Industrial Hygiene

Industrial hygiene (IH) is concerned with the health and safety of people at work, and the community at large. Specific concerns are with the recognition, evaluation and control of potential workplace hazards, including chemical, physical and biological agents; and the potential health threats to the community and the environment.

This highly ranked program is accredited by the Applied Science Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-412, Telephone 410-347-7700. The program is part of the NIOSH-funded Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Course work emphasizes core public health topics as well as industrial hygiene applications, study of airborne contaminants, physical agents, safety, and hazardous waste and materials management.

The field of industrial hygiene is highly multidisciplinary, drawing on all the major core scientific disciplines of physics, engineering, general and organic chemistry, biology, mathematics, statistics and others. The importance of the field has grown rapidly in recent years as society increasingly recognizes the need to maintain healthy and safe working environments. This has produced a climate where exciting and valuable career opportunities exist for well-qualified practitioners and researchers in industry, government organizations, and academic and research institutions.

Hazardous Substances Academic Training is a sub-specialty within the IH track that trains master's level professionals with an emphasis in hazardous wastes and hazardous materials health and safety management. Students in this area take all the IH required courses and in addition complete practicum and research project work in the field of hazardous materials or hazardous waste management.

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is for students who plan to work as practitioners in industry or government agencies and contains required management and behavioral sciences courses. Students are admitted to the School of Public Health's environmental health major. A full-time program of study takes two years, including course and project work, and practicum.

The Master of Science (MS) degree is designed for both practitioners and for those planning careers in research or academia. Course work is similar to the MPH degree with more emphasis placed on acquiring quantitative and research skills. Students are admitted to the Graduate School's program in environmental health. This option also requires two years to complete the degree requirements.

The primary objective of the Ph.D. program is to bring students to a high level of academic competence through a combination of advanced course work and research. These students are expected to go on to provide leadership in the field of occupational health and hygiene in education, government and corporate spheres. Students develop their dissertation topics from a funded research project. Prospective doctoral students must have fulfilled the requirements of the master's program, or their equivalent, before admission to the program, or they may take additional courses to meet that level of knowledge once admitted.

Excellent funding that includes tuition and stipend support is available for full-time study through NIOSH traineeships. Students are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships through funded research projects. A graduate assistantship provides tuition reimbursement and salary support. Students may also apply for several competitive scholarships available within the division.

Criteria for NIOSH traineeship awards in the Industrial Hygiene and Hazardous Substances Academic Training Programs:

NIOSH traineeships for U.S students in the Industrial Hygiene Masters program are available in two separate categories - Industrial Hygiene and Hazardous Substances. Students in these two programs may receive different award amounts for several reasons. Each grant has a different amount of available funding and may support a different number of students. In addition, we may use these funds to recruit students, offering higher amounts to those with higher levels of academic achievement or with competitive offers from other institutions.

We may use the training grant funds to  recruit and support the most promising applicants to our program.  Our first priority is to fund first-year full-time students, to whom we usually offer funding to cover full tuition and fees.  We may also offer first-year students a stipend to assist with other educational expenses.  Our second priority is to fund second-year full-time students, to whom we usually offer some support for tuition and fees.  There may be limited stipend support, as well, depending on the availability of funds. Our last priority is to fund part-time students, to whom we may offer some funding for tuition and fees.  No stipend support is provided to part-time students. Thus, the amount of stipend may vary depending on the reasons noted above.
 
This approach may result in differences in awards among students.  The differences stem from the reasons noted above:  1) program, 2) recruitment, 3) academic achievement, and 4) student status (incoming vs continuing,
full-time vs part-time).

Applications are reviewed for admission throughout the year. To insure admission priority and consideration for financial assistance students should submit applications before April 15. Minimum requirements include a baccalaureate degree with course work in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. Final admission is based on careful review of the applicant's file and availability of space within the program. Doctoral applicants are expected to substantially exceed the minimum requirements. More application information

Applicants may be admitted to the MPH program on a probationary basis. Each application for probationary admission will be evaluated and considered individually. Full time students will be required to take three courses in the first semester (PubH 5320, Fundamentals of Epidemiology; PubH 5414 Biostatistical Methods I; and one of three core EnHS courses) and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0. Part-time students will be required to take the same courses over a period of two semesters and maintain a GPA of 3.0. Students who successfully complete these requirements will be admitted to regular student status.

