Graduate Advisement
The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) offers the following information and advice to assist graduate students in effectively and efficiently obtaining their Master of Science degree. We recommend that you seek advice from the Department Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Michael Sullivan, at least once each semester as well as check updated information from the Graduate Studies Office. The office also has a set of Guidelines for Thesis/Dissertation available on their web site.
Detailed requirements are outlined in the University Catalog.
You should allow several weeks for processing by Admissions & Records. If minimum university requirements are met, your application will be forwarded to the department of EOH and the Graduate Coordinator will determine eligibility for the graduate program. You will receive a letter from Admissions and Records indicating whether or not you have been accepted to the EOH MS program along with a Graduate Admissions Evaluation or 1295 form which will indicate is you are admitted to the EOH MS program as a Classified Graduate student or as a Conditionally Classified Graduate student.You will be asked to respond to the University regarding your acceptance and intention to enroll to complete the application process.
When you have completed the conditional status requirements -- which may include the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam, completing a BS degree, or Departmental qualifying courses -- you must have the Graduate Coordinator submit the Request for Classification Form (OGS 2) to the Office of Graduate Studies. The University requires the GRE if the student’s overall undergraduate GPA is less than 3.00 -- and the Department has the option to require the GRE if GPA is above 3.00. If the GRE is required, you must score > 50th percentile on one of the three basic sections. You may retake the GRE exam. You must take the GRE before completing 12 units of the graduate program and must not take more than 12 units of the graduate program before becoming classified. A grade point average of >3.00 must be maintained in all courses including qualifying courses.
Graduate students must achieve Classified status before they will be allowed to enroll in EOH 696A Research Design.
When you have been accepted as a Classified Graduate Student or when you have attained Classified Graduate Student status, you must file a Graduate Program (a plan of study) with your graduate advisor. This form lists all the courses required for the degree including electives chosen. It will also indicate whether the culminating graduate experience will be a thesis or a comprehensive exam.
Thesis: If a thesis is chosen, a thesis committee must be established and a Thesis /Graduate Planning Form (OGS 9) submitted to the Graduate Coordinator. The student should develop a research proposal as part of the coursework in EOH 696B. The student may enroll in up to 6 units of 698, but must complete, file, and get approval of the final thesis within 2 years of enrolling in 698. A student must be registered during the semester when the thesis is submitted (even during summer). An SP enrollment is possible.
If comprehensive examinations are chosen, the student must enroll in EOH 697 during his or her final semester. A multiple-choice exam will evaluate fundamental knowledge in Environmental Health; Occupational Health; Toxicology; Epidemiology; and Environmental Policy and Administration. Additional essay exam or exams are also required. For students choosing the Industrial Hygiene option for their degree, an additional exam covering Industrial Hygiene Evaluation and Control is required. If a passing score is not achieved, any exam may be retaken only once.
Twelve units of electives are required which may be 400, 500, or 600 level courses. Courses in other departments are subject to departmental approval, 400 level courses must include supplementary work assignments to receive graduate credit. Two of the four electives must be chosen from EOH 560, EOH 569, EOH 570 and EOH 556 so that at least 24 units of the graduate program are at the 500 or 600 level.
Conditionally Classified Graduate students may not take more than 12 units of their graduate program before becoming a Classified Graduate student.
Courses completed more than seven years prior to the date on which all requirements for the degree are met cannot be counted to meet unit requirements unless the student can show competency in the content of the outdated course. A letter from the instructor verifying the competency and Department approval is required. A maximum of nine units taken in residency may be validated in this manner.
If a change to the graduate program is needed, the student must fill out and submit a course substitution form (OSG 18) to Admissions and Records.
Credit for work performed in extension or at another institution is subject to the approval of the EOH Graduate Coordinator.
A maximum of 9 units of credit earned at the 500 level during a student’s final undergraduate semester at CSUN may be applied to a student’s Masters Degree plan of study subject to Departmental approval. Requests for such credit are filed on a Graduate Petition Form (OSG 1).
The EOH Department requires a B or better grade in all courses listed on the student’s graduate program.
With prior permission of the Graduate Coordinator and/or Department Chair and Associate Vice President of Graduate Studies, Research and International Studies, a graduate student may repeat, for the purpose of improving the grade, up to 6 units of credit. Students must submit a Course Repeat Form (OSG 25) for approval by the third week of the semester in which the course is being repeated and show proof of enrollment at that time.
Graduate students in good standing may take a two-semester leave of absence. Though no formal approval is required, it is suggested that students seek academic advisement.
Graduate students in degree programs should contact their departments before the end of the second semester of leave of absence. Students who do not enroll by the third semester of leave of absence must reapply for admission.
The University will automatically place qualified resident and nonresident students on a leave of absence if they:
- Were matriculated students in the semester immediately prior to the beginning of the leave.
- Were not disqualified at the end of the semester.
Foreign students with J or F visas are eligible for leave, but must request the prior approval of their international student advisor and apply for a leave of absence.
Students will be place on academic probation whenever their grade point average (GPA) falls below a 3.0 in all units attempted since admission to the program. Failure to raise the GPA to 3.0 or above in the following semester will result in disqualification. Please check the University Catalog for readmission requirements.
Student's wishing to apply for graduation for subsequent semesters may download the Application for Graduate Degree and Diploma from the Forms page. Complete the application and submit it to Admissions and Records with a $47.00 fee. Students may mail the application to the address on the form, or hand carry to the Office of Admissions and Records. This form will initiate a graduation evaluation which advises students of existing requirements for their degree. Graduate students are required to be enrolled the semester in which the degree is to be awarded.