Master of Public Health (MPH)
Prevention. Promotion. Communication.

MPH Concentrations

Environmental Health

Concentration area director:
Dr. Matthew Bonner
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine
277 Farber Hall
716 829-5385
mrbonner@buffalo.edu

What Is Environmental Health?

Health and the environment are tightly entwined. Contamination and degradation of the environment by both human activity and natural processes can impact health directly and through complex interrelationships with other living organisms and the ecosystems on which all life depends.

Environmental health is a multidisciplinary field concerned with identifying environmental factors that influence health and developing tools for sustaining an environment that promotes health. Environmental health scientists in academia, government, and industry conduct research into the relationship of environmental agents found in air, water, and food, such as pesticides, lead, mercury, and chemicals found in plastic, to cancer, birth defects, neurologic disorders, and other health conditions. Environmental health scientists also work for public health agencies and investigate problems such as environmental hazards in our air and drinking water and leakage from toxic waste sites.

MPH Program Environmental Health Concentration

Environmental Health concentration requirements include toxicology and advanced environmental health courses, and students can choose electives that cover a variety of important topics in environmental health, such as geographic information science (GIS), global health, epidemiological applications to environmental or occupational health, public health law, and geographic medicine. The six credit field experience and the culminating integrative project can be structured to further deepen and extend students’ knowledge and capabilities in their personal areas of interest.

Graduates from this concentration are qualified for positions in local and state health departments and other health agencies; private environmental health consulting companies; industry, and advocacy organizations, as well as for further graduate education.

Courses and Competencies

Other program items (school policies, waivers, credit transfers, multi-award degree programs, etc.)

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Courses and Competencies

Individual courses have a set of detailed competencies provided in course syllabi.  What follows are overarching statements that summarize these competencies.

Core required MPH courses

The required core courses taken by all MPH students are as follows. They address competencies established by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) for the five core areas of the MPH degree:  biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, and social and behavioral sciences. NOTE: SPM 501 and STA 527 must be taken in the first semester of a student's program. (In extenuating circumstances, students can request a waiver to the first semester requirement from their concentration area director but the courses must be taken by the second year of the program.)

Total: 26 credits

Day/time schedule for core courses required of all MPH studentsPDF File

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The required core MPH courses taken by all MPH students will enable students to:

  • Apply descriptive techniques to public health data; calculate and interpret epidemiologic measures of association, risk and disease frequency; define and apply the basic elements of epidemiologic study designs; describe bias, confounding and effect modification and the basic approaches for their evaluation in epidemiologic data; demonstrate appropriate inferences from epidemiologic data; evaluate epidemiologic reports; define the principles of a good screening program and calculate and interpret relevant measures; and describe disease outbreak investigations. (SPM 501)
  • Describe the components and major operational features of the U.S. health care delivery system from a population perspective, within a historical context of the technical, economic, political and social forces that continue to propel change. (SPM 507)
  • Understand the nature of public health as a profession, take into account the diversity of risk factors affecting population health as well as the options available to improve population health, and explain the public health strategy and its benefits and limitations for improving population health. (SPM 533)
  • Through the acquisition of basic knowledge in the biological sciences, evaluate and interpret the influence that the biological sciences have on population based health and public health programs and services. (SPM 535)
  • Explain the process of risk assessment and its utilization in decision-making to prevent and control environmental hazards, and describe and evaluate causes, effects, and amelioration of environmental health problems from an ecological or systems perspective. (SPM 549)
  • Through an understanding of the behavioral, social, and cultural factors related to individual and population health and health disparities over the life course, better develop, administer, and evaluate programs and policies in public health and health services directed at promoting and sustaining healthy environments and healthy lives for individuals and populations. (HB 527)
  • Plan, perform, and report basic statistical calculations and analyses and critically read public health and medical care journal articles. (STA 527)
  • Undertake effective data management, manipulation, and analyses and prepare graphic reports at a basic level using the statistical software package SAS. (STA 506)

