Twin Cities campus

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Twin Cities Campus

Environmental Health Minor

School of Public Health - Adm
School of Public Health
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
School of Public Health, MMC 819, A395 Mayo Memorial Building, 420 Delaware Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-626-3500 OR 1-800-774-8636)
Email: sph-ask@umn.edu
Website: http://www.sph.umn.edu
  • Program Type: Graduate minor related to major
  • Requirements for this program are current for Spring 2022
  • Length of program in credits (master's): 6
  • Length of program in credits (doctoral): 12
  • This program does not require summer semesters for timely completion.
The environmental health minor is designed for students who wish to understand how our physical and social environment affects public health. Students will learn about exposure to physical and social stressors, such as chemicals, infectious agents, stress, and violence; how stressors affect health; and how decisions are made to protect health. The School of Public Health is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
Program Delivery
  • via classroom (the majority of instruction is face-to-face)
Prerequisites for Admission
The preferred undergraduate GPA for admittance to the program is 3.00.
Students enrolled in University master's or doctoral programs are eligible for the minor.
Other requirements to be completed before admission:
Prior consultation with the major field academic advisor regarding pursuit of the Environmental Health minor is expected. For more information regarding the Environmental Health minor, contact ehnsss@umn.edu.
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the General Information section of this website.
Program Requirements
Use of 4xxx courses toward program requirements is permitted under certain conditions with adviser approval.
Courses offered on both the A-F and S/N grade basis must be taken A-F. A minimum grade of B- is required for all courses. The minimum cumulative GPA for the minor is 3.00.
Coursework (6-12 credits)
Required Course (2 credits)
Take the following course.
PUBH 6102 - Issues in Environmental Health (2.0 cr)
Electives
Master's students must select 4 credits from the following list and doctoral students must select 10 credits, in consultation with the Environmental Health director of graduate studies.
PUBH 6112 - Environmental Health Risk Assessment: Application to Human Health Risks from Exposure to Chemicals (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6120 - Injury Prevention in the Workplace, Community, and Home (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6123 - Violence Prevention and Control: Theory, Research, and Application (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6141 - GIS & Spatial Analysis for Public Health (3.0 cr)
PUBH 6154 - Climate Change and Global Health Modeling (3.0 cr)
PUBH 6161 - Regulatory Toxicology (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6174 - Control of Workplace Exposure (3.0 cr)
PUBH 6190 - Environmental Chemistry (3.0 cr)
PUBH 6192 - Measurement and Properties of Air Contaminants (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6193 - Advanced Topics in Human Exposure Science (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6130 - Occupational Medicine: Principles and Practice (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6131 - Working in Global Health (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6132 - Air, Water, and Health (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6140 - Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6150 - Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Occupational Health and Safety Field Problems (3.0 cr)
PUBH 6170 - Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety (3.0 cr)
PUBH 6159 - Principles of Toxicology I (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6182 - Emerging Infectious Disease: Current Issues, Policies, and Controversies (3.0 cr)
Program Sub-plans
Students are required to complete one of the following sub-plans.
Students may not complete the program with more than one sub-plan.
Masters
Doctoral
  
