Call to Action
Why Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences?
Today, environmental factors account for over 25% of the death and disease burden worldwide.
Environmental and workforce health directly influence population health and the vitality of our communities. Without a healthy environment or workforce and communities suffer. Coupled with escalating challenges associated with climate change, we need a strong and diverse public health workforce to identify sustainable solutions.
A degree in EOHS will give you the knowledge and skills to take action and tackle climate change and complex environmental risks in workplaces, communities, and around the world.
Apply today to make your mark and be part of creating a healthier future for tomorrow!
Making the Places Where We Live and Work Healthy
The places we live have an impact on our health and well-being. We see big differences in disease rates based on where people live. It is estimated that genetics accounts for a small difference in disease across the population and that at least 25% of the disease burden is caused by external environmental factors across the world.  People who work, on average, spend the majority of their days at work and commuting to work.
At SPH EOHS, we’re committed to strengthening environmental health. Here’s what that means to us.
- Everyone should be protected from environmental pollution.
- Everyone has the right to a clean and healthy environment.
- Everyone who is able should have safe and healthy workplaces, free of hazards and harms that put health at risk.
- Everyone is healthier when we address the impacts of extreme weather. That’s why we are advancing solutions that protect people and the planet.
In the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS), we aim to help students build the tools they need to analyze environmental factors, including chemical pollutants in air, water and soil, transportation, housing, and infrastructure. We also study positive aspects, including green space. We are also unique in that many faculty in the Division are experts in how workplace factors influence health and well-being. Exposures and health outcomes include leading causes of death and disease in the population, including cancer, heart disease, injuries, and mental well-being.
The UIC School of Public Health is the only CEPH-accredited school of public health in Illinois, and the division features the ANSAC-ABET-accredited Industrial Hygiene concentration toward Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) credentials. EOHS also offers funded student traineeships through the Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety.
About environmental and worker justice
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Climate Change
Climate change has resulted in rising global temperatures, changing weather patterns, and severe environmental consequences, necessitating urgent action to mitigate its impacts and safeguard the public’s health.
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Environmental justice
Environmental justice is based on the principle that all people should be protected from environmental pollution and have the right to a clean and healthy environment.
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Worker justice
Worker justice encompasses advocacy for equitable treatment, fair wages, safe working conditions, and protection from hazards to ensure the well-being and rights of workers within the context of environmental sustainability.
What is Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences?
At UIC’s Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS), students learn to protect workers and communities from environmental hazards in the air, water, soil, and food. Students learn how to anticipate, identify, and assess these hazards; recommend and evaluate measures to reduce exposure to the hazard; and implement and evaluate programs designed to protect and promote health equity and environmental justice. EOHS prepares students for careers in:
- Environmental justice, climate change, and sustainability
- Worker health, safety, and advocacy
- Hazard identification and risk management
- Exposure science and much more!
The UIC School of Public Health is the only CEPH-accredited school of public health in Illinois, and the division features the ANSAC-ABET-accredited Industrial Hygiene concentration toward Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) credentials. EOHS also offers funded student traineeships through the Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety.
Degree Concentrations
Quick guide to Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
What you learn and do in UIC’s EOHS program is essential. Public health is the foundation and front line of population and community-level health. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Our impact on people’s quality of life is invaluable, from education, environmental justice, access to clean water, air, and food, mental health, and reproductive health. Everything is public health. If someone asks you what public health is, answer everything.
| Molecular Surveillance Laboratory Manager
