PhD in Environmental and Occupational Health

The PhD in environmental and occupational health offers a comprehensive theoretical and hands-on education designed for individuals pursuing advanced careers in academia, industry, or government within the diverse discipline of environmental health sciences. The program integrates instruction in toxicology, environmental epidemiology, and environmental biophysics, and remains at the cutting edge by incorporating the continuously evolving fields of cellular and molecular pathobiology related to environmental diseases. 

Our PhD training program is committed to nurturing research proficiency and science communication skills. We achieve this through the use of laboratory-based model systems or population-based analyses. The objective is to foster a deep understanding of how exposures of relevance, in conjunction with social and genetic factors, can be deciphered and applied to the investigation of disease causation. This enriching approach equips our graduates with the skills necessary to confront the environmental health challenges of the 21st century.

Requirements & Program Information
  • 72 credits, about half coursework and half research
  • Coursework in toxicology, pathophysiology, and other fundamentals
  • Coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, and public health
  • Advanced coursework in the student’s specialty area
  • Advanced dissertation research in an area of specialization

 

Competencies

Graduates will be able to...

  • Acquire a basic theoretical background in cellular, molecular and genetic etiology and pathophysiology of environmental disease and disease susceptibility
     
  • Identify and explain effective methodologies to evaluate the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and occupational hazards
     
  • Identify and apply methodologies for assessing environmental exposure pathways
  • Integrate critical reading of scientific literature to develop and communicate testable hypotheses and ethical hypothesis-driven experimental research designs
     
  • Integrate and apply basic understanding of exposure pathways and molecular mechanisms of action to investigate hypotheses that address the environmental basis of human disease, as well as interventions that reduce disease burden