Epidemiology Environmental and occupational epidemiology strives to understand the causal impact of environment and occupation on human health, because public health interventions are most likely to be effective when disease and injury etiology is understood.
Epidemiologists develop studies to identify factors that cause diseases and injuries.
The study of environmental and occupational epidemiology requires knowledge of both subject matter and methods. The curriculum emphasizes both, comprising epidemiologic methods, biostatistics, basic sciences, toxicology, and environmental health. Students are admitted to the School of Public Health's environmental health major. A full-time program of study takes two years, including course and project work, and an internship. Students are admitted to the Graduate School's program in environmental health.