School of Risk and Safety Sciences CLOSURE

The School of Risk and Safety Sciences was disestablished at the University of New South Wales, on 10 December 2010.

This closure was in response to a realignment of strategic focus within the Faculty of Science. The Faculty of Science has committed to ensuring that there will be minimal impact on current coursework and research students.

For further information, please contact the School Office
Phone: + 61 (0) 2 9385 6128

 

 

 

The School of Safety Science was formally established in the Faculty of Engineering at NSW in 1986 as the Centre for Safety Science. When it transferred to the Faculty of Applied Science in 1991 it was renamed the Department of Safety Science. In June 1997, the Faculty of Applied Science was disestablished and parts of it, including the Department of Safety Science, were reconstituted in the new Faculty of Science and Technology. In 1998, to accommodate future growth and to bring its name in line with its administrative structure, the Department became the School of Safety Science. In July 2001, the Faculty of Science and Technology was disestablished, and the School was merged into the new Faculty of Science. In 2007 the School changed its name to the School of Risk and Safety Sciences, so as to better reflect the significant work undertaken in the area of Risk and Risk management.
During this time the School had ten full time academic staff from different disciplinary backgrounds who worked together to teach a broad base of courses and undertake interdisciplinary research. This collaborative approach enabled the School to form many teaching and research links with other UNSW units such as the School of Aviation, the School of Mining and Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, the School of Optometry, School of Public Health and Community Medicine to name a few.
Having established itself as the largest and most research intensive University School in Australia which focused on safety, the environment, and general risk management, the School’s laboratory facilities provided a valuable resource for research in occupational and environmental toxicology and in biomechanics/ergonomics. The School also conducted theoretical and workplace based research on human factors, risk, assessment, disaster management, and health safety and the environment

Before the closure announcement the School offered undergraduate and postgraduate coursework and research degrees. Programs were designed to be flexible to suit the varied needs of students and are available, part time or full time, with internal or external study modes. Students ranged from school leavers in the Safety Science Major of the BSc to senior managers undertaking a postgraduate coursework degree. Many of our post graduate students already work in safety, environmental and risk management roles yet lack the formal qualifications to progress further in their careers.