Downloadable PDF version

The CHHS & ESSP minor degree program in Environmental Health Policy (EHP) provides students with an opportunity to develop sufficient depth of knowledge and professional skills to pursue successful careers and graduate degree programs in their respective fields.

The EHP minor provides students with a curriculum that addresses their interests in environmental health policy issues on a local, state, or national level. The curriculum includes learning experiences in the areas of environmental health, community health, policy analysis, health assessment and health education. Students interested in working with local and state environmental health agencies, and community-based environmental health advocacy groups working to improve environmental conditions and community health through program development, policy change, and advocacy, will find this minor degree program to be an asset to their major course of study at CSUMB.

Major Learning Outcomes (MLOs) for the Environmental Health Policy Minor

The following CHHS and ESSP MLOs represent the knowledge, skills and abilities students are expected to master to successfully complete their degree and demonstrate their competence.

Collaborative Health & Human Services MLOs:

CHHS MLO 6 Knowledge of Health and Human Services - HH
Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles and issues common to the major fields of health and human services including community health, social welfare and public policy, and demonstrate competence in the selected areas of concentration.

CHHS MLO 10 Public Policy Analysis – PP (Public Policy Concentration)
Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze public policy issues and begin to master the skills necessary to identify and define public problems, analyze existing policies, develop alternatives to current policy and recommend alternatives.

Earth Systems Science & Policy MLOs

ESSP MLO #4: Applied Economics And Policy Competency
Students must be able to examine the linkages between economics and environmental goods and services to analyze problems of resource allocation, and to apply the basic principles of environmental ethics to the analysis of environmental issues. Critically evaluate alternative policies in terms of the economic, political, ethical, historical, and or/cultural factors that influence environmental decision making. (ESSP 384 & 384S)

ESSP MLO #10: Systems Approah To Applied Problem Solving
Students must use a systems approach (which is a formal set of perspectives, concepts, and analytical techniques) to select or design appropriate strategies for solving environmental problems. (2 selected courses from list below)

Courses and other pathways for meeting the requirements of the minor

Requirements for this minor provide students with significant breadth and appropriate depth of knowledge and skills in environmental politics and economics, environmental health issues, public health assessment and education, and policy analysis. The curriculum includes CHHS and ESSP courses and a 120-hour field placement requirement. There are three distinct pathways for students to select, depending upon their Major.

Pathway # 1: ESSP Students (Total units required for ESSP students = 13 units)

Collaborative Health & Human Services (CHHS) Courses

• CHHS 320 Introduction to Community Health (CHHS MLO 6), 4 units
  
  
• CHHS 320S Introduction to Community Health: Field Practicum (CHHS MLO 6), 1 unit
  
  
• CHHS 420 Multicultural Health Education & Promotion (CHHS MLO 6), 4 units
  
  
• CHHS 450 Health & Social Policy Analysis (CHHS MLO 10), 4 units

Pathway # 2: CHHS Students (Total units required for CHHS students = 13 units)

Earth Systems Science & Policy (ESSP) Courses

• ESSP 384S Environmental Justice & Environmental Policy/Service Learning (ESSP MLO 4), 5 units

Plus 2 additional courses selected from the following list by student

• ESSP 304 Environmental Geology for Teachers (includes lab) (ESSP MLO 10), 4 units
  
  
• ESSP 309 Science and Policy of Global Change (ESSP MLO 10), 4 units
  
  
• ESSP 380 Environmental & Resource Economics (ESSP MLO 10), 4 units*
  
  
• ESSP 383 Environmental Ethics & Environmental Policy (ESSP MLO 10), 4 units
  
  
• ESSP 385 Social and Environmental History of California (ESSP MLO 10), 4 units
  
  
• ESSP 386 Science, Political Process, & Environment (ESSP MLO 10), 4 units
  
  
• ESSP 387 Water Resources Assessment, Law, & Policy (ESSP MLO 10), 4 units
  
  * ESSP 380 New course (Description not available on website catalog at this time.)

Field Practice Requirement
Students will complete a minimum of 120 hours of field work during the program. Agencies are approved by the students’ CHHS and ESSP faculty advisors, based on (1) the opportunities available for students to work on issues of importance in the area of environmental health policy, and (2) the agency’s ability to meet the minimum requirements for providing mentoring and organizational support for the student. Stipends and travel expenses (especially outside the tri-county area) are encouraged. The CHHS Field Practice Program policies and documentation may be used, as appropriate, for assisting students and field mentors in organizing and assessing students’ learning opportunities and accomplishments in the field.

Faculty advisors

CHHS Faculty: Kim Judson

ESSP Faculty/Staff: David Takacs, Dan Shapiro, Lars Pierce