Environmental Health

• SPH EH 866: Risk Assessment Methods
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHEH730) SPH EH 730 may be taken concurrently or consent from instructor. - Nearly all regulatory authorities globally rely on risk assessment for decision- making. Students learn practical application of risk assessment methods to various environmental problems. The focus of the course is on human health risk assessment and teaches students to quantify the risk of adverse health effects from exposures to chemicals and microbiologicals in the environment. Students also can apply what they learn to evaluations of physical stressors . The strengths and weaknesses of risk assessment methods, the inherent uncertainties in each step, and the relationship between risk assessment and risk management are discussed. Students conduct a risk assessment and communicate process and findings in response to a community concern or other relevant topic.
• SPH EH 872: Environmental Data and Exposure Modeling
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHEH730 & SPHBS723 & SPHBS730) or consent from instructor - Suppose you need to analyze the potential risks of a proposed point source or a possible replacement chemical in a consumer product. To do this, you need to know exposures to a pollutant but you can't measure them for everyone. What do you do? Estimation of exposure is an essential skill for building a sustainable economy, evaluating regulatory compliance or permits, risk assessment, environmental epidemiology, examining environmental justice and other purposes. Students will learn how to use publicly available data and models to estimate exposure. This hands-on course develops skills in the assumptions behind and the use of equilibrium models, compartmental models and dispersion models--all widely used in the field. Sample problems include estimation of exposure from eating contaminated fish using sediment PCB concentrations, exposure to flame retardants or PFAS from biomonitoring (blood, urine) data, inhalation of air pollutants emitted by an industrial facility. This course is suitable for PhD students as well as MPH students who meet the prerequisites.
• SPH EH 875: Case Studies in Environmental Decision Making
  Environmental health decision making frequently occurs in complex situations and in the presence of uncertainty. In this course, students will examine 4-6 case studies about key and current topics in environmental health. Students will apply skills learned in prior courses (e.g., analytical methods for environmental management, risk assessment, exposure modeling) to evaluate and address questions related to these cases. This course will further develop skills in critical thinking, problem solving, data analysis, and communication, and is intended to promote hypothesis generation for projects to be conducted in the Capstone in Environmental Health and Management.
• SPH EH 961: Directed Studies in Environmental Health
  Directed Studies in Environmental Health provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. Directed studies with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. To register, students must submit a paper registration form and signed directed study proposal form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar?s Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study, directed research, or practica courses during their MPH education.
• SPH EH 962: Directed Research in Environmental Health
  Directed Research provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits in any SPH academic department. To register, students must submit a paper registration form and signed directed research proposal form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar?s Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study, directed research, or practica courses during their MPH education.
• SPH EH 980: Continuing Study in Environmental Health
  Graduate Prerequisites: Must be doctoral student working on dissertation. - Doctoral students who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their dissertation and applied to graduate from SPH. Students are charged the equivalent of two credits of tuition, student health insurance, and all relevant fees, and are certified as full time. EH980 is a non-graded, no academic credit status. All students registered for continuing study will attend EH Doctoral Seminars scheduled by the Director of Doctoral Education for EH.