Skip to contentEnvironmental Health Concentration
The Environmental Health Concentration within the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at Alabama A&M University focuses on the vital connection between environmental quality and human health. Students learn to identify, assess, and manage environmental factors that influence health outcomes—such as air and water quality, waste management, food safety, and occupational hazards.
This concentration prepares students for meaningful careers in environmental protection, public health, and regulatory compliance, as well as for graduate study in environmental health, public health, toxicology, and related fields. Graduates are well-qualified for positions such as Environmental Health Specialist, Industrial Hygienist, Safety Officer, Environmental Scientist, and Public Health Analyst. Employment opportunities span federal, state, and local agencies—including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM)—as well as environmental consulting firms, research institutions, and private industry.
Students benefit from hands-on laboratory and field experiences, community-based research projects, and professional partnerships with agencies such as ADEM, EPA, and local public health departments. These collaborations enhance classroom learning with real-world application, preparing graduates to protect communities, advance environmental justice, and promote healthier, more sustainable environments.
EVHS Courses
Minimum GPA 2.0. Minimum Grade of C. NRE Course Prereqs require a Minimum Grade of C.
- NRE 101 - Introduction to Plant Science
4 credit hours. Study of the fundamental principles of science as related to the basic aspects of plant growth, morphology, physiology, ecology, propagation, and utilization.
Prerequisite: None
Back to Top - NRE 170 - Introduction to Environmental Science
3 credit hours. A study of man both as a dominant force and as an inseparable part of the ecosphere. Basic ecological concepts, pollution and pollution control, resources and resource use, human manipulation of ecosystems, the law and environmental problems, the urban environment, problems of population growth, and discussion of other specific environmental issues.
Prerequisite: None
Back to Top - NRE 223 - Introduction to Environmental Health Science
3 credit hours. The fundamental of environmental health, covering environmental control agencies, elements of the environment suffering from pollution, environmental pollutants and their sources, effects of environmental pollution, and methods of pollution control.
Prerequisite: None
Back to Top - NRE 400 - Epidemiology
3 credit hours. Students will learn the fundamentals of epidemiology. Areas of emphasis include epidemiology definitions and practical applications, measures of morbidity and mortality, descriptive epidemiology, observational and experimental study designs, data interpretation issues, infectious disease epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, and chronic disease epidemiology.
Prerequisite: CHE 101, CHE 101L
Back to Top - NRE 451 - Environmental Toxicology
3 credit hours. Toxic effects of environmental chemicals on living systems, the chemical and biological characteristics of major pollutants, their origins and uses, and the exposure, transformation and elimination of toxic substances by biological systems.
Prerequisite: (CHE 102, CHE 251) or instructor consent
Back to Top - NRE 453 - Hazardous Waste Management
3 credit hours. The impact, technologies, problems and issues associated with hazardous wastes, and management practices are emphasized in this course. Case studies of hazardous waste spills, risk assessments, and remediation techniques are included.
Prerequisite: None.
Back to Top - NRE 460 - Soil Chemistry
3 credit hours. Chemical and mineralogical composition of soil; fundamental chemical properties of soils; nature and properties of soil colloids; cation exchange phenomena in soils; soil reaction, and soil acidity are addressed in this course.
Prerequisite: CHE 101, CHE l0lL, CHE 102, CHE 102L, NRE 251
Back to Top - NRE 470 - Soil, Plant, and Water Analysis
4 credit hours. Chemical and instrumental methods in the analysis of soil, plant, and water samples; experimental and descriptive inorganic and organic analyses; atomic and molecular absorption and emission spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and fluorescence, gas and ion chromatography, and ion-selective electrodes.
Prerequisite: CHE 221, NRE 251.
Back to Top - NRE 486 - Environmental Policy and Law
3 credit hours. An understanding of the environmental law system by examining various laws, policies, and cases within the U.S. legal system that are used to minimize, prevent, or remedy the consequences of actions which damage or threaten the environment, public health or safety.
Prerequisite: None
Back to Top - NRE 496 - Environmental Health Internship
3 credit hours. An understanding of the environmental law system by examining various laws, policies, and cases within the U.S. legal system that are used to minimize, prevent, or remedy the consequences of actions which damage or threaten the environment, public health or safety.
Prerequisite: None
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Electives
- BIO 205 - Ecology
3 credit hours. Introduction to trophic relationships and energy transfer in ecosystems; discussion of environmental factors that affect the distribution and abundance of animals and plants as well as the composition of various communities. This course will review major ecological concepts, identify the techniques used by ecologists, provide and overview of local and gloval environmental issues, and examine individual , group and governmental activities important for protecting natural ecosystems. We will focus on aquatic and forest ecosystems. Students will develop skills in research, writing, statistics, Excel and prioritizing alon gwith general science methodology, data collection and analysis.
Prerequisite: None
Back to Top - NRE 366 - Climate and Global Change
4 credit hours. Climate and global change; relationships between the sun and the earth; the global structure and variations of the atmosphere and oceans; and the influence of humans and natural processes on the climate system and its variability
Prerequisite: None
Back to Top - NRE 450 - Earth Science
3 credit hours. An advanced level overview of earth science concepts, processes, and categories, with emphasis on plate tectonics, volcanism, weathering and erosion, global weather and climate, vegetation, and soil. Emphasis on human interactions and relationships with the physical environment and resulting public policy and management conflicts, (e.g., biodiversity as an issue) as well as management strategies are addressed.
Prerequisite: None
Back to Top - NRE 461 (NRE 561) - Soil Physics
4 credit hours. A study of physical make-up and properties of soil, including structure, thermal relationships, consistency, plasticity, water and their interrelatedness.
Prerequisite: PHY 201, NRE 251
Back to Top - NRE 481 (NRE 581) - Hydrology and Watershed Management
3 credit hours. This course addresses the occurrence and movement of water over the earth’s surface. The hydrologic cycle, surface runoff relations, relationship of precipitation to stream flow with frequency analysis, unit hydrograph theory, flood routing, probability in hydrology, hydrologic simulation and stochastic methods in hydrology are covered.
Prerequisite: instructor consent
Back to Top - UPL 442 - Planning and the Environment
3 credit hours. A course designed to explore relations wihtin the natural environment that influenced the conduct of urban planning. In the process, contemporary physical, social, economic, cultural, and regulator aspects of the environmental planning are presented with an emphasis on sustaining a healthy environment for future generations while accommodating change.
Prerequisite: None
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