The University of Birmingham’s School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science is marking 15 years of its MSc in Environmental Health at a celebratory lunch on Wednesday 5 July.
Birmingham’s MSc in Environmental health is regarded as one of the best postgraduate courses in this field in the UK. To date it has graduated approximately 350 students as Environmental Health Practitioners, most of whom have gone on to take up careers in a range of organisations such as government, health services, commercial companies and private consultancies.
The course, which is accredited by the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health (CIEH), can be studied on a full-time basis over a 12 month period or on a part-time basis over a longer period. Its purpose is to provide the students with an overview of the manner in which the environment can impact on community health, and the policy, legal and technical solutions that are available to deal with such issues. The course addresses matters such as food safety; public hazards affecting community health; impacts of housing on health; occupational health and safety, and environmental pollution.
On completion of the MSc, the students can then go on to study for the CIEH professional qualifications in order to become registered Environmental Health Practitioners after undertaking a period of training in an approved organisation such as a local authority.
Maurice Brennan, head of teaching in the Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, says, ‘The course has established a reputation for high academic standards in a vocational framework. We are particularly proud of our excellent relationships with Local Authorities, particularly those in the West Midlands, for placement of students for professional training and future employment. The popularity of the course with students can be judged by the fact that it is always oversubscribed, and the regular approaches by potential employers for students completing their professional training.’
The lunch held to celebrate 15 years of the MSc will take place on the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston campus and representatives from the CIEH, local authorities and former students have been invited.
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For further information
Kate Chapple, Press Officer, University of Birmingham, tel 0121 414 2772 or 07789 921164.