Health, Safety, and Wellness
Continuing & Professional Education

Certificate
in Occupational Health & Safety

Start exploring connected careers. People in these types of occupational fields may benefit from this program:

Apply
Inspector in Public and Environmental Health and Occupational Health and Safety
352 positions open annually
employment snapshot
Construction Inspector
201 positions open annually
employment snapshot

All 18 courses are part-time and also open to current practitioners
Program enrolment is optional – register without applying

Take a course
  • professionals entering the field
  • construction supervisors
  • production supervisors
  • health officers
  • industrial hygienists
  • occupational health nurses
  • engineering technicians
  • chemical technologists

“Being a stu­dent in the Fac­ul­ty of Exten­sion OH&S pro­gram was a very pos­i­tive and reward­ing expe­ri­ence that helped me with my career.”

Expo­sure to dif­fer­ent areas in the OH&S field helped Ian in his role as Health and Safe­ty strategist

For prac­ti­tion­ers seek­ing an edu­ca­tion­al cre­den­tial (CRST) rec­og­nized by the Board of Cana­di­an Reg­is­tered Safe­ty Pro­fes­sion­als (BCR­SP), as well as those in oth­er diverse occu­pa­tion­al back­grounds aspir­ing to have an impact­ful career in work­place health and safe­ty, this is an oppor­tu­ni­ty to estab­lish one­self as a reg­is­tered pro­fes­sion­al in this field.

Con­cern for health and safe­ty in the work­place is increas­ing among work­ers and employ­ers across all industries.

This cer­tifi­cate, one of the most advanced in Cana­da, is a cor­ner­stone for safe­ty in the province. Whether you are cur­rent­ly a prac­tic­ing occu­pa­tion­al health and safe­ty pro­fes­sion­als (our cer­tifi­cate is rec­og­nized by the Cana­di­an Reg­is­tered Safe­ty Tech­ni­cian [CRST]), or some­one who aspires for a career in health and safe­ty, this pro­gram has been designed to help prac­ti­tion­ers from many dif­fer­ent back­grounds devel­op com­pe­ten­cies nec­es­sary to cre­ate, imple­ment, and eval­u­ate health and safe­ty pro­grams in a wide vari­ety of occu­pa­tion­al settings.

Our stu­dents come from diverse sec­tors, includ­ing oil and gas, avi­a­tion, con­struc­tion, edu­ca­tion, health care, man­u­fac­tur­ing, munic­i­pal­i­ties, min­ing, forestry, and gov­ern­ment agencies.

Career oppor­tu­ni­ties

Our grad­u­ates are employed in a vari­ety of posi­tions in a wide range of indus­try sec­tors, includ­ing pri­vate busi­ness­es, gov­ern­ment agen­cies, and labour groups.

Alum­ni from the pro­gram include envi­ron­men­tal health offi­cers, pub­lic health inspec­tors, con­struc­tion and pro­duc­tion fore­men and super­vi­sors, main­te­nance super­in­ten­dents, indus­tri­al hygien­ists, occu­pa­tion­al health nurs­es, engi­neer­ing and instru­ment tech­ni­cians, and chem­i­cal technologists.

Class loca­tions

This part-time pro­gram is offered in flex­i­ble and acces­si­ble for­mats and taught by indus­try experts in down­town Edmon­ton. Stu­dents may also ful­fill all pro­gram require­ments through online courses.

  • Online
    UAl­ber­ta eClass
  • Edmon­ton
    down­town at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alberta’s Enter­prise Square cam­pus (780−492−3037 or 1−800−808−4784).
NEW: Impor­tant Updates to the Program

Effec­tive July 1, 2020, updates are being made to our OHS cer­tifi­cate pro­gram require­ments. These updates include increas­ing core course require­ments while reduc­ing required elec­tive and enrich­ment sem­i­nar hours, which in turn may reduce the over­all com­ple­tion time for the program.

These changes con­tin­ue to sup­port and align seam­less­ly with the Board of Cana­di­an Reg­is­tered Safe­ty Pro­fes­sion­als’ CRSP accred­i­ta­tion require­ments, meet­ing employ­er needs and help­ing our grad­u­ates build their health and safe­ty careers.

