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Selected Programs | Academic Programs | Faculty | Research Activities | Community Activities
David Michaels, PhD, MPH
Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
Our nation and our world confront environmental challenges ranging from climate disruption to toxic-chemical contamination. Making the world safer and more sustainable requires learning more about the hazards we face and translating that knowledge into policy. In order to have the best science informing our policy decisions, we must ensure that studies are conducted with both rigor and integrity.
The Environmental and Occupational Health Department is at the center of national and global conversations about using science to protect workers, the public, and the environment from toxic substances and dangerous conditions. Faculty and staff in the Department have earned a national reputation as researchers and leaders in articulating how public health science is best used in regulatory decision-making, and are called on frequently by congressional committees, federal agencies, national scientific organizations, international public health entities, and the press to discuss environmental hazards and the policies addressing them.
Through www.DefendingScience.org and the public health blog The Pump Handle (http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com), members of the Department provide information, analyses, and commentary on public health topics in a form accessible to the general public.
Washington, DC is our classroom. The DC area is the home of many of the agencies and organizations that shape the policies applied here and abroad to protect human health and the environment. Along with our faculty members' professional connections, the EOH Department's location provides our students with excellent opportunities for jobs, internships, and fellowships with:
- Federal agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
- Advocacy organizations (e.g., Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund)
- Unions and professional organizations
- International Organizations (e.g., World Bank, Pan-American Health Organization)
- Scientific consulting groups
- National scientific bodies (e.g., Institute of Medicine)
Selected Programs
The Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) examines the use of science in public-health decision making; its website, DefendingScience.org, provides in-depth case studies on hazards from bisphenol A and popcorn lung to hexavalent chromium and background on regulatory issues. SKAPP regularly provides assistance to Congressional committees and the media.
SKAPP has partnered with the journals American Journal of Public Health, Law and Contemporary Problems, and Environmental Health Perspectives to produce special issues on the intersection of public-health science with the legal system.
Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment is a federally-funded center, cosponsored with the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, providing technical expertise to clinical providers and community groups. It is the only Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for EPA Region III, covering Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The project on Public Health Preparedness in Arlington County is a collaborative project with Arlington, Virginia's County Health Department to improve emergency preparedness in the community. The project involves outreach and survey research with county residents, many of whom are immigrants.
Members of the EOH Department regularly contribute to the public health blog The Pump Handle, which explores the workings of health-related federal agencies, new research on known and potential hazards, challenges to scientific integrity, and many other public health issues.
Academic Programs
The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health offers the following degrees and programs:
- Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) - Environmental and Occupational Health
The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Program prepares professionals to assume leadership positions in research, policy, and program design and administration in the field of Environmental and Occupational Health.
The DrPH program requires the completion of 60 credits, broken down as follows:
- Required Foundation Courses and Research Methods, 23 credits
- Required Specialty Field Courses, 6 credits
- Specialty Field Electives, 11 credits
- Professional Leadership, 6 credits
- Dissertation Preparation and Dissertation, 14 credits
Candidates who have received MPH degrees are preferred for admission. Applicants with a master's degree in another field may indicate their relevant training, research experience, or educational background comparable to the MPH, but will be required to take additional course work at the graduate level that does not apply toward the minimum 60 credits required.
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- Master of Public Health (MPH) - Environmental Health Science and Policy - NEW for Summer 2009!
The MPH program prepares graduates to analyze implications of policies relating to environmental and occupational health, participate in policy development, and assess and manage environmental and occupational risks.
The MPH program requires the completion of 45 credits, broken down as follows:
- Core public health courses, 17 credits
- EOH-specific courses, 18 credits
- Electives, 6 credits
- Practicum, 2 credits
- Culminating experience, 2 credits
For culminating experiences, students can develop projects related to their interests; past experiences have focused on pesticide exposure, coal mine safety, food contaminants, antibiotic resistance, water quality, nanoparticles, and many other topics.
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- Master of Public Health (MPH) - Master's International Program with the Peace Corps
The Peace Corps has identified a shortage of prepared public health professionals to serve the needs of their organization. Graduates of this program obtain a SPHHS MPH degree in any of the MPH programs (45 credits), and have priority placement for the two-year public health service assignment with the Peace Corps in a developing country.
Students in the Master's Global Health Program with the Peace Corps complete MPH course work on The George Washington University campus and then enter the Peace Corps and begin their service in the assigned country. The Peace Corps experience becomes the Practicum required for the MPH degree, and generally also provides the basis for the required Culminating Experience. As Peace Corps volunteers, MPH students complete three months of intensive language, technical, and cross-cultural training followed by two years of service as public health workers. Upon satisfactory completion of the two-year Peace Corps service and the completion of the Practicum, the student returns to GW and enrolls in the Culminating Experience and is awarded the MPH degree.
To be eligible for this program, applicants must be accepted by both the School of Public Health and Health Services and the Peace Corps through separate application processes. Applicants are advised to apply to both programs simultaneously to allow sufficient time for the Peace Corps' medical and suitability clearances to be processed. The review of applications is independent and admission to one program does not guarantee admission to the other.
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- Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Occupational Health
The stand-alone certificate program requires 18 credits; students enrolled concurrently in an SPHHS degree program must complete 12 credits. Students must enroll in at least 9 credits of program-specific courses. The certificate must be completed within two years.
