Safety Case Development and Review (SCDR)

This course addresses the production and assessment of safety cases within safety projects.

Designed for flexibility, this course can be taken on a stand-alone basis for continuing professional development (CPD) or can count towards the completion of a postgraduate award.

The course covers the role, purpose and typical content of a safety case; explains how safety case arguments and evidence can be selected; relates the development and maintenance of safety cases to the engineering lifecycle; details how safety case arguments can be critically assessed; and explains the regulatory context for a safety case development regime.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Describe the role, purpose and typical content of a safety case.
• Devise and present clear safety arguments using both text and graphical notations.
• Describe the strengths and weaknesses of safety cases.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop, review and evaluate safety arguments and evidence.
• Explain how to undertake safety case maintenance throughout the lifecycle of a system or service.

Course delivery

This course is taught in a blended format, comprising face-to-face sessions on campus and online learning.

Face-to-face teaching will consist of three days of on campus teaching, taking place from Tuesday to Thursday of the teaching week at the University of York. The on-campus teaching will include lectures as well as extensive group exercises where you will have the opportunity to apply what you have learned through case studies.

You will also have 15 hours of self-study to complete in your own time. This includes preparatory work to finish before your on-campus sessions – which we’ll send on Friday 4 December 2026 – as well as materials to review afterward.

Assessment

Once you complete the taught element, you can opt to complete a coursework-based assessment.

Coursework is completed remotely and is expected to take 65 hours to complete, including additional reading. The assessment is compulsory for students who require the module to be credited towards a degree award.

Progression to postgraduate awards

This module can count as credit towards the following postgraduate awards, subject to eligibility criteria. 

• Safety Critical Systems Engineering (MSc)
• Safety Critical Systems Engineering (PGDip)
• Safety Critical Systems Engineering (PGCert)

If you pursue further study, you may be eligible to credit a portion of your current course fees toward your future tuition. 

For full details, please see the terms and conditions.

Book your place

Booking for this course closes on Friday 20 November 2026.

To secure your place, please complete the two-part process below. Please also ensure you have read our terms and conditions.