The two-year Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene program addresses assessment and control of chemical, physical, and microbiological hazards. Courses are structured to provide practical training in engineering design and testing of control systems and in advanced analytical procedures.

Academic Degree Programs

In addition to School-required basic courses in biostatistics and epidemiology, students enroll in basic environmental science courses which include:

  • exposure assessment
  • environmental chemistry
  • physiology
  • environmental and industrial toxicology

The major content areas addressed in targeted courses of the industrial hygiene curriculum include:
  • occupational hygiene
  • manufacturing processes
  • ventilation
  • physical stresses in the workplace
  • safety and ergonomics
  • occupational health policy and law
  • radiological health
  • risk assessment
  • administration

Subspecialty training in hazardous substances is offered as an option. Students in this track enroll in several additional targeted academic courses and a related internship. Details are presented in the HSAT section.

The Doctor of Science program is structured to give students exposure to three crucial areas of the research process:

  • field observation
  • laboratory skill
  • exposure assessment

Normally, three to four years are required following the master's program to complete requirements for award of the doctoral degree.

Practical Training

Didactic training is enhanced by visits to a variety of workplaces to learn survey techniques and methods of identifying hazardous processes.

The six-month internship option begins during the summer following the first year of graduate study, and extends throughout the fall semester of the second year of the program. Students are employed under the direction of company mentors who are qualified and experienced industrial hygienists.

Program Director

Thomas J. Smith, CIH, PhD
Director of the Industrial Hygiene Training Program
Professor of Industrial Hygiene
Harvard School of Public Health
Landmark Center, 404F
401 Park Drive
Boston, MA 02215
Telephone: (617) 384-8804
Email: tsmith@hohp.harvard.edu

Admissions Requirements

Candidates for the master's program should have a bachelor's or higher degree in engineering, chemistry, physics, mathematics, or biology, and should have completed courses in differential and integral calculus, general and organic chemistry, and physics (mechanics).

Applicants to the doctoral program may be expected to complete the master's degree requirements prior to being granted admission to doctoral study. Preference is given to doctoral program applicants with research experience and scientific publications.

Application materials may be requested from the:

Registrar's Office
Harvard School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA USA 02115
Telephone: (617) 432-1032
Email: registra@hsph.harvard.edu

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The Harvard Education and Research Center

Harvard School of Public Health
Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology, Room 1-1402
665 Huntington Ave.
Boston, Massachusetts 02115

To contact us with suggestions, comments, and questions,
please e-mail: lnejaime@hsph.harvard.edu.




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