Accelerated BS & MPH Environmental & Occupational Health Program

The Environmental Health Sciences Section has developed an accelerated five-year Bachelor of Science to Master of Public Health Degree option for exceptional students.

Students have the potential to experience the breadth of public health in the bachelors program and focus on gaining environmental and occupational health (EOH) expertise in the Master of Public Health program. The combined, structured degree enables students to carefully choose electives that prepare them for the advanced courses and provide a broader exposure to EOH in 5 years instead of the 6 years that would be required to complete the degrees separately.

EOH specialists focus on the exposure of people to physical, biological and chemical hazards in the environment or workplace and their impact on health. Students can focus on either industrial hygiene or a broader environmental and occupational health track. The accelerated program covers the same information and addresses the same competencies as the two separate degrees. Students can replace elementary level courses in the bachelor program with deeper expertise provided in the master level coursework.

Students apply to the Public Health major after completion of 56 units of specified courses. Students apply to the combined, accelerated MPH program after completing 75 credit hours of undergraduate work including at least a semester of organic chemistry, physics, and college algebra (calculus is preferred). A GPA of 3.3 or greater during the first two years of the undergraduate curriculum is required. Students are accepted following completion of 90 undergraduate credit hours. Students will begin the MPH curriculum their senior year as an undergraduate. As with the MPH, the internship is initiated during the summer between the first (senior) and second year of the MPH degree. The final report is due the last semester in the program.