Environmental, Health and Safety Management Master of Science Degree
Lead sustainability and safety efforts with RIT’s MS in environmental health and safety management.
$74.9K
Average First-Year Salary of RIT Graduates from this degree
#3
Fastest growing jobs in US
Overview for Environmental, Health and Safety Management MS
Why Study Environmental, Health and Safety Management at RIT?
STEM-OPT Visa Eligible: The STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows full-time, on-campus international students on an F-1 student visa to stay and work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduation.
Future-Focused Curriculum: Learn the skills to move organizations toward a more sustainable and socially responsible future.
Flexible Learning: Complete your degree entirely online, or via a combination of online and traditional on-campus courses.
Career Readiness: Recent graduates are employed by Fortune 100 companies, environmental health and safety consultancies, and government agencies such as the EPA, OSHA, and the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Management of environmental, health, and safety issues has changed significantly in recent years. The emergence of voluntary standards and codes of conduct, including international standards, coupled with the need to manage costs and limited resources, has resulted in a trend to move beyond regulatory compliance. Now, companies work toward sustainability through the use of integrated environmental and management systems, which are woven into key business processes. As a result, there is a growing demand for professionals who can manage an organization’s environmental, health, and safety performance successfully. Employment in this field is expected to grow at a faster rate than overall employment growth through 2030.
Although they are distinct disciplines, environmental management, occupational health, and workplace safety share many technical, regulatory, and organizational characteristics. Today's professionals need to be educated in all three areas.
Graduates of RIT's environmental, health and safety master's degree are employed by Fortune 100 companies, environmental health and safety consultancies, universities, and government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
RIT’s Degree in Environmental, Health and Safety Management
The environmental, health and safety degree provides you with a solid foundation in the managerial aspects of developing and implementing environmental, health and safety management systems that can move organizations toward a more sustainable and socially responsible future. In addition, you'll gain a solid technical foundation in air emissions, wastewater, solid and hazardous waste, occupational safety, and occupational health (industrial hygiene). Elements of sustainability are integrated into most core courses and some electives. In the environmental health and safety courses, you will learn:
- How to create effective integrated environmental, health and safety management systems that conform to national and international consensus standards
- Strategies and tools for integrating environmental, health and safety into business management that can drive the organization toward sustainability
- Quality continuous improvement processes to identify and manage environmental, health and safety risk and opportunities
- How to design and implement an effective environmental, health and safety audit program
The degree in environmental, health, and safety management may be completed entirely online or via a combination of online and traditional on-campus courses. The curriculum includes core courses, including environmental health courses, professional electives, and a choice of a thesis, capstone project, or comprehensive exam.
Professional electives can include courses in topics as diverse as fire protection, occupational health, solid and hazardous waste management, industrial wastewater management, air emissions management, occupational safety, mechanical and electrical controls and standards, environmental health and safety law, accounting and finance, project management, and organizational behavior and leadership. Additional professional electives are available in topics such as business management, quality, sustainability, and other areas.
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Affordable Now. Valuable for Life.
Earn your master’s degree without the full price tag. With Master Up you can receive a 30% tuition scholarship for an RIT master’s degree.
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Don't Delay Your Ambitions Until the Fall
This program offers a spring start, which means you can jumpstart your graduate journey and begin your studies this January.
Careers and Cooperative Education
Typical Job Titles
| Associate Environmental Engineer | Chemistry Lab Supervisor | EHS Specialist |
| Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator | Environmental Health Specialist | Environmental Scientist |
| Lecturer | Risk Control Specialist | Senior HSE Representative |
| Senior Safety Officer |
Cooperative Education
What makes an RIT education exceptional? It’s the ability to complete relevant, hands-on career experience. At the graduate level, and paired with an advanced degree, cooperative education and internships give you the unparalleled credentials that truly set you apart. Learn more about graduate co-op and how it provides you with the career experience employers look for in their next top hires.
Full-time students are eligible to participate in RIT’s cooperative education program. After completing two semesters (a minimum of 18 credit hours), students may request approval to complete up to one year of cooperative education employment related to their field of study.
Featured Work and Profiles
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Full-Time Before Graduation: How RIT’s ESHS BS/MS Launched a Safety Specialist Career
Emersen Bartsch Learn how graduating student Emersen secured a full-time Safety Specialist role with a major electrical contractor in Colorado before completing their degree.
Read More about Full-Time Before Graduation: How RIT’s ESHS BS/MS Launched a Safety Specialist Career -
News10NBC Investigates: Train trouble. What happens if a train derails locally?
Jennifer Schneider WHEC-TV talks to Jennifer Schneider, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management & Safety, about how a hazmat team responds to a train...
