Course Overview
Modern engineers face an intriguing set of challenges when tackling uncertainty, and they have developed some of the smartest methods, tools, techniques, and approaches for understanding system safety, risk, and reliability. The Master of Engineering (Safety, Risk, and Reliability) is the ideal gateway to boost your capacity to tackle these real-world, increasingly complex issues. Upon completion of this program, you will gain skills and knowledge in the latest and developing technologies in safety, risk, and reliability.
Unfortunately, this course isn’t scheduled at the moment.
Please see our Graduate Certificate in Safety, Risk and Reliability Engineering as an alternative. This course is available and the next intake date is shown on the linked page.
Master of Engineering Safety Risk & Reliability Program Details
A powerful force is driving industrial growth and change, and it’s only getting stronger. That force? Uncertainty. Society increasingly demands more efficient transport, more power production, safer energy exploration and processing, less waste, smarter products, and of course, all at lower costs. All these demands display uncertainty and how we need to manage it through engineering, science, and technology.
In the 21st century, industry will routinely deal with novel hazardous processing technologies, complex energy grid load-balancing from renewables, driverless cars, artificial vision to augment control, and feedback in sub-sea exploration – and the infinitesimal scale of nanotechnologies in bionic engineering. Currently, people are at the heart of many hazardous work environments, exposed to the consequences of uncontrolled events. Still, soon, artificial intelligence will afford more human tasks to be automated (and present a host of newer risks in exchange for the retired ones). This progress has to be examined in systematic terms – terms that integrate our understandings of technical fallibility, human error, and political decision-making.
This program has been carefully designed to accomplish three key goals. First, a set of fundamental concepts is described in useful, manageable ways that encourage rapid and integrated knowledge-acquisition.
Second, that knowledge is applied in creative and imaginative ways to afford practical, career-oriented advantages. Third, the learning that results from the integration of knowledge and application is encouraged by activities and projects, culminating in a project thesis that is the capstone of the program.
This carefully designed learning journey will develop an accurate understanding and also exercise the participant’s creativity and design-thinking capabilities. Employers are hungry for these skills, and program graduates can expect a significant advantage when interacting with employers, clients, consultants, and fellow engineering peers.
You must complete 48 credit points comprising twelve core units and one capstone thesis. There are no electives in this program. The program duration is two years. We deliver units over four terms per year, and you will take two units per term. There will be a short break between years.
Year One
| Term | Unit Code | Subjects | Credit Points |
| Term 1 | MSR501 | Introduction to Safety Engineering and Risk Management | 3 |
| Term 1 | MSR502 | Incident / Accident Investigations and Learning from Disasters | 3 |
| Term 2 | MSR503 | Health, Safety, Environment and Workplace Safety | 3 |
| Term 2 | MSR504 | Human Factors Engineering | 3 |
| Term 3 | MSR505 | Safety Systems – Tools and Methods | 3 |
| Term 3 | MSR506 | Process Safety and System Safety Engineering | 3 |
| Term 4 | MSR507 | The Safety Lifecycle, Risk Reduction, Safety Management | 3 |
| Term 4 | MSR508 | Data Analysis and Statistics | 3 |
Year Two
| Term | Unit Code | Subjects | Credit Points |
| Term 1 | MSR601 | Asset Integrity and Management | 3 |
| Term 1 | MSR602 | Fire, Explosions, Facility Siting and Land Use Planning | 3 |
| Term 2 | MSR603 | Reliability Engineering | 3 |
| Term 2 | MXX601 | Engineering Research & Practice | 3 |
| Term 3 & 4 | ME700 | Project Thesis (taken over 2 terms – equivalent to 4 units) | 12 |
Additional Mandatory Units
| Semester | Unit Code | Subjects | Credit Points |
| N/A | BXX001* | Hands-on Workshop 1 | 0 |
| N/A | BXX002* | Hands-on Workshop 2 | 0 |
| N/A | BXX003* | Hands-on Workshop 3 | 0 |
| N/A | BXX004* | Hands-on Workshop 4 | 0 |
| N/A | MXX001 | Professional Practice Hands-on Workshop | 0 |
| N/A | MXX510 | Professional Experience | 0 |
*Applicable to students gaining entry under option 1) or 4) of the Entry Requirements.
Graduate Diploma of Engineering (Safety, Risk and Reliability)
Students who elect to exit the program after successfully completing all of the first-year units, as outlined above, can opt to receive EIT’s Graduate Diploma of Engineering (Safety, Risk and Reliability). If students wish to finalize the Master qualification after exiting at the Graduate Diploma level, they will need to re-enroll and relinquish the Graduate Diploma testamur.
Rules of Progression
You can only attempt the Project Thesis once you have successfully completed all other units. All engineering disciplines are built up of individual bodies-of-knowledge that together target a specific application. It not only relies on the combined body of knowledge from the undergraduate degree, specifically mathematics, physics, and discipline knowledge, but also on the various units that form this program.
The ‘500’ level units are designed at the Australian Qualifications Framework level eight (Graduate Diploma). The knowledge from each unit allows you to be able to investigate challenging problems, analyse and synthesize complex solutions, and communicate your solutions and ideas.
This will enable successful progress to the ‘600’ level units at the Australian Qualifications Framework level nine (master’s degree). All this knowledge is brought together as you tackle complex application problems in your final thesis.
The content of each unit is designed to provide a graduated increase in knowledge and skills from the ‘500’ level units to the ‘600’ level units culminating in a Project Thesis. All units must be passed, or have exemptions, to achieve the qualification.
The Graduate Diploma of Engineering is nested within the master’s degree as an exit point only after the successful completion of all the ‘500’ level units of the program. Both qualifications have the same entry requirements. The second year of the master’s degree does not serve as an entry point.
Work-Integrated Learning
EIT’s Master of Engineering programs require students to undertake 240 hours of paid or unpaid professional work-integrated learning. This can incorporate paid or unpaid internships, site visits, contributing to industry projects, and networking activities.
In undertaking an internship, students will interact with employees and become exposed to organizational policy and culture. You will familiarise yourself with organizational communication procedures, a variety of engineering disciplines, and obtain insight and practical aptitude in projects from the planning phase to completion.
If you already have some work experience in the relevant engineering field, you may apply to have credit granted by completing the associated recognition of prior learning form.
To gain entry into this program, we require applicants to hold:
- A recognized 3-year bachelor degree* in an engineering qualification in a congruent** field of practice; OR
- An EIT Bachelor of Science (Engineering) degree* in a congruent** field of practice; OR
- A 4-year Bachelor of Engineering qualification (or equivalent) that is recognized under the Washington Accord or by Engineers Australia, in a congruent**, or a different field of practice at the discretion of the Admissions Committee; OR
- A 4-year Bachelor of Engineering qualification (or equivalent)* that is not recognized under the Washington Accord, in a congruent** field of practice to this program; AND
- An appropriate level of English Language Proficiency equivalent to an English pass level in an Australian Senior Certificate of Education, or an IELTS score of 6.0 (with no individual band less than 6.0), or equivalent as outlined in the EIT Admissions Policy.
* With integrated compulsory twelve-week professional industry experience, training or project work of which six weeks are directly supervised by a professional/eligible professional engineer as determined by EIT.
** Congruent field of practice means one of the following with adequate Industrial Automation content (fields not listed below to be considered by the Dean and the Admissions Committee on a case-by-case basis):
- Chemical and Process Engineering
- Electronic and Communication Systems
- Instrumentation, Control, and Automation
- Industrial Automation
- Industrial Engineering
- Agricultural Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Manufacturing and Management Systems
- Mechanical and Material Systems
- Mechatronic Systems
- Production Engineering
- Robotics
Please note: meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry to our programs. Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Please check the Documentation Guidelines for your application.
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Payment Methods
Learn more about payment methods, including payment terms & conditions and additional non-tuition fees.
Like all Australian higher education providers and universities, EIT programs are accredited by the exacting standards of the Australian Government’s Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA).
Find out more about country-specific accreditation and professional recognition.
This course is classified as Level 9 under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
Graduates of this program may find roles as:
- Project Manager
- Principal Risk Analyst
- Work environment coordinator
- Safety and Reliability Engineer
- Head of Safety and Risk
- Senior Safety Engineer
Our master’s degrees take 2 years to complete. We deliver our online master’s degrees on a part-time intensive basis. After enrolment the maximum time allowed to complete all units is 5 years. Part-time students are expected to spend approximately 20 hours per week learning the program material and completing assessments. This includes attending tutorials.
Any student has a right to appeal a decision of the Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) or any member of the institute’s staff. EIT has a comprehensive Policy on Appeals and Grievances to assist students.
