If you're looking for a degree, either 2-year or 4-year, I think you'll have a hard time finding a formal program for this. The closest thing I can think of is if you pursued a degree in general workplace
safety. This type of program will focus on personal and public
safety and industrial accident prevention. You could pair it as a double-major with a BA in theater.
For this approach to be worthwhile, the onus would be on you to then learn everything you can about the practices in theater that have risks and somehow translate that into an expertise someone will hire you for.
I think you'll find that many of our industry's experts in
safety are not experts in
safety who got into theater, but are rather experts in their field (event management,
venue management, rigging,
etc) who -- through the course of their day to day work became experts in
safety.
As someone who is currently pursuing a degree in Occupational
Safety & Environmental Technology, I find this pretty accurate. You will find the standard
OSHA and Emergency Management courses very useful, but you will need to find your own way to translate them to your primary vocation. As said above, when combined with formal
ETCP courses in rigging, electrical,
etc, you could indeed
gain a solid "Event
Safety" backbone. Don't dismiss the idea of taking courses such as Industrial Hygiene, HAZWOPER,
OSHA Construction Regs,
etc. They all have components that will help you keep yourself and others safe in many types of environments. These will generally be packaged in with a 2-4 year OSET degree.
The thing about an education in
safety is that it never ends. The same could be said for lighting design or anything else, but in
safety you will most likely be expected to keep your education up-to-date (meaning re-trainings, taking new courses as they are developed, refreshers, higher
level certs,
etc). That said, the earning potential in a safety-related field can be quite lucrative as well.
The minimum education required to be employable as a "
safety guy" in General Industry is usually an Associate's of Applied Science, typically paired with a few years of working in a larger
safety team - this can come before, during, or after the degree. Employers want the paper, but the
practical experience holds a lot of weight as well. My experience as a
pyrotechnician can actually count as some "
safety" experience seeing as I lead teams with an emphasis in
safety but I'd still recommend working with experienced
safety guys for a couple of years in order to develop your instincts and observational skills.
The best part is that some community colleges offer this degree, which makes it generally pretty affordable. After the AAS, you can move on to a Bachelors if you wish. Many of these courses from AAS to BS are available online, so don't count that out either. Just make sure they are accredited.
OSHA's website also has a lot of great resources to help get your feet wet.
In closing, you may not find a purpose-built degree plan, but I don't think you'd have much trouble integrating standard
OSHA knowledge with best practices in event
safety; especially when combined with industry-specific certifications. I have a feeling that the "hybrid" route might even make you more well-rounded, employable in other industries, and will probably be cheaper, as we all know that everything live event-related is more expensive by nature. You don't want to start out by over-specializing yourself.