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Academic Programs
Professionals trained in Environmental Health study the impact of our surroundings on our health. They understand how environmental risk factors can cause diseases like asthma, cancer, and food poisoning. Environmental Health professionals make up approximately half of public health personnel and the field accounts for about half of public health expenditures.
Students interested in Environmental Health typically have a background in biological or physical sciences, engineering, nursing, medicine, and veterinary medicine. Prior experience in chemistry, biology, statistics, and Microsoft excel software is desirable.
Those who graduate with an MPH in Environmental Health find challenging positions in federal, state and county departments of health and environmental protection, other federal agencies, consulting and research companies, and industry. They work as environmental health specialists, risk assessors, and project managers. Recent graduates from UF are employed by several major environmental consulting firms as risk assessors and by a research consulting firm.
The MPH Environmental Health concentration is part of the Environmental Health Program in the College of Public Health and Health Professions. Many faculty in the concentration are also members of the Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, the Emerging Pathogens Institute, or the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience. Some of the faculty hold joint appointments in other UF Colleges including the College of Veterinary Medicine. The Environmental Health curriculum addresses a diverse range of environmental issues that concern individuals and communities. Courses and other educational experiences are carefully structured to enable students to develop competence in very specific environmental health skills.
The program offers particular depth in the effects of hazardous materials on human health and the environment through courses in toxicology and risk assessment. Required courses include general toxicology, toxic substances, human health risk assessment, risk communication, and exposure assessment. Included in the concentration core are courses on air pollution, water pollution and wastewater management, and food sanitation and safety where public health activities are guided by federal and state laws and regulations. Through additional elective courses, which draw on the extensive expertise of University of Florida faculty and the unique ecology of our state, students may focus on community environmental health, food health, pathogens, or toxicology and risk assessment.