If you’re looking for a career that’s both challenging and rewarding, consider environmental health and safety. This field offers many opportunities to help protect the environment and keep people safe. But what do you need to know to pursue this career? Here is an overview of environmental health and safety degrees and what they can offer you.
Environmental health and safety degrees are available at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate levels. Below are some of the options for each level of degree.
Associate Degree Programs
An associate degree is generally an appropriate option if you’re looking to gain skills that can help you find a job quickly or qualify for further education without committing to a full bachelor or higher degree program. Courses may include subjects like chemistry, biology, and math as well as general education classes such as English, communications, and social science courses. You might focus on one area such as food or water quality management or do something broader such as environmental protection technology. Your courses might include:
Environmental Health & Safety
Environmental Science
Bachelor Degree Programs
Earning a bachelor’s degree is an excellent way to prepare for professional work in environmental health and safety or to gain further education at the master’s or doctoral levels. You’ll learn about subjects such as public health, chemistry, biology, and toxicology as well as math, computer science, and engineering. This can help you better understand how everything from air quality to drinking water affects people and the environment. Courses may also include topics such as:
Air Pollution Control
Environmental Chemistry
Hazardous Wastes Management
Water Quality Technology
Soil Contamination Control
Industrial Hygiene
Public Health
Toxic Substances Control
Community Right-to-Know And more.
You might take classes like:
Environmental Regulations
Engineering
Geology
Natural Resource Management
Master’s Degree Programs
A master’s degree in environmental health and safety can help you qualify for managerial or supervisory roles. You might choose a program such as:
Environmental Health & Safety Public Administration Environmental Science Other similar programs And more.
You could focus on subjects such as:
Health Policy and Law
Hazardous Materials Management
Air Pollution Control
Surface Water QualityTechnology
Groundwater Quality Technology
Industrial Hygiene
Risk Analysis
Toxic Substances Control
Emergency Response And more.
Common courses may include:
Global Trends in Environmental Health
Economics of Energy and the Environment
Managing Change and Sustainability
Interdisciplinary Decision Making
Environmental Crime Investigating and Prosecuting
Environmental Crime
Legal Basis for Regulatory Decision Making
Regulatory Impact Analysis
Social Contract Theory
Applied Quantitative Methods
Doctoral Degree Programs
Earn a doctoral degree to prepare yourself for careers such as professor or researcher. You might focus on subjects such as:
Toxicology
Air Pollution Control
Water Quality Engineering
Natural Resource Management And more…
You might take classes like:
Management of Environmental Health and Safety Programs
Risk Analysis Decision Making in the Public Sector
Advanced Toxicology
Applied Statistics and Biostatistics
Chemical and Physiological Stressors and Their Effects on Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems
Graduate Seminar in Environmental Health and Safety Technology Law, Science, and Public Policy Laboratory
Field Work History of Environmental Laws, Regulations, Policies And Standards
Social Psychology of Sustainability
Organizational Theory
Applied Probability
Statistical Methods in Toxicology
Industrial Hygiene Documentation and Information Systems
Common courses may include:
Applied Quantitative Methods
Environmental Crime Investigation
Advanced Air Pollution Control
Environmental Health and Safety Regulations
Legal Issues of Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
Applications of Decision Making Theory in Public Sector Organizations
The Chemistry and Toxicology of Radionuclides And more.
On-Campus or Online?
Choosing between on-campus and online programs is a personal choice. However, on-campus programs may offer benefits such as more interaction with faculty members as well as more opportunities for internships. On the other hand, an online program might help you avoid relocating to attend classes or give you greater flexibility if you already have a job that demands your time.
Finding A Program
ManyEnvironmental health and safety degrees are offered at colleges, universities and technical schools. These include associate’s degree programs as well as bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctoral degree programs. You can also find certificate or diploma options. Once you’ve decided on the type of program you’d like to enroll in, you should create a list of prospective schools. Then narrow down your list based on factors such as tuition cost, location, and accreditation status. Accreditation is an important factor because it ensures that the school meets certain quality standards that could help ensure that its students achieve academic success.
Conclusion
Environmental health and safety degrees offer students a chance to learn about the many ways that humans interact with their environment. From studying environmental toxins to learning how to create safe work environments, these programs provide students with the skills they need to make a difference in the world. If you’re interested in making a difference for people and the planet, and environmental health and safety degree may be just what you’re looking for.