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· School of Public Health

View future requirement(s):
· Fall 2022

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PUBH 6102 - Issues in Environmental Health
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Fall, Spring & Summer
Current issues, principles, and methods of environmental/occupational health practice. prereq: Public health [MPH or MHA or certificate] student or health journalism MA major or nursing MS student or instr consent
PUBH 6112 - Environmental Health Risk Assessment: Application to Human Health Risks from Exposure to Chemicals
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Introduction to risk in context of regulatory decision making. prereq: PubH 6102 or instructor permission.
PUBH 6120 - Injury Prevention in the Workplace, Community, and Home
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Injury epidemiology: analyses of major injury problems affecting the public in the workplace, community, and home using epidemiologic model and conceptual framework; emphasis on strategies/program development for prevention and control.
PUBH 6123 - Violence Prevention and Control: Theory, Research, and Application
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Analysis/critique of major theories and of epidemiological research pertinent to violence, including characteristics of violence and relevant risk factors, reporting/treatment protocols, and current/potential intervention efforts and prevention initiatives. Emphasizes interdisciplinary contributions to violence prevention/control.
PUBH 6141 - GIS & Spatial Analysis for Public Health
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Grading Basis: OPT No Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall
This course examines how to incorporate and handle spatial data to address public health questions, such as evaluating environmental exposures or identifying vulnerable and at-risk populations. We will utilize a Geographic Information System (GIS) to incorporate and visualize data for public health research. Classwork will be presented in the form of health-related case studies where GIS helps to formulate and address scientific hypotheses based on research topics in the School of Public Health. Specifically, the ArcGIS software will be used as a tool to integrate, manipulate, and display spatial health data. Topics include understanding spatial data, mapping, topology, spatial manipulations related to data structures, online data, geocoding, remote sensing imagery, and reviewing public health literature. The course will emphasize how to prepare spatial data for a formal statistical analysis. All coursework will be discussed in the context of statistical frameworks for evaluating geostatistical, point pattern, and area-level (or lattice) data examples. The intended audience for this course are masters and doctoral students who seek a more advanced understanding of GIS and spatial data beyond exploratory skills. Their goal should be a working knowledge of spatial analysis that can be readily applied in future research or employment. Students should leave this course prepared to take more advanced spatial analysis courses, map geographic trends, formulate scientific hypothesis for epidemiological applications, with the knowledge to acquire online spatial data, and the skills to critically evaluate published papers that utilize GIS.
PUBH 6154 - Climate Change and Global Health Modeling
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Interconnected relationships between global climate change/human health. Develop computer models to predict climate change from natural/anthropogenic forces, predict human health outcomes as result of changing climate. prereq: Students must have elementary computer skills.
PUBH 6161 - Regulatory Toxicology
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
In-depth introduction to laws (and associated regulations) of U.S. federal regulatory agencies, such as CPSC, EPA, FDA, OSHA, and DOT, that require/use toxicological data/information in their mission of protecting human/environmental health. prereq: Background in toxicology or pharmacology or related field is recommended
PUBH 6174 - Control of Workplace Exposure
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Spring Odd Year
Hierarchy of options for controlling human exposures to airborne contaminants, both gaseous/aerosol. Science/practice of process control/exhaust ventilation in workplaces/other indoor air spaces/air cleaning. Control of emissions to ambient environment.
PUBH 6190 - Environmental Chemistry
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Overview air, water, and soil chemistry. Pertinent environmental problems. Human/ecological multimedia exposures to chemicals in the environment. prereq: One course each in [gen chem, org chem] or instr consent
PUBH 6192 - Measurement and Properties of Air Contaminants
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall
Gaseous/particulate air contaminants, their occurrence in workplaces. Factors governing generation/dispersal. Criteria, rationales, and standards for measurement in workplace. Industrial hygiene measurement. Aerosol-related ill-health. prereq: Good grasp of [elementary physics, chemistry, mathematics including calculus]
PUBH 6193 - Advanced Topics in Human Exposure Science
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Fall
Designing exposure studies for epidemiologic investigations and health risk assessments. Techniques to measure/estimate human exposures to hazardous agents in non-occupational and occupational environments. prereq: 6192 or instr consent
PUBH 6130 - Occupational Medicine: Principles and Practice
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: S-N only
Typically offered: Every Spring
Pathogenesis of diseases caused by occupational hazards. Evaluating work-related illnesses. Overall regulatory framework governing occupational health/safety. prereq: Environmental health major; toxicology course recommended or instr consent
PUBH 6131 - Working in Global Health
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Introduction to key issues in global health. Global burden of disease. Cultural issues/health. Nutrition. Infectious diseases. Environmental problems. Women/children. Prereq Grad student.
PUBH 6132 - Air, Water, and Health
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Spring
Issues related to providing adequate levels of clean air/water. Local water quantity/quality, air quality in developed/developing world, global air/water quality, policies meant to protect these resources.
PUBH 6140 - Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Principles/concepts in identifying health effects in workplace. Strategies for identifying excess risk, evaluating strengths/weaknesses of research techniques, assessing bias/confounding. prereq: Coursework in epidemiology, biostatistics
PUBH 6150 - Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Occupational Health and Safety Field Problems
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Guided evaluation of potential health/safety problems at work site, recommendations and design criteria for correction/evaluation of occupational health/safety programs.
PUBH 6170 - Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Course Equivalencies: Nurs/PubH 5170
Typically offered: Every Fall & Summer
Concepts/issues in occupational health/safety. Application of public health principles/decision-making process in preventing injury/disease, promoting health of adults, protecting worker populations from environmental hazards. Observational visit to manufacturing facility. prereq: Environmental health major or instr consent
PUBH 6159 - Principles of Toxicology I
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Fall
This is the first of two courses that covers fundamental principles of exposure, uptake and metabolism. This course focuses on identifying the mechanisms and effects of chemical, biological, and physical agents on human health. Discussions will focus on the action of environmental agents and how they interact with humans to cause disease. Emphasis is on understanding the principles of toxicology as they apply to understanding toxicant-human interactions.
PUBH 6182 - Emerging Infectious Disease: Current Issues, Policies, and Controversies
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Issues/controversies surrounding emerging infectious diseases. Framework for considering realistic/innovative policies. Bioterrorism, public health preparedness. Pandemic influenza preparedness, smallpox vaccination, antibiotic resistance. prereq: AHC student, instr consent