Graduates with an MPH in Environmental Health find challenging positions in federal, state and county departments of health and environmental protection, other federal agencies, consulting and research companies, and industry. They work as environmental health specialists, risk assessors, and project managers. Recent graduates from UF are employed by several major environmental consulting firms as risk assessors and by research consulting firms.
The MPH in Environmental Health is part of the Environmental and Global Health Department in the College of Public Health and Health Professions. Many faculty in the concentration are also members of the Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, the Emerging Pathogens Institute, or the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience. Some of the faculty hold joint appointments in other UF Colleges including the College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Medicine.
The Environmental Health curriculum addresses a diverse range of environmental issues that concern individuals and communities. Courses and other educational experiences are carefully structured to enable students to develop competence in very specific environmental health skills.
The program offers particular depth in the effects of hazardous materials on human health and the environment through courses in toxicology and risk assessment. Required courses include general toxicology, toxic substances, human health risk assessment, risk communication, and exposure assessment. Included in the concentration core are courses on air pollution, water pollution and wastewater management, and food sanitation and safety where public health activities are guided by federal and state laws and regulations. Through additional elective courses, which draw on the extensive expertise of University of Florida faculty and the unique ecology of our state, students may focus on community environmental health, infectious diseases, food safety, toxicology, and risk assessment. Students interested in infectious diseases will find numerous opportunities to take related electives.
While there are dozens of specialties in public health, most career opportunities are found in the following fields. The salary ranges, as follows, are the actual salaries earned (adjusted for inflation using the national CPI – Bureau of Labor Statistics) within one year of graduation as reported by the most recent nationwide survey of graduates conducted by ASPPH: Environmental Health ($44,550 – $143,700), Public Health Practice ($41,175 – $102,000), Epidemiology ($38,175 – $136,237), Health Services Administration ($37,050 – $161,400), Health Education/Behavioral Science ($33,000 – $86,625), Biostatistics ($33,000 – $63,000), International Health ($31,500 – $86,625), and Biomedical Laboratory ($31,500 – $78,750).
For all questions regarding the MPH program, please visit their website at: http://mph.ufl.edu/.