• Description of Program
• Degree Requirements
• Special Opportunities
• Careers

Description of Program

Students in this concentration gain technical skills for the development, implementation and evaluation of practices that seek to identify, prevent or minimize the adverse impact of environmental and occupational hazards on human health. Students complete coursework related to the assessment and control of environmental and occupational exposures, the effects of these exposures on human health, principles of toxicology, and toxic regulations and policies. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to communicate environmental health risks to the public, analyze the impact of environmental assaults and exposures to susceptible populations, and manage environmental and occupational risks.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 44 graduate credit hours is required for this program.  A minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) is required for graduation. A minimum grade of C is required in each course. All electives for completing the degree must be approved by the advisor. Prerequisite courses may be prescribed for students lacking sufficient background for graduate study in public health.

MPH Master of Public Health Degree Requirements (44 credits)

MPH Degree Core (20 credits)

Public Health Foundations Requirement (0 credits)
All MPH students must complete the Public Health Foundations online course no later than the end of their first semester of graduate study. Complete details and registration information for this course can be found at the following website: https://iu.instructure.com/enroll/MNG3L6

Integrated Public Health Core (12 credits)
Complete each of the following courses.

• SPH-X 601 Assessment and Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-X 650 Evidence-Based Approaches to Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-X 660 Population Health Determinates (3 cr.)
• SPH-X 685 Public Health Policy and Politics (3 cr.)

Professional Development and Practical Experiences (8 credits)
Complete each of the following courses.

• SPH-X 610 Professional Development Seminar 1 (2 cr.)
• SPH-X 611 Professional Development Seminar 2 (2 cr.)
• SPH-X 696 Professional Practice Experience in Public Health (4 cr.) 

Environmental Health Concentration (24 credits)

Required Concentration Courses (15 credits)
Complete each of the following courses.

• SPH-V 541 Environmental Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-V 542 Principles of Toxicology (3 cr.)
• SPH-V 545 Exposure Assessment and Control (3 cr.)
• SPH-V 546 Risk Assessment, Policy and Toxic Regulations (3 cr.)
• SPH-V 548 Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology (3 cr.)

Option 1: Additional MPH Concentration or Graduate Certificate (12 - 15 credits)

Complete all courses in one of the eight following choices.

MPH concentration in Behavioral, Social, and Community Health (12 credits)
Successful completion of the following four courses earns the student a second MPH concentration in Behavioral, Social, and Community Health.

• SPH-B 589 Theory & Conceptual Frameworks in Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 602 Intervention Design (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 562 Health Program Evaluation (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 662 Acquiring and Managing External Funds (3 cr.)

MPH concentration in Public Health Administration (12 credits)
Successful completion of the following four courses earns the student a second MPH concentration in Public Health Administration.

• SPH-H 661 Legal Issues in Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 662 Acquiring and Managing External Funds (3 cr.)
• SPH-P 680 Public Health Economics (3 cr.)
• SPH-X 561 Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)

• SPH-K 553 Physical Activity & Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-K 556 Physical Activity Assessment (3 cr.)
• SPH-K 557 Physical Activity Across the Lifespan (3 cr.)
• SPH-K 565 Physical Activity Behavioral Interventions (3 cr.)

• SPH-E 651 Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 658 Intermediate Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 659 Intermediate Epidemiological Methods (3 cr.)
• SPH-Q 611 Statistical Packages in Research (3 cr.)
  

• SPH-E 650 Special Topics in Epidemiology (3cr.)
• SPH-E 653 Chronic Disease Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 655 Infectious Disease Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 656 Genetic Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 657 Social Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 680 Nutritional Epidemiology (3 cr.)

Complete the following course.

• SPH-H 524 –or-- EDUC-P 513 Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Gerontology (3 cr.)
  

Complete three courses (9 cr.) from the following courses.

• EDUC-D 505 Adult Learning through the Lifespan (3 cr.)
• EDUC-D 506 Adult Education Planning and Development (3 cr.)
• EDUC-P 517 Adult Development and Aging (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 535 Contemporary Issues in Aging and Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 615 Health Longevity, and Integrative Therapies for the Later Years (3 cr.)

• SPH-B 589 Theories & Conceptual Frameworks in Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 630 Sexual and Reproductive Health Surveillance (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 632 Sexual Health: Contemporary Discoveries and Controversies (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 633 Advanced Instructional Methods in Sexual and Reproductive Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 634 Sexual Health Research and Evaluation (3 cr.)

• SPH-S 502 Instructional Strategies for Safety Education (3 cr.)
• SPH-S 513 Safety Management in Business and Industry (3 cr.)
• SPH-S 610 Occupational Risk Management (3 cr.)
• SPH-S 632 Safety & Health Program Design (3 cr.)
  

Online Graduate Certificate in Addiction Intervention (15 credits)
Successful completion of the following five courses earns the student an online graduate Certificate in Addiction Intervention.

• SPH-H 664 Public Health Approaches to Substance Abuse Prevention for Adolescents and Young Adults (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 665 Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents and Young Adults in the Context of Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 666 Introduction to Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders for Public Health Professionals (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 667 History of Public Health Approaches to Addiction Treatment and Recovery for Adolescents and Young Adults (3 cr.)
• SPH-H 668 Motivational Interviewing (3 cr.)

Option 2: Other Electives (9 credits)

Complete nine credits of graduate-level electives selected in consultation with the student's advisor.

• XXX-X XXX (3 cr.) P: Prior permission of advisor
• XXX-X XXX (3 cr.) P: Prior permission of advisor
• XXX-X XXX (3 cr.) P: Prior permission of advisor

Special Opportunities

Graduates with environmental health degrees are more likely to get hired soon after graduation. There is a national shortage of trained environmental health professionals. The number of environmental health threats continues to grow: E-coli outbreaks, West Nile Virus, devastating events such as September 11th, & Hurricane Katrina, bring about environmental health threats that calls for an increase in the number of people trained to address these issues. We need more people to choose a career in environmental health to protect human health and the environment.

Careers

Environmental health professionals are everywhere and hold a variety of job titles. Below are just a few of the settings in which you could work:

• State, county and city health agencies
• Environmental consulting companies
• Private corporations
• Federal government
• International organizations
• Nonprofit organizations
• Academia (colleges and universities)

An environmental health specialist is a general term for someone who inspects environmental health systems to make sure they are in compliance with local, state and federal regulations. These regulations are set by the government to keep citizens safe and healthy. Responsibilities often include:

• Reviewing permits
• Collecting and interpreting data
• Investigating complaints
• Monitoring
• Educating
• Performing inspections