Industrial Hygiene Concentration
(ANSAC-ABET Accredited)
Each year the Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety in collaboration with NIOSH, funds an average of ten students as Industrial Hygiene trainees. Due to federal funding of the trainee program, only US Citizens and US Permanent Residents are eligible to be considered for these positions. These traineeships are awarded to MPH, MS, and PhD students with US citizenship interested in pursuing an Industrial Hygiene curriculum. Students also have the ability to pursue a formal concentration in Industrial Hygiene as part of the MPH or MS degree program by noting such in their application materials. The MPH degree program normally has between three and eight students enrolled each year and two to four graduates. The MS degree program has between one and four students enrolled with one to two graduates each year. Trainee offers are extended each semester based on student enrollment. Current students interested in consideration for the traineeship should talk to the traineeship director (contact information below). The traineeship is coordinated by the Center.
The Industrial Hygiene concentration aims to educate professionals with research skills and practical expertise at the masters and doctoral levels, ensuring they have the knowledge and skills needed to systematically solve occupational and environmental health problems. These objectives are accomplished by providing a variety of individual and team-based classroom and real-world learning experiences. Particular emphasis is given to interdisciplinary experiences with other occupational health and safety professionals. Graduates are prepared to undertake both practice-based (MPH) and research-focused (MS, PhD) positions in industry, government, consulting and academia.
We seek to build an appreciation for the overall process of disease and injury detection, cultivate knowledge and skills for conducting risk evaluations leading to hazard control, and ensure competence in the use and application of a wide variety of industrial hygiene methods and tools.
Graduate-level industrial hygiene education has two goals:
- To develop public health practitioners with a broad range of real-world experience (MPH).
- To prepare a cadre of professionals with research expertise (MS). Doctoral-level (PhD) industrial hygiene education focuses on further expanding research skills necessary for solving a wide range of occupational and environmental health problems.
Students that complete the program in Industrial Hygiene reduce requirements to be a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH ®) and are eligible to become a Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP ®) upon graduation ahead of Certified Safety Professionals (CSP ®) certification. The Industrial Hygiene Program is accredited by the Applied and Natural Sciences Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.
Concentration Contacts Heading link
Margaret Sietsema
Phone:
Email:
Ed Zordani
Phone:
Email:
Programs with the Industrial Hygiene Concentration Heading link
Meet the Faculty Heading link
Margaret Sietsema, PhD, CIH, is the Director of the graduate program in Industrial Hygiene in the Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety and an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Her research interests are primarily focused on personal protective equipment, real-time monitoring, implementation of reusable respirators in healthcare settings, and exposure assessment. She received an undergraduate degree in medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology from Purdue University and an MS and PhD in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences with a concentration in Industrial Hygiene from the UIC School of Public Health. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist.
Yuan Shao, PhD, CIH, is an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Â His research focuses on quantitative exposure assessment for air contaminants. He studies how different historical exposure reconstruction strategies would impact the estimated health risks in epidemiological studies. He explores economical solutions for real-time measuring and visualizing airborne contaminants concentrations in a 3D space. He evaluates the performance of multiple indoor-pollutant disperse models and a 3D aerosol measuring and imaging system in both indoor and outdoor environments. He received a PhD in Industrial Hygiene (major) and Epidemiology (minor), and an MS in Industrial Hygiene, from the University of Minnesota. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist.
Tessa Bonney, PhD, MPH, is Director of the graduate program in Occupational Safety in the Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety and an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding the interplay between employment quality and the stressors that it creates and exacerbates, which in turn impact workers’ health and well-being both inside and outside of the workplace. She received an MPH in Health Policy and Administration and a PhD in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences with a concentration in Industrial Hygiene from the UIC School of Public Health.
