Tulane Renames Industrial Hygiene Master's Program to Reflect the Evolving Profession

For decades, industrial hygienists have helped protect workers from chemical, physical and biological hazards. Today, those professionals also confront emerging challenges that span environmental health, workplace safety and public health. To better reflect that evolving field, Tulane University's Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine has renamed its Master of Science in Public Health in Industrial Hygiene as the Master of Science in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences.

Despite the new name, industrial hygiene remains the foundation of the curriculum. The program continues to prepare graduates for careers as industrial hygienists and for the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) credential.

"Industrial hygiene remains at the heart of this program," said Dr. Rustin Reed, program director. "The new name better reflects the wide range of knowledge and skills our graduates use to identify, evaluate, and control workplace and environmental hazards. It recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of the profession while preserving the strong industrial hygiene foundation that employers value."

For decades, Tulane has prepared professionals who protect workers from chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic hazards across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, energy, government, consulting, and research. The renamed program continues that tradition while emphasizing the connections between occupational health, environmental exposures, and public health.

The program is accredited for industrial hygiene by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), a distinction that provides graduates with a significant professional advantage. Graduates need just three years of professional experience, rather than four, to qualify for the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) examination. The program is also recognized by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals as a Qualified Academic Program, allowing graduates to earn the Graduate Safety Practitioner credential and bypass the Associate Safety Professional examination on the path toward Certified Safety Professional certification.

Tulane has offered the program through distance learning since 1994, making it one of the nation's longest-running online graduate programs in the discipline. Students benefit from a flexible blend of asynchronous coursework and live online instruction that allows working professionals to balance graduate education with their careers while engaging directly with faculty and classmates.

Students also join a nationwide network of alumni working in industries ranging from oil and gas and mining to healthcare, national laboratories, and government agencies.

"The profession continues to evolve as new technologies, emerging industries and changing workplace risks create new challenges," Reed said. "This name better reflects the comprehensive education our students receive, the diverse careers they pursue, and the term AIHA has adopted for industrial hygienists, while continuing our mission of developing outstanding industrial hygienists who improve worker and community health."

Applications are now being accepted for spring 2027 enrollment into the Master of Science in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences.