Master of Environmental Health and Safety

Our Program

MEHS Catalog Page

Environmental Health & Safety professionals are in high demand and we offer a multi-faceted program that provides new career options and the opportunity to become a Certified Safety Professional (CSP).

Our faculty and staff are passionate about their work and come from a wide variety of backgrounds so they can best prepare students for this career path.

Graduates of our MEHS program:

  • Anticipate, recognize, evaluate and develop control strategies for hazardous conditions and work practices
  • Demonstrate the application of business and risk management concepts
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental aspects of safety, industrial hygiene, environmental science, fire science, hazardous materials, emergency management, ergonomics and/or human factors
  • Design and evaluate safety, health and/or environmental programs
  • Apply adult learning theory to safety training methodology
  • Identify and apply applicable standards, regulations and codes
  • Conduct accident investigations and analyses
  • Apply principles of safety and health in a non-academic setting through an intern, cooperative or supervised experience

Become a Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP)

The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BSCP) recognizes UMD’s MEHS program as a Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) Qualified Academic Program (QAP).  A Qualified Academic Program (QAP) is an academic degree program in safety, health and/or environmental practices meeting BCSP standards for participation and whose curriculum has been reviewed as showing a substantial match with the Associate Safety Professional (ASP).

This means that, based on a review of our core curriculum, an MEHS degree is considered equivalent to passing the ASP9 exam. Graduates who wish to earn their CSP certification, therefore, will not have to take the initial ASP9 certification exam and can apply immediately to the BCSP for their GSP designation, which is similar to the ASP (Associate Safety Professional).

  • Any MEHS alumnus who started the program August 1, 2010 or later and received their degree PRIOR to January 1, 2018 and who has not already earned their ASP may apply for their GSP designation until January 2020.

  • Any MEHS alumnus who has received their degree AFTER January 1, 2018 is eligible to apply for the GSP designation for up to ONE year after their degree conferral date.

Benefits of Becoming a GSP

  • Recognition for being in a path toward the CSP certification
  • Recognition for the level of preparation for professional safety practice
  • No GSP application fee
  • A waiver of the ASP examination requirement for CSP eligibility
  • A certificate awarding the GSP designation

To apply for the GSP designation, graduates should complete an application which can be found at www.bcsp.org/gsp.  As part of the application process, graduates must upload a copy of their official UMD transcript showing that the MEHS degree has been awarded and the date of degree conferral.

All GSPs pay an annual renewal fee to prevent their designation from expiring. Once a GSP qualifies for the CSP examination (e.g., has 4 years of professional safety experience), they may submit their CSP application online at www.bcsp.org. GSPs must apply for and pass the CSP examination within six (6) years of the date the GSP is awarded, after which time the GSP designation will expire.  If a graduate lets their GSP expire, they will be required to apply for and pass the ASP examination before applying for the CSP.