Occupational Health Sciences-Industrial Hygiene

IH professionals are concerned with the myriad aspects of evaluating, mitigating, and managing workplace hazards, including toxic gases and vapors, dusts, (bio-)aerosols, mold, engineered nanomaterials, pathogens, noise, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, ergonomic stresses and safety hazards.

As we move toward a more holistic view of human health and well-being (i.e., Total Worker Health), the roles of IH professionals are expanding to include health promotion, wellness, and emotional and mental health issues associated with increased workloads and associated job stress.

Increasingly, responsibility for environmental issues outside of the workplace, such as hazardous waste, residential indoor air quality, ambient air and water pollution, and ecological balance are also falling within the domain of the practicing Industrial Hygienist.

Among the activities in which IH professionals may be engaged are the following:

• Measurement of contaminant levels in the air, on surfaces, and in biological fluids
• Design of exposure assessment strategies (e.g., for estimating health risks)
• Statistical analysis of data sets to inform decision-making
• Management of occupational and environmental health programs
• Training of workers about hazards and safe practices
• Promotion of healthy working conditions
• Demonstration of compliance with regulations and guidelines limiting harmful exposures
• Research on the relationships between exposure and health effects
• Development and implementation of new monitoring technologies and methodologies
• Provision of service to the public and/or professional societies (e.g., AIHA)
• Maintenance of ethical practices in all aspects of their professional activities
• Engagement in lifelong learning

IH professionals are employed by numerous private and public sector organizations include large (often multi-national) corporations; insurance companies and environmental consulting firms

The Occupational Health Sciences-Industrial Hygiene Masters of Public Health program is accredited by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Industrial Hygiene. The program has been accredited by ABET for over 30 years.

Distinguishing features of the University of Michigan IH Program include the following:

• One of the longest-standing and most highly regarded IH programs in the country
• Dedicated core faculty that are highly effective teachers and mentors, with active research portfolios addressing issues at the cutting edge of the field
• Diverse supporting faculty with a wide range of experience as practicing IH professionals
• Rigorous curricula coupled with an array of other enriching experiences to provide comprehensive practitioner and research training
• An integral component of the Michigan Education and Research Center (ERC), which has been sponsored by NIOSH for over 42 years
• An award-winning IH student organization that provides a tight-knit community of friends/peers
• Over 800+ alumni, many of whom hold influential, leadership positions in private industry, government, and academia in the U.S. and throughout the world

• The MPH and MS require four semesters to complete
• The MPH includes a summer internship (field experience), typically in private industry or with a governmental agency, either in the U.S. or abroad
• The MS degree includes a focused thesis project guided by one or more faculty mentors.
• The PhD degree entails in-depth training/mentorship in research skills, and the generation of high-impact, scholarly research findings that are published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature
• The curricula are comprehensive, yet sufficiently flexibility to permit students to pursue any of a number of other interests, including "minor" concentrations and Certificate Degrees
• Applicants should have a strong interest in science and health, an undergraduate degree in some field of basic or applied science, and, at a minimum, should have taken courses in biology and/or physiology, general and organic chemistry, physics, and calculus.

The OHS-IH program has maintained a 6-yr average enrollment of 24 students per year and a graduating cohort size ranging from 7-11 students. Listed below are the enrollment and graduation figures. Our record of career placement is outstanding.

*Enrollment and graduate data includes all degrees (MPH, MS and PhD)
** Estimate for Fall 2024 cohort and graduates

The mission of the Industrial Hygiene program is to provide outstanding comprehensive graduate-level education in occupational health science; ensuring that graduates are qualified to pursue careers and assume leadership roles in the practice of industrial hygiene.

Educational Goals

The overarching goals developed to support the mission of the OHS-IH program are:

• To enroll, educate, and support top-quality students from diverse backgrounds and prepare them to be leaders in the science, practice, and further development of industrial hygiene
• To maintain one of the leading graduate exposure-industrial hygiene programs in the world
• To endow our students with the multidisciplinary technical foundations and attitudes necessary to continue to learn throughout their professional careers

Program Educational Objectives

Achievement of the goals of the OHS-IH program requires that a number of educational and administrative objectives be met.  We pledge to administer an outstanding educational experience that motivates students toward academic excellence and provides students with a comprehensive program of study that imparts the knowledge, skills, and preparation to:

1. Understand the essential scientific and practical elements of the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, management, control and communication of health hazards in the workplace
2. Apply and communicate knowledge of hazards to reduce unsafe exposures and promote healthy working conditions
3. Think critically in defining and solving problems
4. Work effectively in teams with other health professionals and with other stakeholders
5. Embrace the professional, ethical, and leadership responsibilities inherent to the practice of industrial hygiene

