The School of Public Health, Degrees, Special Programs PUBLIC ...

Environmental
Health Sciences
Faculty: Hammond, Division Head; Balmes,
Bates, Eisen, Harrison, Holland, Jerrett,
Koshland, Kyle, McKone, Nicas, Rappaport,
Rempel, Seward, Skibola, K. Smith, M. Smith,
Spear, Wei, Zhang
Environmental factors are estimated to be
responsible for 25-40 percent of the burden of
human ill-health around the world and often
most seriously affect the most vulnerable
members of society, such as young children,
pregnant women, and the poor. The EHS curriculum
prepares students to assess the health
impacts of physical, chemical, and biological
agents in the environment and workplace and
to explore means for their measurement and
control. EHS integrates several disciplines
with emphasis in assessment of exposures to
environmental contaminants, toxicology, environmental
and occupational epidemiology, risk
assessment, and policy analysis. Students learn
to apply tools in these disciplines to problems
in both the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Graduate programs are offered for both professional
degrees (M.P.H.) and academic
degrees (M.S., Ph.D., and joint M.S./Ph.D.)
The EHS core courses (Public Health 220C,
254, 250A, 270A, and 292 or 293) and two
biostatistics courses (such as Public Health
142 and 145) are general requirements of all
students, regardless of the degree or program
being pursued.
Faculty in the EHS Division direct several
multidisciplinary centers for environmental
health teaching and reseach. The Center for
Occupational and Environmental Health
(COEH) links the EHS program to a network of
60 faculty from public health, medicine, nursing,
and the social sciences on the Berkeley,
Davis, and San Francisco campuses. It is one of
the 16 regional centers funded by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) to provide financial support to students
and continuing education to practicing
professionals. COEH’s Labor Occupational
Health Program links the academic programs
to labor and community groups.
The Superfund Basic Research Program
is a cluster of interrelated research projects
dedicated to gaining an understanding of the
relationship between hazardous substances in
the environment and their impact on human
health. Its projects include investigations of
biomarkers of toxic exposures and susceptibility,
causes of childhood leukemia, quantification
of pesticide exposures, fate and transport
of chemicals in the environment, hazardous
waste remediations, and children’s health.
The Fogarty International Center for
Training and Research in Environmental
and Occupational Health focuses principally
on health problems caused by water and air
pollution in India.
Areas of study within EHS include the
following:
• Toxicology: Measurement of dose-response
relationships for various environmental chemicals;
investigations on mechanisms of toxicity;
application of bioassays for evaluating
chemical toxicity; development of biological
markers of chemical exposure and effect.
• Exposure Assessment and Control in the
Community: Evaluation of exposures including
the design and development of measurement
techniques or strategies; air and water
pollution studies, including design of control
strategies; studies of sources of pollution and
their relationship to human health.
• Environmental Health Policy: Provides
opportunities for graduate work in risk assessment,
risk management, and air pollution
prevention.
• Occupational and Environmental
Epidemiology: Involves human population
studies addressing the health effects caused
by exposure to chemical and physical agents.
Although Occupational and Environmental
Epidemiology is one of the core areas in EHS,
students whose primary interest is epidemiology
would usually apply for admission to the
area of epidemiology. While based in the division,
students can also enroll in EHS courses
and work with faculty in both divisions.
• Industrial Hygiene: Recognition and identification
of occupational and environmental
stress caused by exposure to toxic chemicals,
harmful physical or infectious biological
agents, and ergonomic factors; evaluation of
exposures by various measurement techniques
or strategies involving worksite air sampling
and biological monitoring, formulation of
controls for exposures by administrative,
engineering, or personal protective measures,
and development of related new techniques
and strategies.
Other areas of research include Ergonomics:
pathophysiology and work-related risk factors
of chronic musculosketal disorders, occupational
biomechanics, and anthropometry
applied to workstation design and seating.
Excellent career opportunities are available for
graduates, especially for specialists in industrial
hygiene and toxicology. Graduates of the
Ph.D. program enter positions in academia
and in public and private institutions where
research is performed. M.S. and M.P.H. graduates
usually work for industry or government.
Students who are uncertain about their qualifications
for admission are encouraged to
contact the division to discuss their possibilities.
For more information, call (510) 643-
5160 or contact the program coordinator via
e-mail at ehs_div@berkeley.edu.
For additional information, please visit the
Environmental Health Sciences website at
ehs.sph.berkeley.edu.
Master of Public Health
The M.P.H. program is recommended for students
who wish to work as environmental or
occupational health practitioners. The M.P.H.
is often the preferred degree for students
who wish to go on to a Ph.D. program in
Environmental Health Sciences. Applicants
should possess a baccalaureate or higher
degree in physical, chemical, or biological
science; engineering; or medicine. Applicants
with non-science majors who meet the undergraduate
coursework requirements may be
considered. Undergraduate coursework should
include calculus (one-year minimum), chemistry
(two years minimum, including organic
chemistry), and biology (one-year minimum).
Professional experience is beneficial although
not required. The M.P.H. degree requires four
semesters (two semesters for students with
prior doctoral degrees in the field) of academic
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