Any EH&S pros on this board? - DL Industrial Hygiene - Product Safety Stewardship

My other thread was entirely too vague in the title, so I figured that this one might be more eye catching. I've been trying to find an online Industrial Hygiene graduate certificate, but they are very limited and VERY expensive (hovering at $1,000 a credit hour and higher).

In reading for several hours yesterday and today, many in the field believe that the field is dying with more IH's moving toward Enviro and Product Safety Stewardship (these DL certs are pretty rare except in sustainability) because they are more lucrative fields. Many also believe that EH&S generalists are taking over and the niche fields like Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Emergency Preparedness/Management, and Environmental are becoming less desirable as companies try and cut costs by hiring someone with a little experience in all fields.

Yet a third concern is that many IH's believe that many companies are also turning to people with Toxicology education rather than IH degrees (which is counter to the EH&S generlist argument).

Anyway, my question is that I'm trying to break away from Emergency Preparedness/Management and more toward Industrial Hygiene, but I'm finding the transition difficult. Again, like my other thread suggests, the DL IH programs are very few and very expensive, but if they are absolutely necessary I would just suck it up and pay. Granted, this is all coming out of pocket so I have to consider costs.

I've seen this graduate level program linked several times (Public Health - Graduate Catalog - University of West Florida) and I've dismissed it for being too general. The cost is very reasonable with the out of state tuition waiver (granted to nearly anyone that applies) at around $411.32/credit hour as compared to Tulane, Johns Hopkins, New York Medical College, etc. with tuition at around $1,000/credit hour. These other programs are IH specific, whereas the University of West Florida is more Public Health/Environmental specific.

Another program is this one from the University of Alabama (Graduate Certificate in Environmental Health and Safety Management (Online) | Overview) and at $340 a credit hour, it's also very reasonable. I'm concerned though because the curriculum is heavier in management than in EH&S, and I'm worried that this limits my exposure to IH, Safety and Enviro, which might then in turn limits my ability to become employable with this cert.

I'm just trying to make the wisest and most informative decision possible, and I am very attracted to the price of the UWF program, but I'm wanting to make sure I'm employable with whatever cert I decide to pursue (I understand that there are no guarantees). In the EH&S fields, professional certifications (CSP, CIH, etc.) are becoming the difference between lower wage EH&S employees and the higher paid, more desirable ones unless you have many years of experience already. But, to attain these certs, you have to have both experience and the educational background. That's where these grad certs come in.

So, I'm looking for advice and I'm limited in time because most semester courses start this week or the next and I'm wanting to take at least one course so that I can feel as though I'm at least moving forward. So what are your thoughts on IH specific certs (Tulane, Johns Hopkins, NYMC, etc.), the UWF program, the Alabama program, or the possibility of an Environmental Sustainability/ Product Safety program? I'm open to any other programs you might be able to suggest as well. Hopefully I didn't throw too much information at you, but this is my reality right now and I figured some of you might be able to offer an outsider looking in perspective. :feedback::spam::smashfreakB:

 

I don't work in this field, but I was looking to get into environmental health and occupational safety. Most of the jobs in my area seem to want a degree in occupational safety, a natural science, or engineering.

 

I generally see the same thing, but with an associates degree, bachelors degree, and a masters degree (all in sisters fields), I think a grad cert would be sufficient. The problem is that there aren't any real answers as to which of my above options would be best. I think the UWF Public Health/Environmental Health or Public Health/Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) cert would work, but I'm not sure. I'm hoping someone else can give their opinion as well because maybe I'm just not looking at it the right way.

 

Georgia Southern University: Graduate Certificate in Occupational Safety & Environmental Compliance
Online Programs | College of Engineering & Information Technology (CEIT) | Georgia Southern University

Deakin University: Graduate Diploma of Occupational Hygiene
Course search

 

Auburn University: Graduate Certificate in Occupational Safety & Ergonomics
Graduate Certificate

 

The best one I've found was Graduate Certificate in Environmental Health and Safety Management (Online) | Overview

At around $5,000 its a steal. (Roll Tide)

 

These are some good ones. Norcal, I've known about the Bama one for quite some time, and I agree that it is the least expensive cert that I've ever seen for this field. Unfortunately, the American Board of Industrial Hygiene is clear that you must have 12 credit hours "of IH coursework with at least half of those hours in the areas of Fundamentals of IH, Toxicology, Measurements and Controls".

Eligibility for Certification | American Board of Industrial Hygiene

I'm concerned that this program would not meet the specific requirements because it's heavily weighted with management courses.

The Auburn certificate is nearly perfect, but it's still around $750/credit hour. I believe that the Georgia Southern cert might work and those courses are $400/credit hour. I'm telling you, there are so many subsets within EH&S that it makes this whole process the most confusing I've encountered in searching for higher education programs. Right now I'm looking through "Environmental Toxicology" programs because the ABIH lists Toxicology as acceptable for the certification requirements. Thanks for the help so far and keep them coming!

 

University of South Florida: Graduate certificate - Toxicology and Risk Assessment
• Fla. Resident -- $481.43 per credit hour ($431.43 per credit hour tuition + $50 per credit hour fee)
• Non-resident -- $502.65 per credit hour ($877.17- $424.52 per credit hour waiver* + $50 per credit hour fee)
Toxicology and Risk Assessment - Graduate Certificates - University College - University of South Florida

Harvard Extension School: Sustainability certificate
Sustainability Certificate | Sustainability Training

Western Kentucky University: Environmental Health and Safety Graduate Certificate
Environmental Health and Safety Graduate Certificate Program

NC State: Graduate Certificate in Environmental Assessment
Distance Education @ NC State University

Kansas State: Public Health Core Concepts Graduate Certificate
Program: Public Health Core Concepts Graduate Certificate - Kansas State University - Acalog ACMS

University of Ulster (UK): PgDip Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Monitoring (All modules are online)
University of Ulster Prospectus - Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Monitoring