Post job

Medical safety director education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a medical safety director. Medical safety directors usually study medicine, business, or medical technician. 43% of medical safety directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 16% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 143 real medical safety director resumes to see exactly what medical safety director education sections show.

The most common colleges for medical safety directors are the Columbia Southern University and the Columbia Southern University.

There are also many online medical safety director courses to help get the education required to be a medical safety director.

What education do you need to become a medical safety director?

What degree do you need to be a medical safety director?

The most common degree for medical safety directors is bachelor's degree, with 43% of medical safety directors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are doctoral degree degree at 16% and doctoral degree degree at 15%.
  • Bachelor's, 43%
  • Doctorate, 16%
  • Associate, 15%
  • Master's, 10%
  • Other Degrees, 16%

What should I major in to become a medical safety director?

You should major in medicine to become a medical safety director. 17% of medical safety directors major in medicine. Other common majors for a medical safety director include business and medical technician.

Most common colleges for medical safety directors

Medical safety directors often get their degrees at Columbia Southern University, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Brown University. Here are the most common colleges for medical safety directors in the US based on their resumes.
Medical safety director common collegePercentages
Columbia Southern University20.83%
Morehouse School of Medicine4.17%
Brown University4.17%
New York University4.17%
University of North Texas4.17%

Best majors for medical safety directors

Best colleges for medical safety directors

The best colleges for medical safety directors are Northwestern University, Duke University, and Vanderbilt University.

A medical safety director with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for medical safety directors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become medical safety directors.

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

3. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-state tuition

$53,430

Enrollment

5,963

4. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

6. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

7. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

8. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

In-state tuition

$49,816

Enrollment

6,840

9. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,382

Enrollment

5,597

10. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

20 best online courses for medical safety directors

Advertising disclosure

1. OSHA Safety Training: Conducting Safety Meetings

udemy
4.5
(958)

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

2. NEBOSH FIRE SAFETY

udemy
4.4
(252)

Managing Fire Safety in Workplace...

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

udemy
4.4
(478)

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

4. OSHA Safety Training: Heat Stress Management

udemy
4.6
(465)

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

5. Occupational Health & Safety Training

udemy
4.4
(1,198)

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

6. Fire Safety: Become A Fire Safety Expert

udemy
4.3
(484)

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

7. OSHA Safety Pro: Personal Protective Equipment

udemy
4.5
(1,881)

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

8. Basic Fire Safety Awareness

udemy
4.3
(776)

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

9. OSHA Safety Pro: Trenching Excavation & Soil Mechanics

udemy
4.3
(727)

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

10. Functional Safety for Safety Instrumented Systems

udemy
4.1
(263)

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

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

udemy
4.4
(355)

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

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

udemy
4.5
(2,583)

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

13. Fire Safety and Prevention Planning

udemy
4.4
(1,467)

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

14. Fun food safety and sanitation course

udemy
4.6
(539)

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

15. Food Safety for Managers and Supervisors

udemy
4.3
(489)

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

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

udemy
4.5
(2,235)

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

17. ISO 22000:2018. Food Safety Management System

udemy
4.4
(976)

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

18. NEBOSH health and safety Management System

udemy
4.3
(448)

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

19. Refresher course of Safety Management Systems

udemy
4.7
(390)

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

20. ISO 45001. Occupational health & safety management system

udemy
4.6
(4,258)

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

Top 10 most affordable universities for medical safety directors

The most affordable schools for medical safety directors are University of Florida, florida international university, and florida state university.

If the best universities for medical safety directors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for medical safety directors.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

3. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

4. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

5. University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,368

Cost of attendance

21,034

6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Cost of attendance

25,527

7. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

8. University of Missouri - Kansas City

Kansas City, MO • Private

In-state tuition

$8,178

Cost of attendance

20,934

9. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Cost of attendance

25,275

10. University of Colorado Denver

Denver, CO • Private

In-state tuition

$9,283

Cost of attendance

22,243

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for medical safety directors

The hardest universities for medical safety directors to get into are Northwestern University, Duke University, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for medical safety directors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for medical safety directors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

5. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

6. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,456

7. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

8. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

9. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

10. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,449

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for medical safety directors

The easiest schools for medical safety directors to get into are AdventHealth University, d'youville college, and life university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a medical safety director without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for medical safety directors.

1. AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,016

2. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

3. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

4. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

5. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

6. Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Canton, OH • Private

Admissions rate

75%

SAT average

1,085

7. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

8. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

9. Thomas More University

Crestview Hills, KY • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,099

10. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

Average medical safety director salary by education level

Medical safety directors with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $221,203 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, medical safety directors earn a median annual income of $164,352 compared to $158,731 for medical safety directors with an Associate degree.
Medical safety director education levelMedical safety director salary
Master's Degree$221,203
High School Diploma or Less$130,014
Bachelor's Degree$164,352
Some College/ Associate Degree$158,731

Medical safety director education FAQs

Search for medical safety director jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs