Students selecting the M.P.H. degree are admitted to the School of Public Health's environmental health major. Students who select the M.S. degree are admitted to the Graduate School's environmental health program. The M.P.H. and M.S. options have similar curricula and requirements. Students selecting the M.P.H. option often take additional course work in management and behavioral sciences, and students selecting the M.S. option emphasize laboratory research. The primary objective of the Ph.D. program is to bring students to a high level of academic achievement through a combination of advanced course work and research.
Students develop their dissertation topics from a funded research project.
The thesis must make an original contribution to the body of knowledge in environmental or occupational health. Prospective doctoral students must have fulfilled the requirements of the master's program in environmental health, or the equivalent, before admission to the program, or take additional courses to meet that level of knowledge once admitted. Students graduating from the doctoral program are prepared for research careers in academia, government, or industry. Financial Assistance Students are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships through funded research projects. An assistantship provides tuition reimbursement and salary support.