Master of Public Health in the Field of Global Environmental Health (STEM)

Program Director: J. Kuiper

The mission of GW’s master of public health (MPH) in global environmental health program, offered jointly by the Departments of Environmental and Occupational Health and Global Health, is to prepare students to work in resource-poor settings and apply analytic skills to prevent or lessen problems associated with environmental hazards for human health. The program focuses on traditional environmental health hazards, such as lack of access to clean water, inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene, household air pollution, solid waste disposal, and vector-borne diseases such as malaria.

In addition, the program curriculum is designed to enhance students' capacity to think critically and creatively. The global environmental health program enrolls students who are committed to improving public health around the globe and engaging in and promoting public service. The emphasis on these qualities is essential for future environmental and occupational health professionals and public health practitioners. Graduates of the program can expect to be prepared to:

• Assess environmental exposures and understand the effects of these exposures on human health.
• Interpret epidemiologic and other research findings related to global environmental health risks.
• Assume leadership roles in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs that focus on modification of environmental health-related behaviors at local, regional, national, and/or global levels.

This is a STEM designated program.

Visit the program website for more information.

Visit the Milken Institute School of Public Health website for additional information about academic programs and information about GWSPH. Graduate admissions information, including application requirements and deadlines, can be found on the GWSPH Graduate Admissions website.

The following requirements must be fulfilled: 45 credits, including 17 credits in core courses, 17 credits in program-specific courses, 9 credits in elective courses, and a 2-credit culminating experience.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required
Core courses
PUBH 6000	MPH Applied Practice Experience
PUBH 6002	Biostatistical Applications for Public Health
PUBH 6003	Principles and Practices of Epidemiology
PUBH 6007	Social and Behavioral Approaches to Public Health
PUBH 6009	Fundamentals of Public Health Program Evaluation
PUBH 6011	Environmental and Biological Foundations of Public Health
PUBH 6012	Fundamentals of Health Policy
PUBH 6021	Essentials of Public Health Practice and Leadership I
PUBH 6022	Essentials of Public Health Practice and Leadership II
PUBH 6023	Interprofessional Education Experience
Program-specific environmental and occupational health courses
PUBH 6121	Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology
PUBH 6126	Assessment and Control of Environmental Hazards
PUBH 6128	Global Environmental and Occupational Health
PUBH 6131	Quantitative Methods in Environmental and Occupational Health
Program-specific global health courses
PUBH 6400	Global Health Frameworks
PUBH 6411	Global Health Qualitative Research Methods
PUBH 6435	Global Health Program Development and Implementation
Electives
9 credits in environmental health courses from the following sample list or any graduate-level PUBH course:
PUBH 6123	Toxicology: Applications for Public Health Policy
PUBH 6127	Introduction to Environmental Health Microbiology
PUBH 6130	Sustainable Energy and the Environment
PUBH 6132	Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Low-Income Countries
PUBH 6133	Social Dimensions in Climate Change and Health
PUBH 6135	Researching Climate Change and Human Health
PUBH 6262	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
PUBH 6271	Disaster Epidemiology
PUBH 6441	Global Health Organizations and Regulations
PUBH 6480	Public Health in Humanitarian Settings
PUBH 6199	Topics in Environmental and Occupational Health
Culminating experience
PUBH 6137	Environmental and Occupational Health Culminating Experience I
PUBH 6138	Environmental and Occupational Health Culminating Experience II

MPH graduation requirements

1. Graduate credit requirement: 45 graduate credits.
2. Course requirements: Successful completion of core and program-specific courses.
3. Practicum Requirement: Students are required to fulfill all requirements of the Applied Practice Experience (Practicum) to receive credit for PUBH 6000 MPH Applied Practice Experience.
4. Interprofessional Education Experience (IPE): Students are required to enroll and participate in an authorized IPE activity (PUBH 6023 Interprofessional Education Experience).
5. Minimum grade-point requirement: minimum 3.0 (B) cumulative grade-point average.
6. Time limit requirement: The degree must be completed within five years.
7. Transfer credit policy: With approval, up to 12 graduate credits that have not been applied to any previous graduate degree may be transferred to the master of public health program. External credits must have been earned from an accredited institution in the last three years with a minimum grade of 3.0 (B) in each course. Students in SPH graduate certificate programs can transfer as many credits earned toward the certificate to the MPH degree as meet MPH degree requirements, to a maximum of 18 credits.
8. Graduate certificate students wishing to transfer to a degree program may apply to do so after completion of three or more courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 via the online change of concentration petition. A minimum grade of B is required for a specific course to be eligible for transfer.  
9. CITI Training requirement: All students are required to complete training regarding human subject protection regulation and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
10. Integrity Quiz and Plagiarism requirement: All students are required to review the George Washington University Code of Academic Integrity and take the SPH Academic Integrity Quiz at GWSPH Source. within their first semester of study.
11. Professional Enhancement requirement: Students must participate in eight hours of public health-related lectures, seminars, and symposia, related to their field of study.

Combined programs

• Joint Master of Public Health in the field of global environmental health and Juris Doctor
• Joint Master of Science in Health Sciences in the field of physician assistant and Master of Public Health