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School of CEEES | Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences

Environmental Engineering & Science M.S.

Focus Area: Environmental Health Physics

View from airplane overlooking smoke from fire in western US.Environmental Health Physics (EHP) is designed to address broad environmental issues associated with anthropogenic and natural radioactivity. The objective of the curriculum is to provide students with the knowledge and training needed to protect human health and the environment from ionizing radiation. Integral to this focus area is assessing the risk associated with ionizing radiation.

Research Areas

  • Low-level Radiation Detection
  • Radiochemistry
  • Analytical Techniques to Quantify Radiation
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Radionuclide Transport
  • Radioactive Waste Management
  • Risk Assessment

The mission of the Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Science - Environmental Health Physics program is to provide a high-quality graduate education program to students with a solid base in engineering and science. The educational program is a combination of classroom instruction and research. Students graduating from this program will have the knowledge, skills, and ability to make significant contributions to the field of environmental health physics and will be sought by employers.

Program Overview
  • EHP Curriculum

    Departmental Core Courses

    EES 8020 Environmental Engineering Principles
    EES 8430 Environmental Engineering Chemistry

    Additional Required Courses

    EES 6100 Environmental Radiation Protection
    EES 8110 Ionizing Radiation Detection and Measurement
    EES 8150 Radiobiology
    EES 8800 Environmental Risk Assessment

    Approved Elective Courses

    BIOE 6310 Medical Imaging
    EES 6010 Environmental Engineering
    EES 6140 Radioecology
    EES 6300 Air Pollution Engineering
    EES 6850 Hazardous Waste Management
    EES 8030 Physicochemical Operations I
    EES 8080 Groundwater Modeling
    EES 8090 Subsurface Remediation Modeling
    EES 8120 Environmental Nuclear Engineering: Radioactive Waste Management
    EES 8130 Environmental Radiation Protection Laboratory
    EES 8160 Technical Nuclear Forensics
    EES 8180 Nuclear Culture
    EES 8200 Environmental Systems Analysis
    EES 8320 Air Pollution Meteorology
    EES 8330 Air Pollution Control Systems
    EES 8420 Actinide Chemistry
    EES 8440 Environmental Engineering Chemistry Laboratory I
    EES 8450 Environmental Engineering Chemistry II
    EES 8550 Surface and Subsurface Transport
    GEOL 6150 Analysis of Geological Processes
    GEOL 8030 Geostatistics
    ME 6260 Nuclear Energy
    MATH 6340 Advanced Engineering Mathematics
    MATH 8050 Data Analysis
    PADM 8510 Fundamentals of Emergency Management
    PADM 8520 Emergency Management Planning and Preparation
    PHYS 6520 Nuclear and Particle Physics
    PHYS 8550 Physics of Nuclear Medicine
    STAT 8010 Statistical Methods I
    STAT 8040 Sampling

    Other courses on appropriate subjects may be substituted upon approval of the student’s Advisory Committee.

    Candidates must write a thesis based on original research and defend it in an oral examination. In certain cases, a non-thesis option is available for students not on an assistantship; it requires 30 hours of coursework, a special project, and a comprehensive oral examination. Consult the Departmental Student Survival Guide for details on the non-thesis oral exam.

  • Program Educational Objectives

    The PEOs of the EHP program are for its alumni to demonstrate the following a few years after graduation:

    1. EHP alumni will advance in responsibility in their careers through addressing contemporary problems in environmental health physics
    2. EHP alumni will make significant professional contributions in independent research, project leadership or professional leadership
  • Student Outcomes and Accreditation

    Environmental Health Physics Student Outcomes

    The Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering and Science (Environmental Health Physics) is accredited by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission(s) of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Health Physics Program Criteria. The Environmental Health Physics focus area encompasses the environmental aspects of nuclear technologies, which emphasizes radiation protection, radiation detection and measurements, risk assessment, and radioactive waste management.

    1. 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.
    2. An ability to formulate or design a system, process, procedure or program to meet desired needs.
    3. An ability to develop and conduct experiments or test hypotheses, analyze and interpret data and use scientific judgment to draw conclusions.
    4. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
    5. An ability to understand ethical and professional responsibilities and the impact of technical and/or scientific solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
    6. An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze risk and uncertainty.
  • Applying to the M.S. Program

    Graduate Degree

    For admission to the M.S. program, an applicant should have a grade point ratio/average (GPR/GPA) of at least 3.0 out of 4.0. 

    How to Apply

    Any student with an engineering or science undergraduate degree who is accepted by the EE&S Department and the Graduate School may pursue the M.S. degree.