                                                                   

All instruc­tors were extreme­ly well versed in their fields. But one of them — a senior lawyer with the Alber­ta Gov­ern­ment who taught a course on OHS law — was incred­i­bly impressive.

Occu­pa­tion­al Health & Safe­ty Certificate student

I’ve learned so much! I appre­ci­ate how sup­port­ive the staff and pro­fes­sors were.

Occu­pa­tion­al Health & Safe­ty Certificate student

The UAlberta advantage: earn a credential from a Top 5 Canadian university that is recognized as a world leader in higher education.

Completion meets education requirement for CRST certification (BCRSP).

Courses qualify for the continuous professional development requirements of AMHSA, APEGA, BCRSP, CPHR, CRBOH, MHSA, and CSSE.

Online, face-to-face, or blended course delivery options. Possible to fulfill all program requirements through online courses.

Gain valuable networking opportunities and widen your circle of professional connections.

Classroom knowledge that is immediately applicable to everyday work places.

A note about COVID-19 measures

If you see a program on our website announced as an in-person or downtown Edmonton offering, please disregard the format—but not the program. Winter, Spring, and Summer 2021 courses have been converted to remote delivery platforms. Register for a course online or apply to a program via email, and keep learning!

  • University of Alberta parchment in as little as 1 year
  • Pay as you go
  • This program is currently open for enrolment—apply now
Earn a Certificate
in Occupational Health & Safety
Apply Now

Complete all 8

Choose one option

Select 42 hours of enrichment seminars

12+ courses needed to graduate with this UAlberta Certificate and become a UAlberta Associate Alumni.

The require­ments above apply to stu­dents enrolled on and after July 1, 2020. If you entered the OHS Cer­tifi­cate pro­gram pri­or to July 1, 2020, please refer to the require­ments that apply to your cre­den­tial.

You can register for a course without applying and enrolling in the program. If later you decide to apply for the full program, the course you’ve taken will be applied toward your Certificate as long as it is still part of the program plan at the time of your application. Please note, program requirements are subject to change over time.

Course planner schedule-at-a-glance

1. Download the Application for Program Admission form.

2. Submit your completed application, along with a $100 admission fee.

Enrolling in the pro­gram is a require­ment to earn the cer­tifi­cate. You may apply for admis­sion as you start your stud­ies or, if you pre­fer, after you have tak­en one or more courses.

Pro­gram appli­cants require a min­i­mum of a high school diplo­ma (or equiv­a­lent) and two years of work expe­ri­ence. Those who do not meet these require­ments may be admit­ted on a con­di­tion­al basis (con­tact the pro­gram office at 780−492−3037 for details).

Indi­vid­ual cours­es are open for gen­er­al stud­ies, and may be com­plet­ed with­out being admit­ted into the OHS cer­tifi­cate program.

If you have com­plet­ed a course from a rec­og­nized post-sec­ondary insti­tu­tion with­in the last five years that is applic­a­ble to the OHS pro­gram (view our list of trans­fer­able cours­es), you may request an exemp­tion by com­plet­ing the Trans­fer Cred­it Request form. 

Exemp­tions are lim­it­ed to a max­i­mum of three cours­es or, in the case of stu­dents receiv­ing 21 hours toward the ​“Enrich­ment Sem­i­nar” require­ment, to a max­i­mum of two cours­es plus the indus­try train­ing credit.

Suc­cess­ful com­ple­tion of the OHS Cer­tifi­cate pro­gram meets the OHS cer­tifi­cate require­ment for stu­dents con­tin­u­ing on to take OHS Pro­fes­sion­al Diplo­ma program.

The OHS Cer­tifi­cate pro­gram also meets the edu­ca­tion­al require­ments for the CRST cer­ti­fi­ca­tion from the Board of Cana­di­an Reg­is­tered Safe­ty Professionals.

Indus­try Train­ing Recognition

The OHS Cer­tifi­cate pro­gram is pleased to hon­our your pri­or indus­try train­ing (for­mal des­ig­na­tions) through a trans­fer cred­it agreement. 