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Concentration-specific competencies and required courses

After completing the Environmental Health Sciences concentration, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the activity and impact of biological, chemical, and physical hazards on the human body, including the role of genetic factors, pathways and routes of exposure, fate within the body, and adverse health effects.  
  2. Describe and apply epidemiologic principles and methods to investigation of the relationships between environmental agents and adverse health outcomes. 
  3. Interpret and read critically scientific literature in the environmental health sciences, including epidemiology, toxicology, and relevant topics in biology, chemistry, and medicine.
  4. Integrate the above to analyze environmental health problems in specific population groups, including magnitude and distribution of exposures and adverse health outcomes, the role of contributing biological, psychological, sociocultural, economic, and political factors as appropriate, and development and testing of hypotheses to link environmental hazards with adverse health outcomes. 
  5. Communicate results of scientific analysis of environmental health problems to appropriate organizations and stakeholders, including the public, legislative bodies, government agencies, industry, advocacy organizations, and academia, to inform development and implementation of strategies for preventing and controlling those problems. 

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Required courses for the concentration are the following (in effect for incoming students Fall 2009 semester):

  • SPM 649 Advanced Environmental Health Sciences (3 credits)
  • PMY 626 Toxicology Principles and Practice (2 credits)
  • PMY 627 Toxicology at Target Organs (2 credits)
  • SPM 650 Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment (2 credits)

Total: 9 credits

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Selective Courses

Students select two courses from the following:

Total: 6 credits

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Field training

Important links:

The competencies acquired during field training will vary among field training experiences.  However, there are competencies which are addressed in most if not all field training sites irrespective of students’ MPH concentrations.  These are as follows:

  • Articulate an achievable mission, set of core values, and vision.
  • Engage in dialogue and learning from others to advance public health goals.
  • Demonstrate transparency, integrity, and honesty in all actions.
  • Promote high standards of personal and organizational integrity, compassion, honesty, and respect for all people.
  • Appreciate the importance of working collaboratively with diverse communities and constituencies (e.g., individual clients, practitioners, agencies, organizations, and researchers).
  • Apply legal and ethical principles to the use of information technology and resources in public health settings.
  • Use information technology to access, evaluate, and  interpret public health data.
  • Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services.
  • Develop enhanced awareness of basic concepts and as appropriate use skills involved in culturally appropriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse communities.

Additional competencies relevant to the environmental health sciences concentration are acquired through field training, but these will vary depending on a student’s particular experi­ences.  Such experiences lend themselves to various pertinent competencies as follows:

  1. Apply epidemiologic principles and methods to the evaluation of relationships between environmental agents and adverse health outcomes. To accomplish this, students will be able to apply, as appropriate, the following ASPH competencies:
    • Specify current environmental risk assessment methods.
    • Specify approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.
    • Describe and apply epidemiologic principles and methods to investigation of the relationships between environmental agents and adverse health outcomes.
  2. Integrate toxicologic and epidemiologic principles and methods to the evaluation of health effects of an environmental agent on a specific community. To accomplish this, students will be able to apply, as appropriate, the following ASPH competencies:
    • Describe the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and occupational agents.
    • Describe genetic, physiologic and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health outcomes following exposure to environmental hazards.
    • Specify current environmental risk assessment methods.
    • Specify approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.
    • Explain the general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting a toxic response to various environmental exposures.
    • Describe the activity and impact of biological, chemical and physical hazards on the human body, including the role of genetic factors, pathways and routes of exposure, fate within the body and adverse health effects.
    • Describe and apply epidemiologic principles and methods to investigation of the relationships between environmental agents and adverse health outcomes.
    • Interpret and read critically scientific literature in the environmental health sciences, including epidemiology, toxicology and relevant topics in biology, chemistry and medicine.
    • Integrate the above to analyze environmental health problems in specific population groups, including magnitude and distribution of exposures and adverse health outcomes, the role of contributing biological, phychological, sociocultural, economic, and political factors as appropriate and development and testing of hypotheses to link environmental hazards with adverse health outcomes.
  3. Communicate with a specific audience or target population the influence of environmental factors on health and/or methods for reducing exposure or improving environmental quality to promote health. To accomplish this, students will be able to apply, as appropriate, the following ASPH competencies:
    • Specify approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.
    • Discuss various risk management and risk communication approaches in relation to issues of environmental justice and equity.
    • Communicate results of scientific analysis of environmental health problems to appropriate organizations and stakeholders, including the public, legislative bodies, government agencies, industry, advocacy organizations and academia to inform development and implementation of strategies for preventing and controlling those problems.

