OEH Programs
Industrial Hygiene Master of Science Degree
Degree Description and Learner Competencies
The overall goal of the Industrial Hygiene (IH) Program is to contribute to occupational disease prevention and injury prevention in industrial, environmental and agricultural sectors of Iowa, the region, and nationally, with an emphasis on addressing rural needs. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredits the IH M.S. training program.
The program is designed to:
- Train IH professionals needed regionally and nationally for careers in industrial, environmental, and agricultural settings and in research.
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Provide opportunities for supervised research and field experiences for trainees.
- Prepare trainees to work as members of an interdisciplinary occupational/environmental health team.
The M.S. curriculum is designed to prepare individuals both technically and philosophically to practice the science and art of IH. Since 1995, the Program has maintained full accreditation of the M.S. program by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)-American Board of IH (ABIH). The IH Program strives to maintain a balance between its historical emphasis on a small number of individually trained students and the required breadth of the interdisciplinary training implicit in the profession.
Graduates of the M.S. in Industrial Hygiene will be able to:
- Describe the principal sources of occupational agents, routes of human exposure to these agents and the work processes that influence exposures.
- Apply the principles, instrumentation, and techniques for exposure assessment of chemical, physical, and biological agents in the workplace and environment.
- Identify the organization and functions of governmental agencies and regulatory bodies impacting occupational health.
- Comprehend epidemiological principles that can be used to determine health outcomes associated with exposure to occupational hazards.
- Apply biostatistical methods for interpreting the significance of occupationally derived data relative to an exposure or health outcome.
- Implement a research project relevant to the peer-reviewed literature in environmental or occupational health.
- Interpret orally and in writing the results and conclusions of a research project.