The mission of the Industrial Hygiene Masters Program is to produce graduates who within three years of graduation are able to:

a. Demonstrate a high level of technical and scientific competence in recognizing, evaluating and controlling occupational and environmental hazards.
b. Be able to solve complex problems through a combination of observation, literature review, measurement and data analysis.
c. Communicate effectively both orally and in writing with a wide range of constituents.
d. Design and develop long-range goals and programs.
e. Act and behave responsibly and ethically according to the industrial hygiene professional code of ethics.
f. Understand the limits of their graduate education and seek on-going education and work experience for their professional advancement leading to professional certification.
g. Be able to interact competently and professionally at all levels of an organization working as a fully-contributing member of a team and accepting independent work responsibilities with a high level of self-discipline.
h. Use skills to benefit the community in recognizing work and environmental hazards and educating those responsible for eliminating these hazards.

The primary constituencies of the Industrial Hygiene Graduate Programs are:

• Government agencies, companies, academic institutions and other organizations that have a need for industrial hygienists, for the purposes of developing health and safety programs; creating, interpreting and upholding occupational or environmental health and safety policies (laws, regulations, programs, etc.), or conducting research into specific hazards.
  
• Workers who have potential exposures to workplace hazards.
• Members of the community with potential exposure to hazards associated with industrial processes.
• Alumni

In the broadest sense, the Industrial Hygiene Masters Program prepares students for professional practice as industrial hygienists who will work toward the solution of a broad range of problems in a variety of settings. More specifically, this program is designed to develop knowledge and skills in the six key areas of Recognition, Evaluation, Control, Communication, Behavior and Management. For each of these key areas we expect students upon graduation to be able to:

Recognition
R1. Identify health hazards of workplace processes and operations
R2. Understand the relationship between exposures and health outcomes
R3. Understand, interpret and apply occupational and environmental regulations
R4. Identify and describe quantitative and qualitative aspects of hazards associated with specific sources and processes
R5. Describe physical and chemical aspects of the generation of hazards
R6. Recognize the influence of cultural and social factors in occupational health practices

Evaluation
E1. Design and initiate research
E2. Gather, manage, and analyze data
E3. Assess risks to population health
E4. Interpret and apply scientific findings
E5. Measure and evaluate health and safety programs
E6. Understand quantitative and qualitative aspects of exposure assessments, dose response, and risk characterization
E7. Calculate, interpret, and apply statistical and epidemiological data
E8. Design and implement an appropriate exposure assessment strategy
E9. Understand basic principles of air sampling and its use for evaluating exposures and controls
E10. Understand the interpretation and use of exposure guidelines
E11. Prioritize hazards and exposures and the actions necessary for eliminating or controlling them

Control
Con1. Design and implement work process interventions
Con2. Recommend, evaluate and implement appropriate engineering, administrative and personal protective controls
Con3. Select the most appropriate hazard control method(s) for a given situation
Con4. Validate the effectiveness of selected hazard control methods

Communication
Com1. Communicate effectively with variety of stakeholders (e.g. management, labor, etc.)
Com2. Produce effective written communication through scientific and technical summaries and reports
Com3. Interpret and disseminate policies
Com4. Design and deliver adult education programs
Com5. Communicate effectively with other safety and health professionals

Behavior
B1. Demonstrate awareness of diversity in social and cultural beliefs
B2. Demonstrate the importance of appropriate ethical performance and practice
B3. Demonstrate familiarity with and be able to use professional code of ethics
B4. Understand and apply laws and regulations
B5. Function effectively on an interdisciplinary team
B6. Value professional development

Management
M1. Work collaboratively in a team
M2. Formulate and implement guidelines and policies
M3. Manage resources effectively
M4. Develop and implement health and safety programs
M5. Display effective leadership

Currricula for IH Students

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