Environmental Science

Master of Science in Environmental Health

The Master of Science in Environmental Health is a postgraduate programme that prepares professionals for advanced practice in environmental health, public health, occupational health, and environmental health management. The programme combines environmental health theory with practical field work, laboratory analysis, and research application.

Core areas include environmental health, public health, occupational health and safety, environmental toxicology, water and sanitation, waste management, environmental epidemiology, environmental health policy, research methods, and thesis. Students engage with both environmental health theory and practical laboratory and field work through coursework and research.

The programme is offered by Kenyatta University through the School of Public Health, and JKUAT through the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology with MSc in Environmental Legislation and Management and MSc in Occupational Safety and Health. Both are public universities offering programmes over two academic years through full-time and part-time modes of study.

Students develop competencies in environmental health, risk assessment, occupational health, water and sanitation, and environmental health policy. The programme includes coursework, examinations, laboratory work, field assessments, and a supervised research thesis.

Kenyatta University charges approximately KES 295,800/year for environmental health programmes. JKUAT charges approximately KES 206,500/year (KES 413,000 total) for environmental legislation and occupational safety programmes. Entry requires a Bachelor's degree with Second Class Honours in environmental health, public health, medicine, pharmacy, science, or related fields from a recognised university.

Graduates pursue careers as environmental health officers, public health specialists, occupational health and safety officers, environmental health consultants, research scientists, and lecturers in environmental health across health ministries, environmental agencies, research institutions, consulting firms, international organisations, and universities.

Skills Required

Environmental Health and Risk Assessment
Public Health and Epidemiology
Occupational Health and Safety Management
Environmental Toxicology and Exposure Assessment
Water Quality and Sanitation Management
Waste Management and Pollution Control
Environmental Health Policy and Regulation
Environmental Health Impact Assessment
Research Methods in Environmental Health
Academic Writing and Thesis Research

Key Subjects

Environmental Health and Risk Assessment
Public Health and Epidemiology
Occupational Health and Safety Management
Environmental Toxicology and Exposure Assessment
Water Quality and Sanitation Management
Waste Management and Pollution Control
Environmental Health Policy and Regulation
Environmental Health Impact Assessment
Research Methods in Environmental Health
Thesis Research

Certifications

NEMA Environmental Certification
WHO Environmental Health Certification

Specializations

Occupational Health and Safety

Focuses on occupational health and safety, covering workplace hazards, risk assessment, OSH management, and managing occupational health.

Water and Sanitation

Examines water and sanitation, covering water quality, treatment, sanitation, WASH, and managing water and sanitation.

Environmental Toxicology

Covers environmental toxicology, covering toxicants, exposure, effects, risk assessment, and managing environmental toxicology.

Waste Management

Focuses on waste management, covering solid waste, hazardous waste, healthcare waste, and managing waste.

Environmental Health Policy

Examines environmental health policy, covering regulation, governance, compliance, and managing environmental health policy.

Environmental Epidemiology

Covers environmental epidemiology, covering exposure, disease, investigation, surveillance, and managing environmental epidemiology.

Duration: 2 years
Public, up to: Ksh 326,400
Private, up to: Ksh 0
Job market: High

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time, Part-time
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 20 students
Award: Masters

What you study

10 subjects

Environmental Health and Risk Assessment
Public Health and Epidemiology
Occupational Health and Safety Management
Environmental Toxicology and Exposure Assessment
Water Quality and Sanitation Management
Waste Management and Pollution Control
Environmental Health Policy and Regulation
Environmental Health Impact Assessment
Research Methods in Environmental Health
Thesis Research

