The University of Arizona was awarded an $800,000 national grant to support its industrial hygiene program.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health awarded the grant to the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health for the program, the only one of its kind in the three-state area of Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, the university said in a news release.
The money will support seven graduate students in both the master’s of public health and master’s of science degree programs. In the 2019-2020 school year, the students will each receive $12,000 stipends to pay for housing, books and other expenses, and as much as $7,000 toward their tuition.
Industrial hygienists protect the health and safety of people in the workplace from occupational illnesses and injuries. Highly trained industrial hygienists are in great need in the United States. They work in such industries as utilities, governments, chemical companies, insurance companies, hospitals, hazardous-waste firms and manufacturing companies.
The UA has provided graduate-level industrial hygiene training for more than 30 years. The graduate degree programs are designed to prepare students with undergraduate degrees in engineering, chemistry and other physical and biological sciences for careers in industrial hygiene.
The master’s programs require 42 credit hours to graduate, usually accomplished in two years. Coursework is designed to provide knowledge of sources of exposure, material toxicity, effects of physical hazards, legal and professional health standards and engineering, and administrative methods for a safe workplace.
During the past 10 years, nearly 66% of the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health graduates supported by the national institute have launched careers in industrial hygiene consulting, 19% work in state or local governments, and the rest went on to pursue doctoral degrees.
“One of the unique strengths of our program is our focus on mining health and safety,” said Professor Jeff Burgess, associate dean of research at the Zuckerman College of Public Health and principal investigator of the industrial hygiene training program grant.
“The mineral resource development industry has a long history of occupational exposures that require workplace controls. Solving these problems and providing a healthful and safe workplace is the role of the industrial hygiene professional.”
