Environmental Health Sciences Master's Degree Requirements

Program | Faculty | Master's | Doctoral | Courses

Admission Requirements for M.S. and M.P.H. Degree Programs

Applicants for admission to the Department of Environmental Health Sciences must meet the general admission requirements of the Graduate School, with an overall cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a scale of 4.0. The department's basic admission requirements are a grade point average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 in the following courses: two years of chemistry including organic chemistry, one year of physics, and one year of mathematics including calculus. Students with deficiences in any of these areas may be accepted provided that they make up the deficiency(s) without graduate credit. Other requirements are:

1. A bachelor's degree or equivalent from any college or university of recognized standing.

2. Two letters of recommendation from persons in the field of the applicant's academic major at the institution most recently attended. Applicants whose academic records go back more than five years may substitute other references, subject to departmental acceptance.

3. Two official transcripts of all previous university or college work (undergraduate and graduate).

4. Results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), taken within five years of application. All applicants should have a transcript of their scores sent to the Graduate Admissions Office. No application will be complete until scores have been received. NOTE: Foreign students must submit their TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores as well.

5. Acceptance by the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the Graduate Ad-missions Committee of the Graduate Council.

Application Deadlines: For Fall admission, completed applications should be submitted no later than February 1. Applications for Spring admission should be submitted no later than October 1. Late applications will be accepted only if space is available.

Master of Public Health Degree Program

Applicants for the M.P.H. degree program must have earned an advanced degree in a health-related area or at least two years' postbaccalaureate experience directly relevant to the academic program.

This program offers experienced health workers an opportunity to complete a course of study that leads to a terminal professional degree. Working health professionals enhance skills, broaden their perspective of environmental health problems, and prepare to assume greater professional responsibility.

Candidates for the M.P.H. degree may enroll either full time, in which case they should be able to complete degree requirements in three to four semesters plus an intervening summer, or part time, in which case they are expected to complete degree requirements within three years of matriculation.

The department prepares students with prior undergraduate/graduate education to be leaders, with technical knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to assume expanded roles in evaluating and regulating environmental exposures to humans. The department provides the Environmental Health Science core course for all public health majors and specialty courses for graduate students majoring in general environmental health or the sub-specialties of industrial hygiene or toxicology. Environmental Health courses are also available to graduate students majoring in Engineering, Health Sciences and Natural Sciences.

The M.P.H. degree program provides graduate education for practicing professionals with relevant environmental-health experience. In addition to the five Public Health core courses, the M.P.H. student completes a core of four Environmental Health Sciences courses, electives, an M.P.H. project or three additional courses in place of the project, and a culminating experience. The M.P.H. degree program may be completed in three semesters plus the intervening summer. A minimum of 39 credits is required. A three- to six-credit M.P.H. project is one option. Another option is three additional courses selected in consultation with one's adviser.

All M.P.H. students are required to complete a practice experience as part of their degree requirements, and may receive credit for it depending on their major department's policy. Practice experiences may be paid or unpaid. Placements are arranged in consultation with the student's faculty adviser or the Office of Public Health Practice and Outreach in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. The adviser reviews the student's interests, preferences, financial standing, experience, and skills, and is usually able to arrange for interviews with a suitable organization either directly or through another faculty member.

Master of Science Degree Program

The M.S. degree program introduces candidates to the analysis of problems in environmental health sciences and generates skills in important areas of environmental health practice. Important among these skills is competence in basic research methodology. Graduates should appreciate the interaction of technical, social, economic, and political determinants of environmental health problems and the way these factors influence the development of changes in environmental quality.

The M.S. degree program provides a sound methodological preparation for working in a research setting or for pursuing an advanced academic degree. Each student is expected to carry out an individual investigation or research project. M.S. degree students usually spend two years in residence to complete a minimum of 43 credits and have one of three options: to complete an M.S. thesis or an M.S. project, or to take a comprehensive examination. The thesis or project is conducted under the guidance of at least three members of the graduate faculty. As part of the requirement, each thesis is defended orally before at least two members of the graduate faculty.

Accelerated M.S. Degree

An Accelerated Master of Science degree option is available only to students who graduate with a B.S. degree from the Environmental Sciences major in the University's College of Food and Natural Resources. This option may be completed within one academic year and an intervening summer, assuming that students have completed 30 credits in their senior year of the Environmental Health Option in the Envir-onmental Sciences Major, in the College of Food and Natural Resources. Students with the aid of their adviser start their Environmental Health program at the beginning of their senior year. Students on this track must complete a minimum of 30 credits and pass a comprehensive examination as a culminating experience.

For further information on graduate degree programs contact: Graduate Program Director, Environmental Health Sciences, Morrill I, 639 North Pleasant Street, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-9298; tel. (413) 545-2288.