Environmental Health Sciences (ENHS) is primarily concerned with the interactions of humans with the environment. Our field focuses on the adverse effects of environmental conditions or contamination on human health and the impacts of human activities on the environment.
Career opportunities for ENHS exist in federal, state and local environmental regulatory agencies, national research laboratories, industries, environmental consulting companies and universities. Jobs in the field include research scientist, industrial hygienist, water quality specialist, health and safety officer, ecotoxicologist, molecular toxicologist, environmental microbiologist, community engagement and environmental justice scientist, nanomaterial scientist, air pollutions scientist, health physicist and professor.
ENHS examines the causes and effects of interactions between humans and their environment.
Our goal is to understand and minimize impacts on human health and the environment.
To explore these complex interactions, numerous elements of pure and applied sciences,
including biology, chemistry, geography, physics, engineering, public health and medicine,
are required. Two broad areas of emphasis are available to students entering the department’s
graduate programs: environmental health and human health.
ENHS holds at least 20 nationally competitive grants from a variety of our field's esteemed professional organizations. Our graduate students receive financial support from these grants via Graduate Research Assistantships. In addition, ENHS graduate students are routinely recipients of nationally competitive research fellowships.
We offer four advanced degrees in environmental health sciences. Find the degree option that works best for you then explore the application deadlines and requirements for each degree.
The National Science Foundation has awarded $200,000 to environmental health sciences professor Mohammed Baalousha to study the nanomaterials in the ash, soil and surface waters resulting from/impacted by the August fire in Maui, Hawaii.
Environmental health sciences associate professor Eric Vejerano's research is the first to show that leaves - which are perpetually present in vast amounts - contain persistent free radicals, which can contribute to chronic health conditions.
The Department of Environmental Health Sciences is proud to announce the recipients of their 2023 Student Awards. These six students were selected for their outstanding performance both academically and outside the classroom.
Gabriel Benavidez (Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Maggie Carson (Environmental Health Sciences), and Valerie Yelverton (Health Services Policy and Management), are recipients of three of these prestigious honors.
Graduate students from across the Arnold School have earned 2022-2023 SPARC Graduate Research Grants from the USC Office of the Vice President for Research to fund individual scholarship initiatives.