Ph.D. in Environmental Health, Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Specialization

Program Overview

The Ph.D. in Environmental Health with an Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Specialization is a multidisciplinary program that focuses on improving workplace safety, quality, and well-being. It combines psychology, engineering, and health sciences to enhance human-centered design and optimize system performance. Graduates pursue leadership roles in academia, industry, and research organizations.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Ph.D. in Environmental Health, Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Specialization is a multidisciplinary program designed to enhance the workplace in terms of safety, process and product quality, and the quality of work life. The program utilizes a systems approach in human-centered design and incorporates the most current safety theories and practice. It integrates a multidisciplinary approach from psychology, engineering, the health sciences and safety to better understand and optimize human well-being and overall system performance in the workplace. The program offers flexibility for students to pursue research related to ergonomics and safety from approaches in psychology, engineering, the health sciences, and occupational epidemiology.

Outline:

Core Courses:

• DM 575 Human Factors in Design (3 credits)
• ERHS 520 Environmental and Occupational Health Issues (3 credits)
• ERHS 526 Industrial Hygiene (3 credits)
• ERHS 527 Industrial Hygiene Laboratory (1 credit)
• ERHS 528 Occupational Safety (3 credits)
• ERHS 532 Epidemiologic Methods (3 credits)
• ERHS 540 Principles of Ergonomics (3 credits)
• ERHS 541 Ergonomics in Product and Process Design (3 credits)
• ERHS 637 Environment, Safety, and Health Management (3 credits)
• ERHS 679 Occ Env Health Interdisciplinary Symposium (2 credits)
• PSY 792D Advanced Seminar: Industrial/Organizational Psychology (3 credits)

Additional and Supporting Coursework:

• ERHS 535R Programming for Research (3 credits)
• ERHS 536 Advanced Occupational Health (3 credits)
• ERHS 642 Applied Logistic Regression (3 credits)
• ERHS 784 Supervised College Teaching (2 credits)
• ERHS 787 Internship (3 credits)
• ERHS 795B Independent Study: Occupational and Environmental Health (1 credit)
• ERHS 799 Dissertation (12 credits)
• PSY 692D Seminar: Industrial/Organizational Psychology (1 credit)
• STAR 512 Design and Data Analysis for Researchers II (4 credits)

Electives (minimum of 6 credits):

• ERHS 636 Industrial Hygiene Control Methods
• ERHS 640 Advanced Epidemiology Methods I
• ERHS 656 Occupational Noise Control
• ERHS 658 Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology
• HES 530 Clinical Biomechanics
• HES 531 Muscle and Joint Mechanics
• IE 517/PSY 517 Perspectives in Global Health
• PSY 600J Advanced Psychology: Health Psychology