Topics in Environmental Health

Watch a video message from Howard Hu.

"More than ever, this is the time to study environmental health and to make an impact on the science and policies that will dictate how we manage our environment to survive and thrive."
—Howard Hu, Chair, Department of Environmental Health Sciences

Why a Career in Environmental Health Sciences?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, environmental health and sciences fields are "in demand" and are categorized in the national high-growth industries. Learn more about careers in environmental health.

Select the Right Degree Program for You

The University of Michigan School of Public Health is one of the nation's best (Top 5 — U.S. News and World Report), and our Department of Environmental Health Sciences offers masters and doctoral degree programs that provide the kind of multi-disciplinary training that allows its graduates to compete for the best jobs in industry, academia, government, non-governmental organizations, and elsewhere — anywhere in the world.

Award-Winning Faculty & Research

As a student, you can learn more about the world's most pressing environmental challenges, and join with EHS faculty whose research is making the world a better place:

Professor Rita Loch Caruso studies female reproductive toxicology and the effects of toxicants on labor and delivery.
Professor Gerald Keeler measures and analyzes pollutants and trace elements such as mercury in air and water, to help assess impact on human health and the environment.
Professor John Meeker investigates health impacts associated with exposure to pesticides, PCBs, tobacco smoke, and other agents.

In the News

UM SPH Environmental Health Sciences professor Jerome Nriagu is the recipient of a $75,000 Humboldt Research Award in recognition of lifetime achievements in research, and in encouragement of international collaboration. Dr. Nriagu is working with colleagues in Heidelberg, Germany, through July 2009 on research related to thallium isotopes as novel tracers of global climate change.

UM SPH's Marie S. O’Neill, an assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology, has been selected to receive an NIEHS Outstanding New Environmental Scientists (ONES) award. She is among 6 young investigators to earn the highly competitive award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in 2008. The grant funds five years of research at $250,000 per year. O'Neill is studying exposures of pregnant women to air pollution in Mexico City and the link to preterm births through in vitro and in vivo studies of inflammatory response to air pollutants.

Six UM doctoral students win $50,000 Graham Fellowships to support environmental sustainability research.
January 15, 2009, UM News Service release

A Community of Learners: The 14th Annual Toxicology Symposium was held in February 2009 at UM SPH. This year's topic was "The Heart of the Problem: Genetic and Environmental Influences on Cardiovascular Disease."

Join the thousands of alumni who have chosen to be a part of these programs, activities, and communities, now and for many years to come.