent is a condition for accessing a Master's Degree, or, where appropriate, having another University Master's degree, or titles of the same level as the Spanish Bachelor's or Master's degree issued by universities and higher education institutions in an EHEA country that in that country allow access to Master's degrees.
2. In the same way, people in possession of titles from educational systems that are not part of the EHEA, which are equivalent to a Bachelor's degree, will be able to access a Master's Degree in the Spanish university system, without the need for homologation of the title, but verification by the university of the level of training that they imply, as long as in the country where said title was issued it allows access to university postgraduate level studies. In no case will access through this route imply the homologation of the previous degree held by the person concerned or its recognition for other purposes than that of carrying out the Master's degree.

Training Itinerary

The training itinerary is as follows:

• I. Basic issues of occupational risk prevention
  • 1. Fundamentals and legal framework of occupational risk prevention (6 ECTS)
  • 2. Communication and negotiation in the prevention of occupational hazards (3 ECTS)
  • 3. Training as a basic element in the prevention of occupational risks (3 ECTS)
• II. Technical matters of occupational risk prevention
  • 1. Safety at work (6 ECTS)
  • 2. Industrial hygiene (6 ECTS)
  • 3. Ergonomics and applied psychosociology (6 ECTS)
  • 4. New emerging risks (3 ECTS)
• III. Management of Occupational Risk Prevention and Responsibilities
  • 1. Prevention management systems of occupational hazards (3 ECTS)
  • 2. Quality, environment, and safety management (3 ECTS)
  • 3. Audits of the management systems of prevention of occupational hazards (3 ECTS)
  • 4. System of responsibilities in prevention matters of occupational risks (3 ECTS)
• IV. Master's Thesis (6 ECTS)
• V. External Practices (9 ECTS)

Material Resources

The program has access to various material resources, including libraries, laboratories, and computer facilities.

External Internships

The External Practices subject is a curricular subject whose main objective is to promote a comprehensive training of the student through the practical application of the knowledge acquired during the Master's degree. The internships represent a decisive opportunity for the personal development and professional future of the students.

Quality Guarantee

The program has a quality guarantee system in place, which includes:

• Internal quality assurance system
• Composition of the commission
• Results report
• General information collection plan
• Improvement actions
• Renewal of accreditation

The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of occupational health and safety, and to equip them with the skills necessary to manage occupational health and safety in various industries. The program is offered by the Official Masters School at the Rey Juan Carlos University and has a quality guarantee system in place to ensure the quality of the program.