Career Opportunities
Careers for Occupational & Environmental Health Scientists
The Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences are disciplines grounded in the basic sciences but with a distinctly practical purpose. Protection of the health of the working person, and assessment and abatement of hazards from air, water and solid waste pollution are fascinating areas of scientific research and socially valuable forms of technical activity. As new industrial processes continue to be introduced at an ever-increasing pace, and as the medical profession progresses by shifting its emphasis from cure to prevention, the specialist in occupational and environmental health sciences can look forward to increasing importance in tomorrow's world.
Industrial Hygienists and Safety Professionals are involved in the identification, assessment, and control of exposures to physical, chemical and biological agents, and to ergonomically unsound environments in the workplace and the community that can potentially lead to either injury or illness.
Industrial Toxicologists are involved in determining how physical, chemical, and biological agents generated by industrial processes that include waste disposal and energy production, interact with living systems. These individuals work with epidemiologists to determine the circumstances and probability that such interactions occur and cause adverse health effects.
Occupational & Environmental Physicians, Physicians Assistants & Nurses are involved in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of injuries and illnesses resulting from occupational and environmental exposures.
Wayne State University offers a Master of Science Degree in the Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, with curriculum options in Industrial Hygiene and Industrial Toxicology. Graduate Certificates in Occupational Safety and Hazardous Waste Control as well as a Post-Masters Certificate in Industrial Toxicology are also offered by the Department. A degree of Doctor of Philosophy may be arranged in cooperation with the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, with industrial toxicology available as area of study concentration. Various postgraduate programs are available to assist in the preparation of candidates for board examinations in toxicology, industrial hygiene and occupational medicine.
Related programs in Community Medicine, Cancer Biology and Molecular Mechanisms of Chemical Toxicology are available in other colleges and schools of the university.