Mehdi Amouei Torkmahalleh is an assistant professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Dr. Torkmahalleh’s primary research interest is to assess the inhalation exposure of workers to ultrafine particles (particles smaller than 100nm) from different sources in occupational settings and workplaces. He is also interested in short-term and long-term health effects of this type of exposure, particularly the neurological impact of the ultrafine particles. He has been the PI of a project addressing the exposure levels of the miners in Kazakhstan to diesel exhaust particles. He is also investigating the long-term neurological impact of the inhaled ultrafine particles during cooking activities on commercial chefs. He received his B.Sc., in Chemical Engineering from University of Tehran, Iran. His M.Sc. was in Biochemical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran, and his PhD degree was in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University.
Lorraine Conroy, PhD, is a professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.  She has previously served as the Director of the NIOSH-funded UIC Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety and Director of the NIOSH-funded UIC Center for Health Work.
Conroy has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a master and doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Physiology, with a focus in Industrial Hygiene from Harvard University, School of Public Health.
Students, faculty and alumni in action Heading link
Industrial Hygiene Curriculum Heading link
Students must complete the school-wide core requirements and a sufficient number of the following courses as part of their divisional and elective choices as necessary to attain 49 semester hours of credit for the Master of Public Health degree and 53 semester hours of credit for the Master of Science degree. In addition, students must adhere to the divisional requirements as stipulated for their individual program of study.
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Industrial Hygiene Core (25 semester hours)
- EOHS 421 – Occupational Health and Safety Practice (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 424 – Evaluation and Control of Radiation Exposures (1 semester hour)
- EOHS 425 – Evaluation and Control of Physical Agents (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 426 – Evaluation and Control of Airborne Contaminants (4 semester hours)
- EOHS 427 – Evaluation and Control of the Psychosocial Work Environment (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 495 – Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Seminar (1 semester hour)
- EOHS 501 – Exposure Assessment Strategies (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 502 – Environment, Toxicology, and Disease (4 semester hours)
- EOHS 556 – Risk Assessment in Environmental and Occupational Health (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 563 – Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (3 semester hours)
Additional Requirements
Trainees are required each year to:
- Attend all weekly Illinois ERC Interdisciplinary Seminars (EOHS 495) (held weekly throughout the academic year)
- Attend at least 4 Industrial Process Tours each year
- Attend one evaluation meeting at the end of each semester
Trainees are required to complete once:
- Present an Industrial Process Talk (scheduled during the ERC Seminar)
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Industrial Hygiene Core (31 semester hours)
- EOHS 401 – Ethics and Justice in Environmental and Occupational Health (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 402 – Systems Approaches in Environmental and Occupational Health (4 semester hours)
- EOHS 421 – Occupational Health and Safety Practice (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 424 – Evaluation and Control of Radiation Exposures (1 semester hour)
- EOHS 425 – Evaluation and Control of Physical Agents (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 426 – Evaluation and Control of Airborne Contaminants (4 semester hours)
- EOHS 427 – Evaluation and Control of the Psychosocial Work Environment (2 semester hours)
- EOHS 495 – Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Seminar (1 semester hour)
- EOHS 501 – Exposure Assessment Strategies (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 502 – Environment, Toxicology, and Disease (4 semester hours)
- EOHS 556 – Risk Assessment in Environmental and Occupational Health (3 semester hours)
- EOHS 563 – Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (3 semester hours)
Additional Requirements
Trainees are required each year to:
- Attend all weekly Illinois ERC Interdisciplinary Seminars (EOHS 495) (held weekly throughout the academic year)
- Attend at least 4 Industrial Process Tours each year
- Attend one evaluation meeting at the end of each semester
Trainees are required to complete once:
- Present an Industrial Process Talk (scheduled during the ERC Seminar)
Admissions Requirements Heading link
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About the requirements
Students applying to the primary concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences must have completed one year of college math and one year of either chemistry, biology, or physics. Those interested in the ANSAC-ABET Accredited MPH Program in Industrial Hygiene must meet the criteria listed above. In addition, applicants should have completed coursework in college-level mathematics, biology, general and organic chemistry, and physics. Exceptions may be granted for applicants with relevant work experience or high-level academic achievements. Exceptions may be admitted with an individually documented plan of study to compensate for deficiencies, although applicants are strongly encouraged to satisfy all deficiencies prior to matriculation. Applicants are invited to consult with the Industrial Hygiene Program Director about possible deficiencies.
