Health & Safety Officer Education Requirements: Degrees, Majors, Colleges

Health & safety officer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a health & safety officer. Health & safety officers usually study business, environmental science, or occupational safety and health. 59% of health & safety officers hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 2,252 real health & safety officer resumes to see exactly what health & safety officer education sections show.

The most common colleges for health & safety officers are the Columbia Southern University and the Columbia Southern University.

There are also many online health & safety officer courses to help get the education required to be a health & safety officer.

There are certain health & safety officer certifications that you should consider. These health & safety officer certifications include OSHA Safety Certificate and Certified Safety Professional (CSP).

What education do you need to become a health & safety officer?

What degree do you need to be a health & safety officer?

The most common degree for health & safety officers is bachelor's degree, with 59% of health & safety officers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 19% and associate degree degree at 11%.

Bachelor's, 59%

Associate, 19%

Master's, 11%

High School Diploma, 4%

Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become a health & safety officer?

You should major in business to become a health & safety officer. 12% of health & safety officers major in business. Other common majors for a health & safety officer include environmental science and occupational safety and health.

Business, 12%

Environmental Science, 10%

Occupational Safety And Health, 9%

Public Health, 9%

Other Majors, 60%

Most common colleges for health & safety officers

Health & safety officers often get their degrees at Columbia Southern University, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, and University of Phoenix. Here are the most common colleges for health & safety officers in the US based on their resumes.

Health & safety officer common college	Percentages
Columbia Southern University	19.78%
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	7.14%
University of Phoenix	7.14%
Eastern Kentucky University	6.04%
University of California - Davis	5.49%

Show more common health & safety officer colleges

Best majors for health & safety officers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	12.2%
2	Environmental Science	9.5%
3	Occupational Safety And Health	9.4%
4	Public Health	9.3%
5	Biology	7.8%

Show more common health & safety officer majors

20 best online courses for health & safety officers

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1. Occupational Health & Safety Training

4.4

(1,198)

Workplace Health and Safety Course For Employees & Managers...

2. ISO 45001. Occupational health & safety management system

4.6

(4,258)

Upgrate your health and safety career by understanding the requriements for an OH & S management system from ISO 45001...

3. OSHA Safety Training: Conducting Safety Meetings

4.5

(958)

A Brief Safety Management Course for Current and Aspiring Safety Professionals...

4. Complete Health and Safety Auditor Course. OHSAS 18001.

4.5

(2,235)

How to implement and audit a health & safety management system and obtain certification to OHSAS 18001 Standard...

5. NEBOSH health and safety Management System

4.3

(448)

It Shows the Start point to Build your Health & safety Career and how to Join the field and becoming HSE Specialist...

6. NEBOSH FIRE SAFETY

4.4

(252)

Managing Fire Safety in Workplace...

7. Fire Safety: Become A Fire Safety Expert

4.3

(484)

Become an expert in Fire Safety, Fire Hazards Control, Fire Evacuation Plans, and Fire Risk Assessment...

8. Basic Certificate in Health Safety & Environment-HSE Level 2

4.4

(355)

A comprehensive course for Safety Officers, Supervisors, Managers and Aspiring Safety Professionals...

9. OSHA Safety Pro: Deadly Concrete Dust. Crystalline Silica.

4.4

(478)

OSHA's General, Construction, and Maritime Industries Hazard Prevention and Safety Standard...

10. OSHA Safety Pro: Personal Protective Equipment

4.5

(1,881)

Impress management or get that job with you your ability to display life and dollar saving work place safety practices...

11. Basic Fire Safety Awareness

4.3

(776)

Basic Fire Safety Awareness - Your Gateway towards Career in Fire Safety...

12. OSHA Safety Training: Heat Stress Management

4.6

(465)

A Workplace Safety Management Course for Current and Future Safety Professionals...

13. Functional Safety for Safety Instrumented Systems

4.1

(263)

The most complete course available on Functional Safety. 2+ hours of videos, case studies, assignments, & more...

14. OSHA Workplace Safety (General Industry 6 Hr Class)

4.5

(2,583)

Learn the requirements and standards associated with OSHA and workplace safety. Safety best practices for the workplace...

15. OSHA Safety Pro: Trenching Excavation & Soil Mechanics

4.3

(727)

A quick yet detailed certification in OSHA safety with a focus on Trenching, Excavation, & Soil Mechanics...

16. Fire Safety and Prevention Planning

4.4

(1,467)

Become an expert in understanding Fire Safety and Prevention Planning for your workplaces and organizations...

17. Fun food safety and sanitation course

4.6

(539)

The food safety course will help prepare you for safely working in a kitchen and food handler tests like Servesafe...

18. Food Safety for Managers and Supervisors

4.3

(489)

The Highfield Food Safety Level 3 syllabus presented in two hours of video tutorials. Boost your food safety knowledge...

19. ISO 22000:2018. Food Safety Management System

4.4

(976)

Understand the requirements for a food safety management system applicable for any organization in the food chain...

20. Refresher course of Safety Management Systems

4.7

(390)

A quick overview for aviation managers and safety professionals about basic concepts and philosophy of SMS...

Average health & safety officer salary by education level

Health & safety officers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $72,469 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, health & safety officers earn a median annual income of $60,196 compared to $58,902 for health & safety officers with an Associate degree.

Health & safety officer education level	Health & safety officer salary
Master's Degree	$72,469
High School Diploma or Less	$51,999
Bachelor's Degree	$60,196
Some College/ Associate Degree	$58,902