Environmental Health Sciences PhD

Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy (PHD)
Minimum Required Credits: 41.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.2202
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 19-2041

About the Program

The Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) equips students with the skills to identify, examine, and respond to important environmental and occupational health challenges, and to disseminate and translate findings. Students will benefit from engagement with interdisciplinary faculty in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Students complete core EHS classes with an opportunity to specialize in areas such as environmental epidemiology, injury prevention and control, occupational health and safety, community engaged research, and exposure assessment. This program, which incorporates the Dornsife School of Public Health’s emphasis on urban health and social justice, trains students with the skills necessary to perform scientifically rigorous research to address pressing environmental and occupational health issues. Graduates of the program are well prepared to assume leadership roles as public health scientists, researchers, and educators.

Students will take a comprehensive exam that requires them to synthesize EHS concepts and demonstrate mastery of program competencies. Students will also develop and defend a research proposal and complete a dissertation of publishable quality, which they will present in a final defense.

Additional Information

For more information about this program, please contact the Dornsife School of Public Health 

Admission Requirements

Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health admissions requirements can be found at: https://drexel.edu/dornsife/admissions/overview/

In addition to the requirements listed below, students are required to complete the TA Orientation and Preparation Course and the Responsible Conduct of Research Training.

Degree Requirements

¹

Foundational Public Health Knowledge: Public Health Foundations is only required for students who do not have a degree from a CEPH accredited school. Students who have a degree from a CEPH accredited school will take an elective in place of Public Health Foundations.  

²

Students can take additional 5000-9999 level electives across the university with Faculty Mentor approval. 

Program Learning Outcomes

• Evaluate basic principles related to environmental and occupational exposure assessment – including sources and characteristics of exposures, mechanisms, and methods for measuring and examining physical, chemical, biological, psychosocial and/or other exposures potentially related to human health  
• Analyze relationships between exposures and human health, including variation in impacts by social, behavioral, psychosocial, and other susceptibility factors  
• Search and critically evaluate literature to synthesize information, identify major gaps in knowledge, and formulate statement of research problem and hypothesis  
• Formulate testable hypotheses about critical knowledge and evidence gaps in environmental and occupational health  
• Develop valid and reproducible study designs, including data collection strategies to test hypotheses using novel or current methods  
• Apply appropriate and rigorous methods to analyze and interpret original data  
• Communicate research results through scientific manuscripts, presentations, and other forms to both scientific and lay audiences  
• Assess risks associated with physical, chemical, psychosocial or other exposures in environmental or occupational settings, and identify appropriate policies and other interventions for preventing or reducing these risks