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About the requirements
A major in the biological, physical, or social sciences is preferred. Students applying to the primary concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health must have completed a full year of general chemistry, at least one semester of organic chemistry, and two semesters of calculus; one course in human physiology is also required for those interested in a secondary concentration in Occupational Safety. Those interested in the ANSAC-ABET Accredited MS Program in Industrial Hygiene must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited school, including completed coursework in college-level mathematics, biology, general and organic chemistry, and physics. Exceptions may be granted for applicants with relevant work experience or high-level academic achievements. Exceptions may be admitted with an individually documented plan of study to compensate for deficiencies, although applicants are strongly encouraged to satisfy all deficiencies prior to matriculation. Applicants are invited to consult with the Industrial Hygiene Program Director about possible deficiencies.
Program Educational Objectives and Student Outcomes Heading link
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Program Educational Objectives
Within five years of completion, we expect graduates of the Industrial Hygiene MPH program to be employed as industrial hygiene practitioners or as a related environmental, health and safety professional who:
- Recognize the importance of being life-long learners
- Adapt to the changing nature of work and workplaces and the occupational health challenges these changes may produce
- Approach their work globally in perspective, skills and knowledge
- Participate in professional society activities
- Work collaboratively in diverse and inclusive teams
- Take on leadership opportunities
- Seek professional recognition and certification
- Apply Industrial Hygiene approaches and skills (anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control) to occupational health challenges
- Demonstrate ethical responsibility and awareness of ethical principles, with particular attention to equity and justice
- Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills with a broad range of audiences
Student Outcomes
The Student Outcomes for the MPH program in Industrial Hygiene are:
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve broadly defined technical or scientific problems by applying knowledge of mathematics and science and/or technical topics to areas relevant to the discipline.
- An ability to formulate or design a system, process, procedure or program to meet desired needs.
- An ability to develop and conduct experiments or test hypotheses, analyze and interpret data and use scientific judgment to draw conclusions.
- An ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with a range of audiences (e.g., management, other professionals/scientists, workers, community members).
- An ability to understand ethical and professional responsibilities and the impact of technical and/or scientific solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze risk and uncertainty.
- Demonstrate both the mastery of the subject matter and a high level of communication skills.
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Program Educational Objectives
Within five years of completion, we expect graduates of the Industrial Hygiene MS program to be employed as industrial hygiene practitioners or as a related environmental, health and safety professional or researcher who:
- Recognize the importance of being life-long learners
- Adapt to the changing nature of work and workplaces and the occupational health challengesthese changes may produce
- Approach their work globally in perspective, skills and knowledge
- Participate in professional society activities
- Work collaboratively in diverse and inclusive teams
- Take on leadership opportunities
- Seek professional recognition and certification
- Conduct Industrial Hygiene (anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control) research to resolve occupational health problems
- Demonstrate ethical responsibility and awareness of ethical principles, with particular attention to equity and justice
- Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills with a broad range of audiences
Student Outcomes
The Student Outcomes for the MS program in Industrial Hygiene are:
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve broadly defined technical or scientific problems by applying knowledge of mathematics and science and/or technical topics to areas relevant to the discipline.
- An ability to formulate or design a system, process, procedure or program to meet desired needs.
- An ability to develop and conduct experiments or test hypotheses, analyze and interpret data and use scientific judgment to draw conclusions.
- An ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with a range of audiences (e.g., management, other professionals/scientists, workers, community members).
- An ability to understand ethical and professional responsibilities and the impact of technical and/or scientific solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze risk and uncertainty.
- Demonstrate both the mastery of the subject matter and a high level of communication skills.