Graduate programs in environmental health science emphasize the chemical, microbiological, physical, risk assessment, and policy aspects of environmental and occupational exposures and effects. Faculty members measure and model human and wildlife exposures to environmental and workplace contaminants; develop techniques and methods for collecting, analyzing, and assessing the effects of chemical, microbiological, and physical factors; and conduct risk evaluations of hazardous agents in water, soil, air, and food. Collaborative research is conducted with investigators throughout the United States and abroad.
Graduate students conduct research under the guidance of one or more faculty member in the department and complete a curriculum of required and elective courses. The Environmental Health Science (EHS) Department comprises 6 full-time faculty members, one emeritus faculty member, three adjunct instructors, and one part-time instructor. All faculty members are housed on the Athens campus with fully equipped laboratories and instrumentation needed for graduate environmental health.
To the extent possible, the EHS faculty supports the education of graduate students in the form of a graduate assistantship. An assistantship grants the student a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. Students with assistantships provide service to their advisor and to the department through a combination of teaching and research activities. Typically, assistantships are funded by research projects directed by individual faculty members. Thus, prospective graduate students are strongly encouraged to browse the biographical sketches of EHS faculty and learn about their research interests and current projects.
Prospective students are encouraged to initiate contact with faculty members whose research interests overlap with the interests and career goals of the student. Prospective students are invited to contact Dr. Marsha Black, the EHS Graduate Student Coordinator, for an introduction to graduate programs in environmental health science.
General information about graduate school at the University of Georgia is contained in the UGA Graduate School Bulletin. Details about the formal application process are available from the UGA Graduate School Admissions Office.
Master of Science in Environmental Health
The EHS Department offers the Master of Science in Environmental Health. Students accumulate 40 hours of credit through course work and research, conduct an independent research project, and complete a thesis. The faculty anticipates that each M.S. student's research will be a unique contribution the field of study as manifest by at least one publication in a refereed scientific journal. Details about the M.S. with specialization in Environmental Health are contained in the EHS Graduate Student Guide.
Graduate students can focus their studies and research into one of several areas including:
- Air quality
- Aquatic toxicology
- Environmental epidemiology
- Exposure assessment
- Foodborne and waterborne disease transmission
- Industrial hygiene
- Microbial risk assessment
- Occupational toxicology
- Physiologically based pharmacokinetic models
- Reproductive toxicology
- Risk assessment
- Water quality
Students who complete the M.S. with specialization in Environmental Health are eminently marketable to employers. Our students easily find rewarding, well-paid, and stable jobs within a short period of time following graduation. Examples of the initial jobs held by recent graduates include:
- Air Quality Analyst, California Air Resources Board
- Environmental Performance Analyst, Progress Energy
- Risk Assessor, Department of Ecology, State of Washington
- Industrial Hygienist, General Electric
- Industrial Hygienist, Vanderbilt University
- Project Manager, numerous environmental consulting firms
The EHS department offers an Environmental Health Science concentration within the Master of Public Health degree program.
Degrees in Environmental Toxicology
Faculty members in the EHS Department also advise graduate students who choose to pursue a graduate degree through the UGA Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program. Through this program students can earn a:
- Master of Science in Toxicology
- Ph.D. in Toxicology
The curriculum is designed to train students to assume positions as toxicologists in academia, industry, and government. Faculty from the EHS Department and a number of other departments of The University of Georgia participate in the program including Ecology, Foods and Nutrition, Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Pathology, Physiology, and Poultry Science. The toxicology faculty cooperates both in graduate training and in collaborative research, so that graduate students can interact with scientists from different disciplines and have the opportunity to specialize in research in one of a number of areas. Toxicology is the study of harmful effects of chemicals on humans and other living organisms. It is inherently a broad multidisciplinary field requiring expertise in a number of biological sciences. In recognition of this breadth, the program has two parallel tracks: human and animal toxicology, and environmental toxicology. The focus of each track is different, but there is an overlap of core course requirements in each track.The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Toxicology was organized in 1986, and was fostered by the University in recognition of the need in Georgia for an inter-disciplinary program of excellence in graduate education, research, and service in toxicology. The program is overseen by a Coordinating Committee, and is headed by the Director, the Chair of the Coordinating Committee, and the Graduate Coordinator.