As part of its graduate public health offerings, the University of Vermont is offering a new online Environmental Public Health graduate certificate program to give students the opportunity to study environmental public health, epidemiology, public health and health policy, as well as electives in environmental risk and communication, food systems and public health and environmental public health law.
Environmental Public Health is a multidisciplinary field that addresses the biological, chemical and physical environmental factors that can adversely affect human health. Environmental public health practitioners use the tools of epidemiology, risk assessment, risk communication, and policy to protect and improve public health.
The 18-credit Certificate of Graduate Study in Environmental Public Health explores a range of human health hazards, health promotion strategies, and methods of environmental public health practice. The graduate level program is a collaboration between the College of Medicine, Continuing and Distance Education and the Graduate College at UVM.
“We’re living in an age of growing environmental health concerns -- climate change, pollution, and ecosystem disruption -- and developing leaders in environmental public health is more important than ever,” said Jan K. Carney, MD, MPH, a UVM associate dean for public health and professor of medicine overseeing the graduate public health programs. “UVM is a leader in multidisciplinary, health care, and public health education, and our program is designed for medical and graduate students, environmental scientists, health care practitioners, and professionals who want to tackle environmental public health challenges facing the world and make a difference.”
The certificate, which received approval from the UVM Board of Trustees in June, can be completed in one year. Graduate students may choose to take the certificate program as a stand-alone program or apply the credits toward the Master of Public Health, also offered online. The Environmental Public Health program is the second online graduate certificate program at UVM, joining the Public Health certificate program launched in January 2013, as well as the online Master of Public Health program announced in spring 2014.
The Certificate of Graduate Study in Environmental Public Health program is now open for spring enrollment. An introductory environmental public health course is being offered at UVM this fall for students interested in the program.