Program Overview

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Introduction to the MPH: Occupational and Environmental Health Program

The MPH: Occupational and Environmental Health program at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health is designed to train occupational hygiene professionals to anticipate, identify, assess, and manage risks to health posed by hazardous materials, agents, and processes. Although the focus is on the occupational environment, graduates can also apply these principles in non-occupational settings within built environments.

Program Overview

The program offers two emphases: Occupational Hygiene (OH) and Environmental Public Health (EPH). The OH emphasis is designed to fulfill the competencies required of the field to meet standards set by the International Occupational Hygiene Association and permit subsequent professional accreditation as a Registered Occupational Hygienist, via post-graduation examination. The EPH emphasis is designed to meet the needs of those students who want competencies, as they exist in the OH emphasis, but apply them to ambient/outdoors environments, instead of work environments.

Program Objectives

The objective of this degree is to train Occupational Hygiene professionals to anticipate, identify, assess, and manage risks to health posed by hazardous materials, agents, and processes. Key themes of the program are:

• Evaluation of exposures to hazards
• Devising effective hazard controls
• Developing management strategies to optimize occupational health

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:

• Identify physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial agents, factors, stressors generated or associated with defined sources, operations, or processes
• Describe the effects of exposure to workplace hazards and scientific methods used in hazard analysis and risk assessment
• Develop and implement control strategies to mitigate or reduce exposure and evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions
• Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of physical and biological sciences necessary for developing competence in the theoretical and practical aspects of occupational hygiene
• Demonstrate knowledge of ergonomics, occupational safety, accident prevention, and occupational health and safety considerations of labour relations
• Demonstrate the critical skills required in the review of scientific literature, and a knowledge of research methods, including epidemiological and statistical techniques as they apply to occupational health
• Communicate effectively with labour, management, the public, and other members of the scientific community

Career Opportunities

Graduates in OEH are in demand across Canada, entering directly into responsible positions. Approximately 35% of the graduates are working in the industrial sector, employed in manufacturing, petrochemical, aerospace, pharmaceutical, steel, mining, and other industries. Over one quarter of the graduates work in the service/public sector, for employers such as municipal, provincial, and federal governments, school boards, colleges, universities, hospitals, and public utilities, in corporate health and safety functions. Fifteen percent of the graduates are employed by provincial and federal governments in a regulatory/policy role. Another 15% of the graduates are employed as consultants, either independently, in small groups, or for larger consulting firms. In addition, some of the graduates have gone on to careers in research and academia.

Admission Criteria

MPH students are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and should hold an appropriate bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a recognized university with at least a mid-B average in the final year of the degree, or in the last 5.0 full course equivalents completed at a senior level. Proof of English Language Proficiency is required.

Minimum Admission Requirements for MPH Occupational and Environmental Health

• Ideally, applicants have completed courses in a variety of areas including chemistry, physiology/toxicology, statistics, mathematics, biology, and physics.
• Successful applicants have obtained their undergraduate degree in the physical, life, engineering, or environmental sciences.
• It is highly recommended that applicants have taken at least one undergraduate statistics course.
• Previous applicable experience is taken into account, but is not necessary for admission.
• All suitable applicants are invited to an interview (in person or by telephone/internet).

Program Requirements: Occupational Hygiene Emphasis

Students in this program are required to complete 10.0 Full Course Equivalents (FCE) within the maximum time limit of 3 years as a full-time student and 6 years as a part-time student. The table below is a guideline indicating what and when courses can be taken, including practica.

Course Requirements

• TERM 1:
  • CHL5004H: Introduction to Public Health Sciences
  • CHL5220H or CHL5401H: Introduction to Quantitative Research or Epidemiologic Methods I
  • CHL5904H: Perspectives in Occupational and Environmental Health – Legal and Social Context
  • CHL5910H: Occupational and Environmental Hygiene I
  • CHL5912H: Occupational and Environmental Toxicology
  • 1 elective
• Term 2:
  • CHL5911H: Occupational and Environmental Hygiene II
  • CHL5914H: Physical Agents I – Noise (or CHL5907H in Term 4)
  • CHL5915H: Control of Occupational Hazards
  • CHL5918H: Biological Hazards in the Workplace and Community
  • MIE1411H1: Applied Occupational Ergonomics
• Term 3:
  • CHL6010Y and CHL6012Y: Required MPH Practicum + Long Extension to Required Practicum
• Term 4:
  • CHL5410H: Occupational Epidemiology
  • CHL5902H: Advanced Occupational Hygiene
  • CHL5907H: Radiological Health (unless CHL5914H was taken in Term 2)
  • CHL5917H: Concepts in Safety Management
  • 1-2 electives

Program Requirements: Environmental Public Health Emphasis

Students in this program are required to complete 10.0 Full Course Equivalents (FCE) within the maximum time limit of 3 years as a full-time student and 6 years as a part-time student. The table below is a guideline indicating what and when courses can be taken, including practica.

Course Requirements

• TERM 1:
  • CHL5004H: Introduction to Public Health Sciences
  • CHL5201H: Biostatistics I
  • CHL5401H: Epidemiologic Methods I
  • CHL5904H: Perspectives in Occupational and Environmental Health – Legal and Social Context
  • CHL5910H: Occupational and Environmental Hygiene I
  • CHL5912H: Occupational and Environmental Toxicology
• Term 2:
  • CHL5903H: Environmental Health
  • CHL5914H: Physical Agents I – Noise (or CHL5907H in Term 4)
  • CHL5921H: Protecting the Public from Air Pollution
  • 2-3 electives
• Term 3:
  • CHL6010Y and CHL6012Y: Required MPH Practicum + Long Extension to Required Practicum
• Term 4:
  • CHL5413H: Public Health Sanitation
  • CHL5416H: Environmental Epidemiology
  • CHL5907H: Radiological Health (unless CHL5914H was taken in Term 2)
  • CHL5922H: Climate Change and Health
  • 1-2 electives

Practicum Placements

The required practicum (CHL6010Y) provides an opportunity for learners to apply the theory and knowledge gained in coursework by engaging in new projects and experiences in professional settings. The placement should entail the types of activities normally carried out by the preceptor and cover as many aspects of occupational hygiene as possible. A practicum cannot be undertaken until the pre-requisite courses have been completed. The student will be placed, for a minimum of 16 weeks under the direct supervision of an Occupational Hygienist or Environmental Public Health Scientist, approved by the faculty. Since the student is expected to be of some direct benefit to the preceptor and the supporting agency, the student is normally paid a stipend during the placement.