MPH Elective Course Option: Environmental and Occupational Health

Overview

The Master of Public Health (MPH) program from top-ranked1 Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University allows you to customize your education by exploring six different elective tracks tailored to finding health solutions for diverse populations.

Students interested in conducting environmental research and determining how environmental and occupational exposures impact human health will find our Environmental and Occupational Health elective track particularly compelling and fulfilling academically.  

Students will gain the key knowledge to identify potentially dangerous hazards where people gather, work and live — and give back to communities you care about in an immeasurable way.

Elective Courses

Courses in Environmental and Occupations Health are designed to give students in-depth understanding of the diversity and complexities of environmental factors that impact different communities, from lack of clean water to globally-spread diseases.

With MPH@GW, you will complete up to 16 elective credits. If you are interested in environmental and occupational health research methods, consider choosing the following elective courses to match your professional goals and curiosity:

  • Global Environmental and Occupational Health (PUBH 6128)
  • Global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programs (PUBH 6132)
  • Social Change and Climate Change (PUBH 6133)
  • Researching Climate Change and Public Health (PUBH 6135)
  • Intro to Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology (PUBH 6136)
  • Microbiomes and Microbial Ecology in Public Health (PUBH 6146)

What Can I Do with Environmental and Occupational Health?

Every community interacts with their environment in a multitude of ways, from elemental exposures in work environments to air quality in their city. An online MPH with an emphasis on environmental and occupational health enables graduates to work in several public health areas that could benefit from their attention and expertise. Your advanced degree can make a global impact and be used in several areas:

  • Environmental sustainability: Research andprovide preventative measures to ensure healthy water, food, air, consumer products and home environments, and examine the effects of climate disruption and contamination.
  • Infectious diseases: Help reduce the spread of disease and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria by improving sanitation systems nation and worldwide.
  • Occupational health: Focus on the health and safety of workers across countless work environments, highlighting especially vulnerable environments, like auto, construction and food production industries.
  • Risk science and policy: Translate scientific discoveries in view of promoting better health choices for and by the public.
  • Social and community dimensions: Discover and share the social factors that contribute to better quality of life and overall health by studying the relationships between communities and environments.

Career Outlook for Environmental Scientists

Employment for environmental scientists is projected to grow eight percent from 2020 to 2030.2 Environmental scientists and specialists work in a variety of settings, including management, scientific, and technical consulting services, state and local government, and laboratories.

When you graduate from GW’s CEPH-accredited program, you’ll be ready to bring meaningful change to natural and human-made environments, impacting human health in your community and around the globe.

1 Best Public Health School, U.S. News and World Report. Accessed August 2024.

2 Environmental Scientists and Specialists, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed November 2021.