Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
Promoting public health through environmental & workplace safeguards.
About
At the forefront of today’s most critical public health challenges
Whether addressing workplace safeguards during a pandemic or mitigating the threats of extreme weather, aging urban infrastructure, and food-borne outbreaks, those working in environmental health and occupational safety inform the health policies that impact where we live and work.
Faculty expertise and leadership span industry, government and academia. Along with interactive curricula, students obtain hands-on learning and research opportunities that produce tangible results for contemporary public health problems. Specifically, our students investigate the relationship between environmental/occupational exposures and human health impacts to inform safe worksites and healthy communities. The environmental and occupational health degree programs are managed by the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS).
Latest Department News
Guillot-Wright awarded $400,000 to expand Docside Clinics in Port Arthur, TX
Shannon Guillot-Wright, PhD, was recently awarded $400,000 by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for the expansion of the Docside Clinic: Connecting Docs to Docks initiative.
Latest Department News
- UTHealth Houston study links firefighter smoke exposure to biological changes that increase cancer risk
- UTHealth Houston Student Partners with Mentor to Win NASA Future Investigators Award
- New Satellite-Driven Model Tracks Long-Term Air Pollution Trends Across China
- Blazing a Trail for a Safer World
Message from Chair

Message from Chair
Kristina Mena
Professor, El Paso Regional Dean, Chair and Jane Dale Owen Chair in Environmental Health Protection
"No matter your interest in public health, some aspect is related to the environmental and occupational sciences field. Find your niche in this ever-evolving public health discipline so that you can lead your community’s response when the next environmental challenge is upon us."
EOHS by the Numbers
3
Fully-funded training programs supported by NIOSH
10+
Scholarship Opportunities
3:1
Department student to faculty ratio
Careers in Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
- Academic or Private Research
- Federal, State, or Local Government
- Oil & Gas
- Manufacturing
- Transportation
- Non-profits
- Military