General Student Outcomes

1. An ability to identify, formulate and solve broadly defined technical or scientific problems by applying knowledge of mathematics and science and/or technical topics to areas relevant to the discipline 
2. An ability to formulate or design a system, process, procedure or program to meet desired needs
3. An ability to develop and conduct experiments or test hypotheses, analyze, and interpret data and use scientific judgment to draw conclusions
4. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
5. An ability to understand ethical and professional responsibilities and the impact of technical and/or scientific solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
6. An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines and analyze risk and uncertainty

Specific Student Outcomes

To achieve the necessary knowledge in the following curricular areas:

1. Physiological and/or toxicological interactions of physical, chemical, biological, and ergonomic agents, factors, and/or stressors with the human body
2. Anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of potentially hazardous agents, conductions, and practices
3. Fundamental exposure assessment techniques (both qualitative and quantitative)
4. Industrial hygiene data interpretation including statistical and epidemiological principles
5. Applicable business and managerial practices
6. Occupational and environmental standards and regulations
7. Fundamental aspects of safety and environmental health

MPH INdustrial hygiene COURsework

MPH students are required to complete an internship and Applied Practice Experience (APEx) during the summer before their second year begins. You will have support finding internship experiences that center around IH.

• SPH Core Classes
  • PUBHLTH 500/501 Investigating Public Health Issues
•  EHS Core Classes
  
  • EHS 510 Responsible Research and Scholarship (RCRS)
  • EHS 576 Biological Agents
  • EHS 602 Essentials of Toxicology 
  • EHS 603 Occupational and Evironmental Disease
  • EHS 604 Professional Perspectives in EHS (Capstone)
  • EHS 687/EHS 688/EHS 689 Professional Development in EHS
  • Quantitative Course (Select one):
    • BIOSTAT 522 Biostatistical Analysis for Health-Related Studies
    • EHS 655 Human Exposure Analysis
    • EAS 538 Natural Resource Statistics
    • EAS 635 Multivariate Statistics for Environmental Science (Prerequisite: EAS 538)
    • EHS/EPID 675 Data Analysis for Environmental Epidemiology
    • NUTR 620 Multivariate Analysis of Nutrition Related Studies
• IH Coursework
  • EHS 556 Occupational Ergonomics
  • EHS 585 Psychosocial Factors Impacting Environmental and Occupational Health 
  • EHS 651 OSEH Program Management
  • EHS 652 Evaluation of Chemical Hazards
  • EHS 653 Environmental Sampling and Analysis Lab
  • EHS 654 Control of Exposures to Airborne Contaminants
  • EHS 658 Physical Hazards
  • EHS 668 Professional Seminars in Occupational Health
  • EHS 757 Occupational Health Aspects of Industrial Processes
  • IOE 539 Occupational Safety Engineering 

You can find more information about EHS and SPH courses on the SPH course listing website.

MS IH COursework

MS students are required to conduct research during their program which will culiminate in a master's thesis. The most important aspect of research is finding a faculty member within the department who aligns with your research interests.

• SPH Core Classes
  • EPID 600 Introduction to Epidemiology 
  • BIOSTAT 521  Applied Biostatistics
• EHS Core Classes
  
  • EHS 510 Responsible Research and Scholarship (RCRS)
  • EHS 602 Essentials of Toxicology
  • EHS 603 Occupational and Evironmental Disease
  • EHS 698 Research (6 credits minimum)
  • EHS 699 Master's Thesis 
  • Quantitative Course (Select one):
    • BIOSTAT 522 Biostatistical Analysis for Health-Related Studies
    • EHS 655 Human Exposure Analysis
    • EAS 538 Natural Resource Statistics
    • EAS 635 Multivariate Statistics for Environmental Science (Prerequisite: EAS 538)
    • EHS/EPID 675 Data Analysis for Environmental Epidemiology
    • NUTR 620 Multivariate Analysis of Nutrition Related Studies

• IH Coursework/Electives
  • EHS 556 Occupational Ergonomics
  • EHS 585 Psychosocial Factors Impacting Environmental and Occupational Health
  • EHS 651 OSEH Program Management
  • EHS 652 Evaluation of Chemical Hazards
  • EHS 653 Environmental Sampling and Analysis Lab
  • EHS 654 Control of Exposures to Airborne Contaminants
  • EHS 658 Physical Hazards
  • EHS 668 Professional Seminars in Occupational Health
  • EHS 757 Occupational Health Aspects of Industrial Processes
  • IOE 539 Occupational Safety Engineering 

You can find more information about EHS and SPH courses on the SPH course listing website.

Our Ph.D. program is administered at the departmental level. It follows conventional norms in terms of essential coursework, proficiency examinations, proposal writing/presentation, research and professional development, and defense of the written dissertation. The program of study is tailored to each student's interests and aptitudes and is determined through consultation with the student's academic advisor.  Details are provided in the EHS PhD website.