Environmental and Occupational Health

Notice: The M.S. in Environmental and Occupational Health option in Industrial Hygiene has been suspended as of Fall 2017.

Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) is concerned with the biological, chemical and physical factors affecting human health and the environment. The program provides a solid science-based education with practical applications for a safer and healthier environment. As a result, graduates work in a variety of high-demand jobs, such as air quality, water quality, food safety, housing, industrial hygiene, safety, hazardous waste management, environmental consulting and radiation safety. Graduates also work in a wide range of settings, including private industry (aerospace, manufacturing, food production, biotechnology and many others), local government (city and county health departments), state government (Cal OSHA and Cal EPA), federal government (Public Health Service, EPA, OSHA, Department of Health and Human Services), unions, public interest groups, universities and lobbying organizations.

Courses are explicitly designed to give students the skills needed to succeed on the job. Local employers, many of whom have graduated from this department, routinely seek CSUN graduates as new hires. As one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation, the department has an extensive network of environmental and occupational health professionals dedicated to the protection of the environment and community, as well as worker health and safety.

The M.S. degree is designed to prepare the graduate for higher-level professional activities, including research, analysis and management of EOH systems.

Graduates with the M.S. in Environmental and Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene option are prepared to enter the field of industrial hygiene, concentrating on such areas as basic industrial hygiene, occupational safety, hazardous waste management, occupational health training, regulatory compliance, work-site inspections and similar fields. Core requirements are identical to those of the M.S. in Environmental and Occupational Health. Graduate seminar courses must involve presentations and research in occupational health.

The following criteria are used to evaluate prospective candidates for the Master of Science in Environmental and Occupational Health:

1. Overall GPA and science GPA.
2. Undergraduate degree in Environmental and Occupational Health (or a related scientific discipline).
3. Work experience in environmental and occupational health or a related discipline.
4. Graduate Record Exam (usually waived if undergraduate GPA is above 3.0).
5. References.

1. Required Courses (18 units)

EOH 553 Administration of EOH Programs (3)
EOH 554 Critical Review of the Technical Literature in EOH (3)
EOH 555 Environmental and Occupational Health Exposure Assessment (3)
EOH 693A Supervised Field Training (2)
EOH 696A Research Design (3)
EOH 696B Seminar: Research Methodology (3)

2. Option Requirements (13 units)

EOH 465 Occupational Safety (3)
EOH 466B/L Evaluating the Occupational Environment and Lab (3/1)
EOH 466C Controlling the Occupational Environment (3)

Select one from the following:

EOH 560 EOH Epidemiology (3)
EOH 565 Seminar: Industrial Safety (3)
EOH 570 Occupational Ergonomics (3)

3. Culminating Experience (3 units)

Choose one of the following:

1. Comprehensive examination (written, plus optional oral component). As preparation, student registers for EOH 697 Directed Comprehensive Studies (3) (does not count toward program total). Students in this program who select the comprehensive examination capstone must be tested on subject matter from the core classes—EOH 466A, EOH 466B, EOH 466C and EOH 465—in addition to any other testing requirements.
2. Thesis. After proposal is approved, student registers for EOH 698 Thesis (3) (counts in program total).

Total Units Required for the M.S. Degree: 34

For more information about this program, please contact michael.sullivan@csun.edu.