Question: Difference between Environmental Science vs. Environmental Science?

[VBD]

Hello, this may be an odd question. Someone asked me this today, and I could not answer adequately.

 

I am applying for Environmental Science in various schools of public health. Different schools go by different names for this study, such as Environmental Science and Engineering (at UNC-School of Public Health) as an example. Someone today asked me what's the difference between applying for an Environmental Science program (at a school of Public Health) versus an Environmental Science program (through say a school of graduate studies). 

 

I was thinking the answer lies in funding source or different job placement opportunities? Perhaps there's a more emphasis on health related issues? 

Thanks for your two cents on this, I just don't want to incorrectly answer because I'm not too sure about your fields.

[Usmivka]

I'm going to assume you meant "Earth" vs "Environmental" science. If I'm wrong in that assumption I apologize.

 

Earth science has to do with the study of natural processes, and is often couched as a subset of a traditional physical or natural science, such as physics, chemistry, biology, or geology. Good examples would be things like geophysics, atmospheric chemistry, and marine biogeochemistry.

 

Environmental science, on the other hand, has to do with viewing the Earth system on an integrative and manner, often using heuristic methods to simplify analysis of a complex system. In many programs there seems to be a strong emphasis on ecosystem function and how it interacts with the physical environment, and some programs focus particularly on anthropogenic impacts or interactions with the environment, including altered ecosystems and pollution. Some examples might include terrestrial ecologists and environmental organic chemists.

 

So my take on all this is that environmental science builds heavily on and seeks to integrate foundational research (hypothesis driven or exploratory) from the Earth sciences and a host of higher order biology fields (by which I mean studies involving more than a single organism, not some value judgement!) with a particular emphasis on networks and complex interactions.

 

Public health intersects with environmental science when it seeks to relate epidemiological trends to factors in the physical and biological environment, either natural or influenced by human activity. This particular subset of public health is sometimes referred to as "Environmental Health," although the same term is also used by some programs to describe the field of occupational health relating to exposure of workers to various hazards in the work "environment," whatever setting that might be.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Usmivka

[DEVGRU]

Hi VBD, understandably the environment is such a huge and complex system, so different programs titled "Environmental Science" may look into it from different perspectives, which vary according to the affiliation of that program and as you say, will lead to different funding sources and job opportunities. A good example would be the ESPM and CEE at UC Berkeley, both of which contain "environmental" in their program names.

 

To specify the difference, a Envi. Sci. program at Public Health School will most likely emphasize the health effects of pollution (in which you will do LOTS of epidemiological and toxicological studies); additionally some guys in the field of Public Policy and Environmental Economics are happy to look into the environment with their own approaches.

 

On the other hand, at Earth Sciences departments (or other physical science divisions), they will focus more on the nature of the environment itself (rather than some socioeconomic consequences of pollution). That's to say more rigid training in math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, programming and etc. is necessary. But more common is the fact that the so-called "environmental scientists" are divided into smaller communities dedicated to a more specific problem, e.g. atmospheric chemistry, water management, solid waste disposal, climate modeling and so on.

 

I'm not 100% sure the purpose of your friend's question, so what I said above is about research methodologies and scopes. Hope you find it useful.

 

p.s. My undergrad major is Environmental Science from a "chemistry" perspective, but an increasing number of faculty members and students in my department started doing health-related research, for it's easier to get funding. lol

Edited January 13, 2013 by DEVGRU

[rising_star]

A lot of the difference is going to be in the coursework you take and which courses are offered by the department.

[VBD]

Excellent. You guys have been fantastic in detailing the difference between the fields of study. I appreciate it and now I can happily answer that question for friends who just won't settle for a simple answer. Thank you so much for the help!

[DEVGRU]

You're welcome.

 

Good luck with your application!