U.S.C. Institute of Safety and Systems Management
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The Institute of Safety and Systems Management at the University of Southern California operated from 1952 to 1992. It was the first academic degree program in the United States that offered degrees in safety, human factors, and systems management. It offered extensive coursework in aviation safety, and was the National Institute of Occupational and Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Educational Resource Center in Southern California from 1979 to 1992. A large number of I.S.S.M. graduate students were funded with NIOSH fellowships, a number were supported by military and aerospace companies (of which there were many in Southern California at the time). The Institute of Safety and Systems Management closed in 1997 after over forty years of operation as a result of a USC strategic study.[1]
The Institute began in 1952[2] when the United States Air Force worked with the University of Southern California to develop more scientific safety practices using a systems approach, especially as related to aviation safety and complex systems. The program expanded into a full range of occupational safety, industrial hygiene, aviation safety, systems safety, human factors, Information Systems, and hazardous waste management programs. Short courses were also offered in addition to the academic courses.
Degrees offered
The institute offered B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. programs. In 1963 the first graduate degree program for active military personnel in Europe was introduced, the Master's of Science in Aerospace Operations Management. This evolved into the Master's in Systems Management. The systems curriculum was expanded in 1970 as the need for systems management as applied to many disciplines, including management, became clear. In 1977-1978 the Master's of Science in Industrial Hygiene and Master's of Science in Occupational Health were implemented.
The Institute was divided into the Human Factors Department, the Safety Science Department, and the Systems Management Department.
Worldwide operations
The I.S.S.M. developed a worldwide campus structure that was operated out of approximately seventy U.S. military bases in the United States, Europe, the Pacific, Asia, and the Far East.