Master of Science in Environmental & Occupational Health Science

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MS in Environmental and Occupational Health Science

This graduate program is designed to enhance the educational opportunities for environmental and occupational health science professionals. The program will:

Provide students with an in-depth exposure to methodologies to assess hazards and improve health in the built, occupational, and natural environments.
Engage students in applied research and service learning at the local, regional, and global scales.
Provide students with a foundation to evaluate global scale environmental and occupational issues that impact human health and the environment.
Develop students’ application of research, data analysis, monitoring, and communication methods used to solve environmental and occupational health problems.
Provide students with opportunities for practice learning through internships, international programs, and research.
Allow students to conduct research focused on the protection of human health and prevention of health hazards in occupational and natural environments.
Provide students with the skills to communicate environmental and occupational risks to promote and protect the health of the public.

Program Information

Total Credit Hours=36

Core Courses (18 credit hours required)

PH 520 - Biostatistics for Public Health (3 hrs)
PH 582 - Epidemiology: Practice and Theory (3 hrs)
PH 584 - Principles of Environmental Health (3 hrs)
PH 577 - Environmental Toxicology (3 hrs)
EOHS 550 - Principles of Occupational Safety and Health (3 hrs)
EOHS 560 - Environmental Management and Risk Assessment (3 hrs)

Electives (12 or 15 credit hours required depending on option selected) –

Select 12 hours of electives if Thesis Option is chosen
Select 15 hours of electives if Internship or Applied Experience Option chosen
Select from the Following EOHS electives with advisor approval

*Graduate level elective courses may be selected from the lists below or from other disciplines, given that the course is pertinent to the program of study. The graduate advisor must approve all elective courses.

EOHS Electives

EOHS 502 - Health Promotion in the Workplace (3 hrs)

EOHS 503 - Health Assessments in the Workplace (3 hrs)

EOHS 510 - Watershed Management and Science (3 hrs)

EOHS 570 – Industrial Hygiene (3hrs)

EOHS 571 - Air Quality Management (3 hrs)

EOHS 572 – Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology (3 hrs)

EOHS 580 - Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (3 hrs)

EOHS 595 - Public Health Management of Disasters (3 hrs)

Other Electives

PH 501 – Research Methods (3 hrs)

PH 575 - Health Education/Promotion Program Planning (3 hrs)

PH 576 – Education and Communication Techniques (3 hrs)

PH 587 – Health Behavior (3 hrs)

PH 620 – Advanced Biostatistics (3 hrs)

PH 630 – Advanced Epidemiology (3 hrs)

Culminating experience - students must choose a thesis or an internship – (6 credit hrs)

Plan A – Thesis Option – (PH 599 – Thesis Research/Writing - 6 credit hours)

Plan A requires that the student complete a thesis according to the requirements of the WKU Graduate School. A committee of at least three (3) faculty members will direct each thesis. Students will be required to develop a proposal, defend the proposal, complete thesis research, write the thesis document, and then present the thesis to faculty and students. Additionally, each student will orally defend their thesis before their graduate committee.

Plan B – Internship Option or Capstone – (EOHS 546 – Graduate Internship - 6 credit hours)

Plan B requires that a student complete an internship experience of 400 hours. As part of this option, each student must develop a portfolio that details the internship experience. Each portfolio will follow a rubric of required elements.

Place C - Applied Practice Experience (PH 588 - Capstone - 3 credit hours)

Students who select PH 588 complete an integrative learning experience that synthesizes core courses into an applied practice experience addressing a current issue focused on environmental and occupational health science or health promotion in the workplace.

M. S. Environmental & Occupational Health Science Handbook

M.S Environmental & Occupational Health Science Internship Manual

M.S. Environmental and Occupational Health Science, 2018 EHAC Accreditation Self-Study