Modules

12 in the programme

Environmental Health and Risk Assessment
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines hazards, exposure, risk assessment, control, and managing environmental health.
Public Health and Epidemiology
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers epidemiology, disease prevention, health promotion, surveillance, and managing public health.
Research Methods in Environmental Health
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers research design, data collection, analysis, environmental health research methods, and conducting environmental health research, preparing students for their thesis.
Occupational Health and Safety Management
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines workplace hazards, risk assessment, OSH management, ergonomics, and managing occupational health.
Environmental Toxicology and Exposure Assessment
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers toxicants, exposure, effects, dose-response, risk assessment, and managing environmental toxicology.
Water Quality and Sanitation Management
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines water quality, treatment, sanitation, WASH, and managing water and sanitation.
Waste Management and Pollution Control
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers solid waste, hazardous waste, healthcare waste, treatment, and managing waste.
Environmental Epidemiology
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines exposure, disease, investigation, surveillance, and managing environmental epidemiology.
Environmental Health Policy and Regulation
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers regulation, governance, compliance, enforcement, and managing environmental health policy.
Environmental Health Impact Assessment
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines assessment, audit, health impact, mitigation, and managing environmental health impact assessment.
Food Safety and Hygiene
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers food safety, hygiene, contamination, inspection, HACCP, and managing food safety.
Research Thesis
Year 2Semester 29 creditsCore
Original supervised research thesis on an environmental health topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and environmental health knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

Occupational Health and Safety
Focuses on occupational health and safety, covering workplace hazards, risk assessment, OSH management, and managing occupational health.
Water and Sanitation
Examines water and sanitation, covering water quality, treatment, sanitation, WASH, and managing water and sanitation.
Environmental Toxicology
Covers environmental toxicology, covering toxicants, exposure, effects, risk assessment, and managing environmental toxicology.
Waste Management
Focuses on waste management, covering solid waste, hazardous waste, healthcare waste, and managing waste.
Environmental Health Policy
Examines environmental health policy, covering regulation, governance, compliance, and managing environmental health policy.
Environmental Epidemiology
Covers environmental epidemiology, covering exposure, disease, investigation, surveillance, and managing environmental epidemiology.

A day as a student

A typical day during the MSc in Environmental Health programme combines lectures, laboratory sessions, field work, practical workshops, seminars, and independent study. Sessions cover environmental health, public health, occupational health, environmental toxicology, and water and sanitation. Environmental health sessions examine hazards, exposure, risk assessment, control, and managing environmental health. Public health sessions cover epidemiology, disease prevention, health promotion, and managing public health. Occupational health sessions cover workplace hazards, risk assessment, OSH management, ergonomics, and managing occupational health. Environmental toxicology sessions cover toxicants, exposure, effects, dose-response, and managing environmental toxicology. Water and sanitation sessions cover water quality, treatment, sanitation, WASH, and managing water and sanitation. Waste management sessions cover solid waste, hazardous waste, healthcare waste, treatment, and managing waste. Environmental epidemiology sessions cover exposure, disease, investigation, surveillance, and managing environmental epidemiology. Environmental health policy sessions cover regulation, governance, compliance, and managing environmental health policy. EIA sessions cover assessment, audit, health impact, and managing environmental health impact assessment. Research methods sessions prepare students for their thesis, covering research design, data collection, and analysis. Laboratory sessions provide hands-on experience with water quality analysis, microbiology, toxicology, and analytical instruments. Field work provides hands-on experience with health inspections, risk assessments, environmental sampling, and field surveys. Practical workshops provide hands-on experience with risk assessment tools, GIS, and environmental health tools. Seminars and discussion groups provide opportunities for debating current issues in environmental health and presenting research findings. Guest lectures from experienced environmental health officers, public health specialists, and researchers provide practical insights. The programme culminates in a supervised research thesis on an environmental health topic.

The trade offs

In its favour

High demand for environmental health professionals with Kenya's public health, sanitation, and occupational health needs.
JKUAT offers competitive fees at approximately KES 206,500/year (KES 413,000 total) for environmental and occupational health programmes.
Programme offered by multiple public universities (KU, JKUAT), providing institutional choice.
Graduates are eligible for NEMA and WHO certifications, enhancing career prospects.

Against it

KU specific environmental health fees not independently verified.
Moi University specific environmental health fees not independently verified.
No private university confirmed offering this programme.
Programme requires health, science, or related background, limiting access for non-related graduates.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 181 environmental science courses

Public207k to 326k

207k at JKUAT326k at Kenyatta University

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

KU 326,400/yr (ku.ac.ke). JKUAT 206,500/yr (413,000/2yr). No private confirmed.

