Environment, Climate and Health Concentration
What You'll Learn
As a master of Public Health (MPH) student in the Environment, Climate and Health concentration, you will gain the skills to mitigate the impact of environmental issues on human health.
During the program, students will learn how to:
Critically and quantitatively analyze health risks and vulnerabilities to support effective environmental practices and climate action
Communicate about linkages between sources, exposures, biological responses, and disease
Lead interdisciplinary teams to design evidence-based approaches that promote a healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable future.
Through collaborative work led by internationally renowned experts in environmental health, science and policy within the top public school of public health in the nation, you will graduate uniquely positioned to advance environmental health solutions.
This program will empower you with the knowledge and skills to achieve the following core competencies:
- Weigh the scientific basis of hazard identification, exposure and health risk assessment to support management of environment, climate and health.
- Evaluate the causal relationships linking sources of environmental contaminants through processes that affect movement, transformations, exposure pathways, effects and vulnerabilities and use these relationships to inform actions for public health and health equity.
- Describe and critically evaluate the rationale for and approaches used to measure and model the properties of environmental/human systems.
- Evaluate actions or interventions for their effectiveness in improving environmental health outcomes.
- Examine and critique the ethical and legal dimensions of environment, climate and health-related actions on individuals and communities.
Required Courses & Sample Plan of Study
In addition to the interdisciplinary, 14-credit Gillings MPH Core, you will take seven concentration-specific courses covering topics such as policy design and environmental processes and gain additional hands-on experience.
ENVR 430: Health Effects of Environmental Agents
ENVR 500: Environmental Processes, Exposure and Risk Assessment
ENVR 580: Policy Design for Environment, Climate and Health
Select graduate-level courses, 5 credits total, from one area of interest for disciplinary depth.
– Climate, sustainability and health equity
– Exposure and risk assessment
– Community-driven research and environmental justice
– Global environmental health (including water and sanitation in low resource settings)
– Toxicology and epigenetics, supporting healthy outcomes for vulnerable populations
– Occupational health and safety
– Environmental chemical or microbial processes
ENVR 775: Global Climate Change: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
ENVR 992: Global Environmental Crisis Management (MPH Culminating Experience)
To be prepared for this concentration, you should have a bachelor’s degree with coursework in at least two of the following areas: biology, chemistry, calculus and physics.
In addition to coursework, this concentration will offer you practical, hands-on experience:
- You will engage in applied learning experiences in a professional setting, tackling real-world environmental and public health issues.
- You will develop strong teamwork skills by working in interdisciplinary groups.
- You will have the opportunity to lead a project in environmental crisis management (ENVR 992).
Fall 2023 Cohort: Environment, Climate and Health Degree Requirements and Study Plan (PDF)
Fall 2024 Cohort: Environment, Climate and Health Degree Requirements and Study Plan (PDF)
Courtney G. Woods, PhD
Environmental Health Solutions Lead and associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
As climate and environmental change pose a greater threat to humans and the natural environment, there is an urgent need for public health professionals who are trained to lead teams that address complex problems at the intersection of environment, climate and health – to identify environment and climate-related health risks and design, implement and evaluate interventions to protect public health – and to do so through the lens of health equity.
Environment and climate-focused solutions have far-reaching implications for the field of public health, and the skills and knowledge you will accrue through this program are relevant to a wide range of sectors.
Career Opportunities
99% of Gillings graduates have a job or continue their education within one year of graduating.
Learn more about the career opportunities that await you with an MPH from the Gillings School.
“I currently am working on the WaSH MEL project, which is dedicated to creating, sharing and implementing cutting-edge monitoring, evaluation and learning tools for water, sanitation and hygiene practitioners. Since most of the projects are public health-related, I have been able to apply much of the knowledge I learned in the classroom, especially skills related to data analysis and interpretation.”
Students fund their education through a combination of sources, including loans, fellowships and awards, assistantships and grants. Several awards and scholarships are supported by generous contributions to the School and University who value the current and future contributions of our students.
Contact: Sarah Kitchens, Funding and Awards Coordinator, sarah_kitchens@unc.edu
