Master of Safety Engineering

Master of Safety Engineering

The Master in Safety Engineering will prepare you to improve and realise safety in many different areas. The programme trains you in prevention policy and safety management systems, the safety of products, processes, and installations, qualitative risk analysis techniques, and fire and explosion safety. You'll obtain detailed knowledge of technical and managerial process safety concepts with regard to the whole life cycle of a production plant, and risk evaluations based on qualitative and quantitative methods.

About this programme 

This advanced master elevates your knowledge on a broad range of safety aspects and techniques. Many courses are taught by safety experts from industry. Moreover, theory is complemented by practical illustrations and cases from industry during classes and company visits.

Safety is a permanent point of attention in the chemical, life science and process industries. Taking care of the health of employees, the safety of industrial processes, and the protection of the environment requires broad knowledge and expertise from safety experts in the field. This includes mastering techniques for the assessment and control of risks, the protection of process installations, knowledge on explosion safety, an understanding of occupational safety and the impact of human factors, etc. However, many engineering graduates are only confronted with the importance of safety issues when they start to work as a professional, as many educational (engineering) programmes teach the subject either minimally or not at all.

The advanced Master of Safety Engineering does not only want to attract young engineers that just finished an initial master, but also working professionals whom want to educate themselves on safety engineering or take a job position in this field. Working professionals may subscribe to the master programme as parttime student and obtain the diploma after two years.

Students will have acquired knowledge on scientific and technological disciplines, required to understand and analyse the various technical and non-technical aspects related to safety

Besides a truncus communis, students select one of the two options. The Option Process Safety will deepen on the technical and scientific aspects of process safety. The Option Prevention focuses on occupational safety with a particular orientation towards a prevention advisor.

Students who follow the option Prevention will receive the Certificaat Preventieadviseur Niveau 1.

Programme structure

The Master of Safety Engineering programme consists of a common compulsory course set (17 ECTS), courses related to a chosen option (28 ECTS), and a Master's Thesis (15 ECTS). The Option Process Safety focuses on technical and managerial aspects related to the safety of industrial processes, and covers safety concepts related to process design, start-up, operation, as well as maintenance.

The Option Prevention focuses on occupational safety and health, including organisational, physical and cognitive ergonomics and legal aspects. This option is only open for Dutch speaking students and grants the Prevention Advisor Certificate Level 1 issued by the Belgian government.

Career perspectives

You are prepared to function as a safety professional in a work environment, particularly in those settings where technical industrial knowledge is essential. You find employment in small national and large multinational industrial companies in Europe and further afield. You find a job in diverse sectors, e.g., chemical industry, processing industry, energy sector, life sciences industry. You may also be employed in private and/or governmental organisations that conduct research, carry out analyses, perform inspections and provide monitoring and certification in the broad field of safety. You may be appointed prevention advisor when you followed the option Prevention (only for Dutch speaking students and in Belgium).