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Integrative project

Important links:

The purpose of the integrative project is for students to demonstrate they can develop an integrated approach that encompasses the academic discipline of a public health curriculum to address current issues that affect the public’s health.  It gives students the opportunity to incorpo­rate what they learned from their courses and practice experiences or from prior work experience into a paper that focuses on a specific public health issue.  This also gives students experience in writing and critical thinking, and because they give a presentation on their project, in public speaking. 

Although the integrative project is only 2 credits, this is not an indication of the amount of effort required. In the integrative project students have the opportunity to master a topic of their own choosing, one they can proudly display to future employers and colleagues as an area where they have special expertise. The level of that expertise will be proportional to the effort expended.

The topics covered by the integrative project papers vary widely and likewise the competencies acquired can be expected to vary among projects. 

By the completion of the integrative project, students in the Environmental Health concentration will have demonstrated:

  1. The ability to integrate and apply principles, methods, and knowledge from preceding courses to address a specific environmental health problem of public health significance. The format for addressing the problem could be:
    • An analysis of the problem, including its nature and magnitude, possible causes and contributing factors, and prevention and intervention strategies.
    • A grant proposal for research into some dimension of the problem, such as causes, new prevention and intervention strategies, or evaluation of current strategies.
    • Implementation of a program for addressing the problem. This could be conduct of a research study or implementation of a prevention or intervention strategy in a specific target population.
    • A program evaluation proposal in which an evaluation mechanism is developed that addresses the problem.
    • A descriptive epidemiologic assessment of the problem in terms of person, place, and time and assessment of factors contributing to the disease or condition under study.
    • An individualized project developed by the student in consultation with his or her faculty advisor.
  2. The particular core, interdisciplinary/cross-cutting, and concentration-specific competencies each student uses will vary by project, and the relevant competencies should be determined in consultation with the student’s project advisor and evident in the final written report. However, it is expected that the project will demonstrate that the student is able to do one or more of the following competencies as appropriate to the project:
    • Describe the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and occupational agents.
    • Describe genetic, physiologic and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health outcomes following exposure to environmental hazards.
    • Describe federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines and authorities that control environmental health issues.
    • Specify approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.
    • Discuss various risk management and risk communication approaches in relation to issues of environmental justice and equity.
    • Integrate toxicologic and epidemiologic information to analyze environmental health problems in specific population groups, including magnitude and distribution of exposures and adverse health outcomes, the role of contributing biological, psychological, sociocultural, economic, and political factors as appropriate, and development and testing of hypotheses to link environmental hazards with adverse health outcomes. 
    • Identify and describe ethical, economic, and political implications derived from the project.
  3. Demonstrate integration of preceding coursework by identifying linkages between the specific approaches used to address the health problem and the principles, methods, and knowledge base acquired in the program. This is demonstrated, both in execution of the project and in the final written and oral presentations by:
    • Application of core epidemiologic, biostatistical, environmental health, health behavior, or health services administration methods, data, or knowledge as appropriate to the topic.
    • Application of principles, methods, and knowledge from environmental health concentration required and elective courses as appropriate to the topic.
  4. Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional public health activities.
    • This will be demonstrated by writing a logical, sound, evidence informed, organized, and well-written paper.
    • It will also be demonstrated by a well-prepared oral presentation.

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