Environmental Health
Students in the Environmental Health concentration study how environmental conditions, policies, and systems shape population health. Coursework is taught by faculty whose expertise is anchored in Virginia Tech’s core strengths of environmental modeling and simulation, climate and health, drinking water and sanitation, policy analysis, agriculture and land use, and rural health. This concentration emphasizes engagement with current environmental health challenges, modern analytical methods in exposure science, environmental epidemiology, and toxicology, and contemporary policy challenges. More broadly, the Public Health program’s position within the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine exposes students to a One Health perspective, which characterizes public health through the lens of environment-human-animal interactions. Graduates are prepared for careers in environmental health practice and analysis in local, state, and federal government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, consulting, and research-oriented roles.
Upon completion of the MPH degree, graduates from the Environmental Health concentration will demonstrate proficiency in the following competencies:
- Evaluate and synthesize toxicological and epidemiological evidence to identify environmental agents capable of causing adverse health outcomes in human populations.
- Apply quantitative methods to characterize the relationship between levels of exposure to an environmental hazard and the magnitude or probability of adverse health outcomes.
- Design and evaluate methods for measuring or estimating human exposure to chemical, biological, and physical hazards across environmental media (air, water, soil, food).
- Integrate hazard identification, dose-response, and exposure information to estimate and communicate health risk and associated uncertainty.
- Critique and apply analytic frameworks and diverse methodologies to evaluate policy and management options for addressing environmental health risks under conditions of scientific uncertainty and competing values.
- Analyze the legal, regulatory, and political landscape governing an environmental health issue and develop and communicate policy recommendations to relevant decision-makers.
Environmental Concentration Courses
Students are required to take the following concentration courses:
Instructor: Julia Gohlke
Students explore how chemical, physical, and selected biological hazards commonly encountered in rural occupational, residential, and community environments affect human health. Using real‑world rural examples, students build skills to assess environmental exposures and understand their health implications. Students learn how toxicology and epidemiology are used to evaluate hazard potency and dose–response relationships, and how exposure to hazards occurs through air, water, soil, food, and other environmental pathways. The course emphasizes integrating hazard and exposure information to estimate health risks for specific rural populations and exposure scenarios. Students will examine how individual and population‑level risk assessments inform public health action, and how scientists, governments, communities, and non‑governmental organizations design, implement, and evaluate effective risk‑management interventions. Students also develop the ability to clearly communicate environmental health findings to diverse audiences, including community members, practitioners, and policymakers.
Instructor: Alasidair Cohen
Students will examine how drinking water quality, availability, and treatment influence human health, with a focus on rural and underserved communities. Students develop skills to assess exposures to chemical, biological, and physical contaminants in drinking water and to evaluate associated health risks. Methods for measuring and estimating exposure from a range of water sources, including private wells and small community systems will be explored. Topics include waterborne pathogens, heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants, as well as drinking water supply and treatment challenges in rural settings. The course emphasizes integrating exposure, toxicological, and epidemiological information to characterize and communicate health risks and uncertainty. Students will examine public health and policy interventions to improve safe water access through case studies from the United States and low‑ and middle‑income countries.
Instructor: Ryan Calder
Students will explore how environmental health decisions are made amid scientific uncertainty, competing values, and real‑world constraints and examine the scientific tools used to identify and measure environmental hazards affecting human and animal health, along with the policy and behavioral strategies used to manage those risks. Students will build a working understanding of the core disciplines that inform environmental health decision‑making, including toxicology, epidemiology, exposure assessment, and environmental modeling. At the same time, students will analyze the legal, political, ethical, and cultural factors that shape environmental health policies and outcomes. The course emphasizes practical decision‑analysis frameworks, such as risk assessment, life‑cycle assessment, and cost‑benefit analysis, used by governments, organizations, and individuals. Through case studies, group work, and policy‑focused assignments, students develop skills to evaluate evidence, weigh tradeoffs, and communicate clear, actionable recommendations to decision‑makers and stakeholders.