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. KU may offer postgraduate bursaries. WHO may offer research fellowships for environmental health research. NEMA and some health organisations may offer research grants.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
KU Postgraduate Scholarship
WHO Research Fellowship

Scholarships

3 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Loan
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate studies at recognised universities.
KU Postgraduate Scholarship
ScholarshipKsh 100,000Kenyan
KU offers postgraduate scholarships for eligible students.
WHO Research Fellowship
ScholarshipKsh 500,000
WHO provides research fellowships for environmental health research.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade: N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry: KU requires Bachelor's degree with Upper Second in Occupational Health, Environmental Health, Public Health, Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, or related fields, or Lower Second with relevant experience. JKUAT requires Upper Second in any science discipline, or Lower Second with two years of working experience in related field, or Postgraduate Diploma in OSH. Contact respective universities for specific admission requirements.

How you are assessed

4 components

Coursework and Continuous Assessment
Coursework30% of the mark
Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, laboratory reports, field reports, seminar presentations, and class participation.
Written Examinations
Examination70% of the mark
Written examinations covering environmental health, public health, occupational health, and environmental toxicology.
Practical and Field Assessment
Practical30% of the mark
Practical assessment through laboratory exercises, field inspections, risk assessments, and demonstrating environmental health skills.
Research Thesis
Research100% of the mark
Original supervised research thesis on an environmental health topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and environmental health knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). Kenyatta University and JKUAT (both public) offer MSc programmes in environmental health and related fields. All programmes meet CUE standards for postgraduate training in environmental health. Graduates are eligible for NEMA environmental certification and WHO environmental health certification.

Accredited by

Commission for University Education (CUE)
Academic accreditationRequired
Programme accredited by CUE. Kenyatta University and JKUAT (both public) offer MSc programmes in environmental health and related fields. All programmes meet CUE standards for postgraduate training in environmental health. Graduates are eligible for NEMA environmental certification and WHO environmental health certification.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

Environmental Health Officer
High demandKsh 110,000 to Ksh 500,000
Manages environmental health programmes, overseeing inspections, risk assessment, and managing environmental health.
Public Health Specialist
High demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 550,000
Manages public health programmes, overseeing disease prevention, health promotion, and managing public health.
Occupational Health and Safety Officer
High demandKsh 110,000 to Ksh 500,000
Manages OSH programmes, overseeing workplace safety, risk assessment, and managing occupational health.
Environmental Health Consultant
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 550,000
Provides environmental health consulting, overseeing advisory, assessment, compliance, and managing consulting.
Research Scientist
High demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 600,000
Conducts environmental health research, overseeing experiments, analysis, publications, and managing research projects.
Environmental Health Lecturer
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 500,000
Teaches environmental health at university or college level, overseeing instruction, research, and academic supervision.

Graduate outcomes

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

ArcGIS
SoftwarePrimary
ArcGIS for environmental health mapping, covering disease distribution, risk, spatial analysis, and managing GIS for environmental health.
SPSS
Software
SPSS for statistical analysis, covering epidemiological data, survey data, and managing statistical analysis.
R Studio
Software
R Studio for data analysis, covering health data, epidemiology, statistics, and managing health data analysis.
EpiInfo
Software
EpiInfo for epidemiological analysis, covering outbreak investigation, surveillance, and managing epidemiological data.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Environmental health is just about sanitation.
Environmental health covers comprehensive hazards, exposure, risk assessment, occupational health, toxicology, and policy beyond just sanitation.
This programme is only for health professionals.
Environmental health skills are valuable for environmental scientists, engineers, policy makers, and public administrators beyond just health professionals.
Occupational health is just about workplace safety.
Occupational health covers comprehensive hazards, ergonomics, risk management, OSH systems, and worker wellbeing.
Environmental toxicology is just about poison.
Environmental toxicology covers comprehensive toxicants, exposure, effects, dose-response, and risk assessment.
Water and sanitation is just about clean water.
Water and sanitation covers comprehensive water quality, treatment, sanitation, WASH, and public health.
Environmental health policy is just about making rules.
Environmental health policy covers comprehensive regulation, governance, compliance, enforcement, and health impact.