About

The department evolved from the Mathematics and Science Department and became a standalone vibrant department on 1st September 1995 and changed from offering diploma programmes in Environmental Health to offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The name reflects the core business the department performs in producing professionals with skills and expertise in both public health and environmental health. The Department is responsible for the provision of academic leadership in Community Health, Food Safety and Hygiene, Occupational, Safety, Health and Environment; and public health engineering services to address health and safety needs in workplaces and manage issues of public and environmental health. The department also takes the lead in the provision of research, consultancy and outreach services in public health, occupational safety, health and environmental health. 

The department has three sections as namely: Public Health Section which is responsible for controlling and preventing diseases and designing solutions to public health problems; Occupational Safety and Health (OSHE) Section responsible for health, safety and environmental management issues in the workplaces; and Environmental Health Section which is responsible for prevention and control of environmental factors that lead to diseases and illnesses.

What We Offer

The Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Health is the flagship programme of the Department. The programme has six pillars including occupational safety and health, food safety and hygiene, community health, built environment, pollution control and climate change and health. The programme demands a high level of theoretical engagement and intellectual independence and aims to foster deepened, comprehensive and systematic expertise in the major cognate area of learning, i.e. environmental health. Students are equipped with cognitive and intellectual skills, key transferable skills and professional/technical/practical skills that enable them to promote and maintain a healthy environment within living, working and recreational contexts.  Students are able to practice professional behaviour within the scope of practice of the environmental health practitioner, participate in the implementation of the core package of environmental health in the delivery of environmental health services as determined by the Ministry of Health, and manage required activities in the application of the defined scope of practice. The programme includes a substantial element of work-integrated learning, especially in meat science, and requires conducting and reporting supervised research to prepare students for entry into the profession adequately. Graduates are able to function as members of multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral teams.

The other programmes are the diploma and BSc in occupational safety and health, MSc in occupational safety and health, MSc in sanitation (jointly offered with PBS department), MSc in environmental health.

The MPhil in Applied Sciences – Environmental Health aims at developing the candidates’ scientific competencies and research skills to enable them to identify critical issues in the public and private sectors. These programmes feed sectors that require science research-based solutions, and the ability to carry out complex scientific research to completion. Graduates from the programme are instrumental in informing policy and developing solutions for emerging challenges in environmental health. 

Relatedly, the MPhil in Applied Sciences – Environmental Sanitation aims at developing candidates’ scientific competencies and research skills to enable them to identify critical issues in the public and private sectors requiring science research-based solutions, and, the ability to carry out complex scientific research to completion that effectively informs policy and develop solutions for emerging challenges in environmental health.

Together with the Department of Language and Communication, the Department of Environmental Health also offers the Master’s in Health and Behaviour Change Communication (MHBCC). 

Both the PhD in Applied Sciences – Environmental Sanitation and the PhD in Applied Sciences—Public Health Engineering aim to develop the candidates’ scientific competencies and research skills to enable them to identify critical issues in the public and private sectors requiring scientific research-based solutions and the ability to carry out complex scientific research to completion that effectively informs policy and develops solutions for emerging challenges in environmental science. The department is currently working on the Bachelor of Science in Public Health which will be launched soon.

Other Ventures

The academic members of staff in the Department are among the most professionally active staff members of the university. Besides teaching, they also carry out consultancies, outreach and research. Most of their research has proven to be extremely relevant and applicable to the social economic development of the country. Additionally, most of the staff carry out collaborative work with international research through the Centre for Water, Sanitation, Health & Appropriate Technology Development (WASHTED) which is a Centre of Excellence within the School.