180.601.41
Environmental Health
Location
Internet
Term
Summer Institute
Department
Environmental Health and Engineering
Credit(s)
5
Academic Year
2025 - 2026
Instruction Method
Synchronous Online with Some Asynchronous Online
M, Tu, W, Th, F, 1:30 - 4:50pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
College courses in general biology, algebra, and physics or chemistry.
The environment profoundly affects the public's health. The field of environmental health utilizes interdisciplinary strategies to discover, understand and help mitigate adverse effects in populations.
Summarizes the concepts and principles underlying environmental health sciences, characterizes the major environmental agents and vectors affecting public health, and introduces major ecologic, scientific, and political issues from selected topical areas of environmental health. Presents the major concepts and principles that are environmentally mediated and that constitute a risk to humans —emphasizing the chemical, biological, and physical agents and factors. Considers sources, environmental pathways of transmission, exposure-dose relationships, adverse health effects, and particularly susceptible populations. Identifies the principles and methods of risk assessment and risk management, and uses these as a unifying theme.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Define the major environmental agents (i.e. environmental chemical, biological, and physical agents that cause adverse effects on human health) and their sources
- Discuss the transport and fate of these agents in the environment, and identify the carriers or vectors (air, water, soil, and food) that promote the transfer of these agents from the environment to the human
- Describe the toxicokinetics of these agents in the body, including the effect of route of entry (inhalation, ingestion, absorption)
- Describe the toxicodynamics of these agents, including biotransformation and the mechanisms by which they exert adverse health effects, and the use of models for prediction of the magnitude of adverse effects
- Identify and define the steps in the risk assessment process, including both exposure and dose-response assessment, and the sources and magnitude of uncertainty
- Describe various risk management approaches, including regulatory, engineering, and behavioral/risk communication options
- Describe specific genetic factors (including gender- and ethnicity-related factors), physiologic factors (including age- and health status-related factors), and psychosocial factors (including SES- and social/cultural-related factors) that influence the risk of exposure and/or the likelihood of developing adverse health outcomes from exposure to environmental agents
- Identify techniques for improving risk assessment and risk management strategies, including consideration of: (1) factors in the physical environment, (2) factors in the social environment, (3) community-based participation in both the assessment/management process and in basic environmental/public health research, and (4) issues of environmental justice/equity
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 80% Exam(s)
- 14% Paper(s)
- 6% Assignments
This course is a modified blended course. Students are expected to prepare, listen, and read materials PRIOR to the class meetings. It is critical that students participate in the online lectures and readings in order to be prepared for the class meetings.
this is a course with an expectation of virtual asynchronous participation, in addition to synchronous class time (onsite in the .11 section and virtually in the .41 section)