Stu­dents who have obtained any one of the des­ig­na­tions on this page with­in the past five years are encour­aged to apply for trans­fer cred­it and receive 21 hours toward the 35 hours of the ​“Enrich­ment Sem­i­nar” require­ment of the Occu­pa­tion­al Health and Safe­ty (OHS) Cer­tifi­cate program. 

Please note that this cred­it can only be obtained once. In oth­er words, even if you hold mul­ti­ple des­ig­na­tions, 21 hours is the max­i­mum num­ber of hours allowed for indus­try train­ing recognition.

To apply for trans­fer cred­it, com­plete the Trans­fer Cred­it Request form.

The requirements below apply to students enrolled on and after July 1, 2020. If you entered the OHS Certificate program prior to July 1, 2020, please refer to the requirements that apply to your credential.

The Occupational Health and Safety Certificate program is comprised of eight core courses, one elective, and 42 hours of enrichment seminars. Designed for part-time study, it can generally be completed within one to two years, but students have up to six years to fulfill their program requirements.

Formats and schedules are flexible and designed to accommodate the diverse needs of our students.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 is required to obtain the certificate (3.5 or higher earns a certificate with distinction).

While it is recommended that students begin their program with EXOS 4620 - Introduction to Health & Safety (foundation course), they can complete the courses in any order provided the noted prerequisite(s) have been met.

Once you are admitted, you can verify your program requirements by logging into the University of Alberta’s student portal, Bear Tracks, to view your Academic Advisement.

  • An appli­ca­tion fee of $100 is required for admis­sion into the program.
  • Tuition is paid on a course-by-course basis as you reg­is­ter for your classes.
  • Cours­es are GST-exempt.
  • Some cours­es require a text­book at an addi­tion­al cost.
  • Eli­gi­ble for the Cana­da-Alber­ta Job Grant.
  • Cor­po­rate mul­ti-reg­is­tra­tion pack­ages are avail­able for most Exten­sion cours­es. Con­tact us at excorp@​ualberta.​ca for pre­ferred pricing.

  • Additional course materials for online, blended, and web-enhanced courses will be available in eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool, at no extra charge.

Bursaries and funding opportunities
Funding source
Eligibility
Amount
Apply by
Canada-Alberta Job Grant 

Available for businesses in all sectors across Alberta

 Two-thirds of the training costs (up to 100% if hiring an unemployed Albertan)
any time
Canada Training Benefit 

Residents of Canada, 25-65 years old, who have $10,000-150,000 in earnings for work.

 $250+
income tax return
Alumni Professional Development Grant 

Any alumnus of the University of Alberta

 75% of course fee
monthly deadline
HRDF 

Employed by the University of Alberta as Non-Academic Staff (NASA)

 $750 annually
Dec / Mar / Jun / Sep
CCOHS Dick Martin Scholarship Award 

Students enrolled either full time or part time in an Occupational Health and Safety-­related course or program

 $3,000 annually
January
OHS Healthy Workplaces Award 

Current students and graduates of the U of A Extension Occupational Health and Safety Certificate and/or Professional Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety

 $1,000 annually
January
Health And Safety Conference Society Of Alberta (HSCSA) 

Graduates of the U of A Extension Occupational Health and Safety Certificate program

 Up to $500 annually
N/A
Gary Wagar Scholarship 

Students who have completed the NCSO designation to use toward their Occupational Health and Safety Certificate program

 $500 annually
February
CSSE OHSE Student Writing Awards Program 

Current students and graduates of the U of A Extension Occupational Health and Safety Certificate and/or Professional Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety

 $200­-500­ annually
April
CSSE OHSE Bursary Program 

Students enrolled either full time or part time in an Occupational Health and Safety-­related course or program

 $500­ annually
December
Chad Bradley Scholarship for Women in OHS 

Current students (women) of the U of A Extension Occupational Health and Safety Certificate and/or Professional Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety

 $3,000­ annually
August

Looking for
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Over 300 courses and 40 programs to help you build the skills you need.

Ready to start this program?

  • Questions: ohs@ualberta.ca

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