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- Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management and Public Health
This graduate certificate program is intended for beginning and mid-career professionals on a career path that combines management of emergency services and disaster relief with the rapid assessment of health concerns and restoration of essential public health services. At the completion of the program, individuals will have the skills required to manage basic functions in the coordinated health response to disasters, crises and humanitarian emergencies.
The certificate requires a minimum of 20 credits, half of which must be from SPHHS courses. It must be completed within two years.
The certificate does not have specialized tracks. Students who have particular interests, professional responsibilities or career commitments may wish to select elective courses that build expertise in a particular area of practice, such as emergency management services within a local or state department of health; global health and managing disaster response; or homeland security and public safety.
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- Joint Program: Physician Assistant - Master of Science in Health Sciences and Master of Public Health
Based in both the School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) Department of Prevention and Community Health, and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (MSHS), the PA/MPH Program presents a graduate curriculum that blends two important traditional paradigms of health care - the biomedical and the preventive. Graduates of the GWU PA/MPH Program will be leaders in clinical practice in primary care and preventive medicine as well have preparation to assume high level positions in education, research, and policy.
Note: It is important to note that the School of Public Health and Health Services at GW offering the MPH programs is among only 40 Council of Education for Public Health accredited schools. An important consideration for your career will be passing the credentialing examination and only students from accredited schools will be permitted to sit for this examination.
Students in the PA-MSHS/MPH Program fulfill the requirements of both programs totaling 110 credits over 9 semesters (70 required credits for the PA-MSHS program and 40 required credits for the MPH COPC program).
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- Joint Program: Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Public Health
The joint MD/MPH program is a five-year program at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS).
The MPH degree is 45 credits in length; however, for joint students six MPH credits are co-credited between the two schools. Joint students do not take PubH 201, Biological Concepts (2 credits). The Medical School accepts PubH 214 Practicum (2 credits) and PubH 215 Culminating Experience (2credits), which fulfills the special project requirement of IDIS 230, 231, 241 and HCS 400 (combined Practice of Medicine III and IV courses, Years 3 and 4). Joint students will enroll in 43 total MPH credits.
Students in the five-year joint MD/MPH degree program may begin the MPH portion of the program at any time prior to the beginning of their fourth year in the MD program. All joint students are granted a one year leave of absence from medical school during which between 18 and 27 credits of MPH work are completed. The remaining course work is completed during the summer semesters, coincident with parts of the medical school curriculum, and during the spring semester of the senior year of the MD curriculum when elective credit requirements for the MD degree are waived.
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- Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program for Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Laws (LLM) students
The Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program of the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services offers unique educational opportunities to law students, practicing lawyers, and health professions students. Endowed by Harold and Jane Hirsh and home to GW's joint degree programs in law and public health, the program is designed to foster an interdisciplinary approach to the study of health policy, health law, public health, and health care.
JD and LLM candidates can earn, upon acceptance to the SPHHS, either a Graduate Certificate in Public Health or a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. The course of study for the JD degree alone consists of 84 credits. However, a student participating in a combined law-public health program may receive up to 12 cross-over law-related SPHHS credits to his/her JD course of study. (Not all SPHHS credits may be "crossed over" to the Law School. In order to apply SPHHS credits to your law degree, the credits must be sufficiently law-related as determined by the Law School.) The course of study for the LLM degree generally consists of 24 credits. However, a student may receive up to 6 cross-over law-related SPHHS credits, under the same conditions for transfer as noted above.
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Faculty
Limited-service faculty members, who serve as a resource for students, include:
- John Balbus, MD, MPH
- Faye T. Bresler, MD, MPH
- Joseph Bunnell, PhD
- Gary J. Burin, PhD, MPH
- John Clizbe, PhD
- Glinda Cooper, PhD
- Kristie L. Ebi, PhD, MPH
- Philip A. Edelman, MD
- Ruth Ann Etzel, MD, PhD
- Joel C. Gaydos, MD, MPH
- Herman J. Gibb, PhD, MPH
- Carol Henry, PhD, DABT
- John Howard, MD, MPH, JD
- Peter Infante, DrPH, MPH
- James Listorti, PhD
- Peter G. Lurie, MD, MPH
- John McNamara, MD, MPH
- Jennifer Sass, PhD
- Robert Spirtas, DrPH
- James Weeks, ScD
- Laura Welch, MD
- Shelia Hoar Zahm, ScD
Faculty areas of expertise include:
- Assessment and control of environmental hazards
- Use and misuse of scientific evidence in the legal and regulatory arenas
- Global environmental health
- Climate change and its public health impacts
- Risk assessment, management, and communication
- Regulatory science
- Children's environmental health
- Work-related injury and disease epidemiology and prevention
- Communicating complex EOH issues to the press, policymakers, and general public
- Microbial risk assessment
- Community emergency preparedness
- Healthy homes (e.g., lead poisoning prevention, asthma management)
Research Activities
Community Activities
Contact Us
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
2100 M St., NW, Suite 203
School of Public Health and Health Services
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 994-1734
Fax: (202) 994-0011
Email: eohjip@gwumc.edu
Interim Department Chair: David Michaels, PhD, MPH
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