Read More about News10NBC Investigates: Train trouble. What happens if a train derails locally? -
Research team awarded grant from NIST to develop new standards-based educational modules
Lisa Greenwood, Jennifer Schneider New work includes topics in smart energy grid security, sustainability and infrastructure resiliency to climate change.
Read More about Research team awarded grant from NIST to develop new standards-based educational modules -
Faculty-researcher joins national organizations to help improve personal protective equipment
Jennifer Schneider Jennifer Schneider will collaborate on U.S. National Academies Standing Committee and CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Read More about Faculty-researcher joins national organizations to help improve personal protective equipment -
From Engineering to EHS: One Alumna's Journey and Key Career Tips
Discover how an RIT alumna’s unexpected shift from engineering to Environmental Sustainability, Health, and Safety (EHS) led her to a fulfilling career, and learn her advice for high school students...
Read More about From Engineering to EHS: One Alumna's Journey and Key Career Tips
Curriculum for 2025-2026 for Environmental, Health and Safety Management MS
Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements
Note for online students
The frequency of required and elective course offerings in the online program will vary, semester by semester, and will not always match the information presented here. Online students are advised to seek guidance from the listed program contact when developing their individual program course schedule.
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Admissions and Financial Aid
This program is available on-campus or online.
On Campus
| Offered | Admit Term(s) | Application Deadline | STEM Designated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Fall or Spring | Fall - February 1 priority deadline, rolling thereafter; Spring - rolling | Yes |
| Part-time | Fall or Spring | Rolling | No |
Online
| Offered | Admit Term(s) | Application Deadline | STEM Designated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Fall or Spring | Rolling | No |
| Part-time | Fall or Spring | Rolling | No |
Full-time study is 9+ semester credit hours. Part-time study is 1‑8 semester credit hours. International students requiring a visa to study at the RIT Rochester campus must study full‑time.
Application Details
To be considered for admission to the Environmental, Health and Safety Management MS program, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:
- Complete an online graduate application.
- Submit copies of official transcript(s) (in English) of all previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work, including any transfer credit earned.
- Hold a baccalaureate degree (or US equivalent) from an accredited university or college. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (or equivalent) is recommended.
- Satisfy prerequisite requirements and/or complete bridge courses prior to starting program coursework.
- Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae.
- Submit a personal statement of educational objectives.
- Submit one letter of recommendation.
- Entrance exam requirements: None
- Submit English language test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic, etc.), if required. Details are below.
English Language Test Scores
International applicants whose native language is not English must submit one of the following official English language test scores. Some international applicants may be considered for an English test requirement waiver.
Duolingo (DET): 120
IELTS: 6.5
LanguageCert Academic: 70
PTE Academic: 56
TOEFL: 79
International students below the minimum requirement may be considered for conditional admission. Deaf and hard-of-hearing test takers with significant hearing loss do not need to take the listening and speaking sections for the TOEFL and IELTS. Each program requires balanced sub-scores when determining an applicant’s need for additional English language courses.
How to Apply Start or Manage Your Application
Cost and Financial Aid
An RIT graduate degree is an investment with lifelong returns. Graduate tuition varies by degree, the number of credits taken per semester, and delivery method. View the general cost of attendance or estimate the cost of your graduate degree.
A combination of sources can help fund your graduate degree. Learn how to fund your degree
Additional Information
Prerequisites
- Applicants without formal academic training or documented experience in air emissions, waste water, solid and hazardous waste, occupational health, or occupational safety may be required to take professional electives in these areas.
- Applicants must have completed at least 9 semester hours of college-level course work in the sciences, with at least 3 semester credit hours in each of the following categories: chemistry, biology, and physics.
- Applicants with acceptable professional certification(s) and/or work experience may have prerequisite science course work waived.
Online Degree Information
The online program may be completed entirely through online asynchronous or synchronous courses, or a blend of both. There are no in-person requirements. All core courses are asynchronous and offer flexibility for students in different time zones and varying work schedules. Any synchronous courses would be clearly conveyed at the time of enrollment/registration. The EHS Management degree can be culminated by a thesis, capstone project, or exam. Most students complete the comprehensive examination. Some are able to complete a capstone project or a thesis with program permission. You do not need to choose your completion option at the time of enrollment. For specific details about the delivery format and learning experience, contact the Program Contact listed on this page. RIT does not offer student visas for online study.
Online Tuition Eligibility
The online Environmental, Health and Safety Management MS is a designated online degree program that is billed at a 43% discount from our on-campus rate. View the current online tuition rate.
Online Study Restrictions for Some International Students
Certain countries are subject to comprehensive embargoes under US Export Controls, which prohibit virtually ALL exports, imports, and other transactions without a license or other US Government authorization. Learners from the Crimea region of the Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria may not register for RIT online courses. Nor may individuals on the United States Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or the United States Commerce Department’s table of Deny Orders. By registering for RIT online courses, you represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list.
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