This program provides graduate students with broad experience in environmental health. Our program is guided by the concepts and principles as delineated by the National Environmental Health Association, which defines environmental health as “the science and practice of preventing human injury and illness and promoting well-being by: identifying and evaluating environmental sources and hazardous agents and limiting exposures to hazardous physical, chemical, and biological agents in air, water, soil, food and other environmental media or settings that may adversely affect human health.” Recognizing that environments may also have beneficial impacts on communities, we also seek to understand the positive impact of built and natural environments on mental and physical health.
The flexible nature of this program allows students to design their graduate coursework to meet specific professional goals and will prepare students to work in a number of settings including public and private sectors as well as academia. Our goal is to provide students with critical analytic tools, subject-matter expertise, and problem-solving skills to be at the forefront of leadership and scholarship in the field of environmental health.
As an inherently multidisciplinary field, our PhD program strives to have students have broad exposure to the core sciences/pillars in environmental health (epidemiology, toxicology, exposure assessment, and policy) to be successfully collaborate and work across the field, while allowing students to pursue a depth of knowledge in a specific subject matter area that are required of all doctoral programs.
Students interested in graduate work should refer to the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.
Learning Objectives
Students successfully completing this degree will be able to:
- Evaluate, qualitatively and quantitatively, risks of exposures emanating from built and natural environments of public health concern.
- Anticipate emerging environmental health issues.
- Assess health impacts of environmental exposures.
- Design and develop control and remediation strategies to mitigate environmental hazards.
- Implement management strategies for achieving programmatic goals in environmental health.
- Develop strategies to obtain compliance within an environmental health regulatory framework.
- Communicate environmental risk to technical and lay populations.
Effective Fall 2023
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements: | ||
| CIVE 526 | Pollution, Exposure, and the Environment | 3 |
| Select one group from the following: | 3 | |
| Group A: | ||
| Fundamentals of Toxicology | ||
| Group B: | ||
| Toxicology Principles | ||
| Occupational and Environmental Toxicology | ||
| ERHS 520 | Environmental and Occupational Health Issues | 3 |
| ERHS 532 | Epidemiologic Methods | 3 |
| ERHS 560 | Health Impact Assessment | 2 |
| GRAD 544 | Ethical Conduct of Research | 1 |
| PPA 555 | Environmental Law and Policy | 3 |
| STAR 511 | Design and Data Analysis for Researchers I | 4 |
| Select a minimum of two courses from the following: | 2-3 | |
| Grant Proposal Writing and Reviewing | ||
| Graduate Research Communication | ||
| STEM Communication | ||
| Public Health Group Study | ||
| Select a minimum of 4 credits from the following: | 4 | |
| Data Wrangling/Visualization for Researchers | ||
| Multivariate Analysis for Researchers | ||
| Design and Data Analysis for Researchers II | ||
| Regression Models for Researchers | ||
| Experimental Design/Analysis for Researchers | ||
| Mixed Models for Researchers | ||
| Machine Learning for Researchers | ||
| ERHS 799 | Dissertation | 12-18 |
| Electives (500-level or above) 1, 2 | 32 | |
| Program Total Credits: | 72-79 | |
A minimum of 72 credits are required to complete this program.
- 1
Students may apply an earned Master’s degree for up to 30 credits toward the PhD requirements.
- 2
Electives must be approved by the student's advisor and graduate committee.
For more information, please visit Requirements for All Graduate Degrees in the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.
Summary of Procedures for the Master's and Doctoral Degrees
NOTE: Each semester the Graduate School publishes a schedule of deadlines. Deadlines are available on the Graduate School website. Students should consult this schedule whenever they approach important steps in their careers.
Forms are available online.
| Step | Due Date |
|---|---|
| 1. Application for admission (online) | Six months before first registration |
| 2. Diagnostic examination when required | Before first registration |
| 3. Appointment of advisor | Before first registration |
| 4. Selection of graduate committee | Before the time of fourth regular semester registration |
| 5. Filing of program of study (GS Form 6) | Before the time of fourth regular semester registration |
| 6. Preliminary examination (Ph.D. and PD) | Two terms prior to final examination |
| 7. Report of preliminary examination (GS Form 16) - (Ph.D. and PD) | Within two working days after results are known |
| 8. Changes in committee (GS Form 9A) | When change is made |
| 9. Application for Graduation (GS Form 25) | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website |
| 9a. Reapplication for Graduation (online) | Failure to graduate requires Reapplication for Graduation (online) for the next time term for which you are applying |
| 10. Submit thesis or dissertation to committee | At least two weeks prior to the examination or at the discretion of the graduate committee |
| 11. Final examination | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website |
| 12. Report of final examination (GS Form 24) | Within two working days after results are known; refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website |
| 13. Submit a signed Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form (GS Form 30) to the Graduate School and Submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates (Ph.D. only) prior to submitting the electronic thesis/dissertation | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website. |
| 14. Submit the thesis/dissertation electronically | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website |
| 15. Graduation | Ceremony information is available from the Graduate School website |