Safety Health & Welfare at Work

The course provides professional training in the management of safety, health and welfare at work. It is accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and was developed in co-operation with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). Graduates of the course meet the academic requirements for certified membership of IOSH upon completion.



The course is offered by ACE at UCC in association with the departments of Applied Psychology, Biochemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Law, Applied Social Studies, Statistics, the College of Medicine and Health, and the Industrial Liaison Unit. It is delivered on a part-time modular basis in order to meet the needs of working professionals, who in the past have come from a variety of disciplines including HR, construction, medicine, production and engineering.



The Higher Diploma in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work is designed to help you ensure the safety, health and welfare of the Irish workforce. Though the training is directed at Irish working conditions with the emphasis on chemical, pharmaceutical, agri-industry, electronics, health care and services, the course content is sufficiently broad to allow for new situations in different industries.



Effective worker protection and prevention of work-related ill health and accidents requires a widely based knowledge of toxicology, psychology, legislation, human body responses, ergonomics and engineering. Only with knowledge of all these related areas can effective solutions be recommended. You will learn the prevention of ill health and accidents, as well as getting specific training in prevention and protection in the workplace. On completion of the course, you will be competent in dealing effectively with the majority of health and safety problems in the workplace. Please see below a short introductory video about the course.

The Modules for the Higher Diploma are as follows:



Year 1



AD5809 Human Factors in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work

AD5853 Risk Management

AD5854 Technical Safety and Working Safely

AD5857 Accident Prevention and Emergency Planning

EH5802 Occupational Health and Health Promotion

LW5801 Health and Safety Legislation



Year 2



AD5810 Occupational Hygiene

AD5856 Health and Safety Management

AD5858 Researching Safety, Health and Welfare in Key Public Service Workplaces

AD5859 Researching Safety, Health and Welfare in the Construction Sector

AD5860 Researching Safety, Health and Welfare in the Pharma and Manufacturing Sectors

AD5861 Environmental Issues within Health and Safety Practice

BC5802 Chemical Safety and Toxicology

EH5801 Epidemiology and Data Collection

Applicants for entry to the Higher Diploma in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work will be at least 23 by 1 January of the year of application



AND



i) Hold a level 8 primary degree in any discipline and have a minimum of one-year relevant work experience in a related field such as health, engineering, HR, training, manufacturing and construction.



ii) Or candidates must hold a level 7 qualification with at least a second-class honours grade 1 in a relevant discipline (health, engineering, manufacturing, construction, HR, training) and have a minimum of three years’ relevant work experience in a related field such as health, engineering, HR, training, manufacturing, and construction.



iii) Or non-graduates with at least five years’ professional experience in a relevant senior management role in a related field such as health, engineering, HR, training, manufacturing and construction may also be considered for admission.



English Language Requirements



Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English Language must meet the university approved english language requirements. Please visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

2 years, part-time, blended.



Blended - Online Lectures and In Person Workshops in UCC.



This programme will be delivered in a blended format with live online classes two evenings per week Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6.30pm-9.30pm (some classes will be shorter).



For some modules pre-recorded materials will be released in advance of the live class to facilitate discussion. Approximately once a month there will be in-person class/workshop in UCC held on Saturdays.



We hope that this blended format will provide the best of online learning techniques with the best of in-person interaction and networking in the in-person classes.

Start Date 2026 dates will be announced in 2026