Academic and Training Program Hub

The mission of the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) is to conduct research and education to enhance the resilience of the nation’s people, infrastructure, economies and the natural environment to the impacts of coastal hazards such as floods and hurricanes, including the effects of future climate trends.The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill leads the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC), made possible through a five-year, $20 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs.

Convergence represents a collaboration among climatologists, public health researchers and professionals, environmental scientists, social science researchers, and community stakeholders to identify and address the impact of extreme weather and climate events on communities in the Carolinas. This unique collaboration integrates research and community action to empower communities in their work to improve the lives of people who live and work in the community. The convergence of communities and researchers means we share knowledge and skills, and collaborate to understand the different ways communities are experiencing extreme weather and climate events, and how they can act to increase their resilience to these events.Convergence is the product of community engagement and the support of the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA) and the Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC).

The CCPDM was developed to provide community leaders in public health, health services, and emergency management with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of management systems used to prepare for and respond to natural and manmade disasters, including terrorism. If you’ve been thinking about expanding your individual knowledge or you want to advance your career in disaster management, this program is a perfect fit. Our cohorts recruit professionals from a variety of backgrounds, thus providing a rich environment of peer networking and learning. For example, it’s not unusual for us to have a class that includes veterinarians, fire and medical responders, public health officials, military personnel and community leaders.

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences (BSPH) is for students who want a basic understanding in the fundamental sciences with an emphasis on the relationship between public health and environmental sciences and engineering. It also teaches students to identify major issues in environmental sciences and engineering and understand significant regulatory components that have shaped environmental policy. Students will also learn written and oral communication skills related to environmental sciences and engineering issues within a public health context.

Dual degree programs at the Gillings School balance structural efficiency with individual program integrity and result in the awarding of two degrees from two different disciplines with coordination across the degrees. The Gillings School of Global Public Health Master of Public Health is a 42-credit graduate professional degree program. Dual degree options are currently for residential MPH students only.

Created by the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, our one-year practice-based or two-year research-based Master of Science in Environmental Engineering (MSEE) program provides students with the vital skills and training in air quality and sustainable water resources needed to solve today’s environmental engineering and public health problems.The MSEE program goes beyond fundamental principles in air quality and sustainable water resources to address emerging developments both locally and globally. Students will have the opportunity (though it is not required) to collaborate on research with ESE faculty in a number of areas.

The redesigned UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program is for people who are passionate about solving urgent local and global public health problems. With a legacy of outstanding education, cutting edge research and globally-recognized leadership, the UNC Gillings School is creating the next generation of public health leaders through our integrated training program and 21st century curriculum. The Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering hosts the Environment, Climate and Health, Global Health and Health Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights concentrations.

The faculty and students of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE) are responding to, planning for, and working to mitigate new and evolving public health threats. Some of these threats include viruses and toxic compounds in the air we breathe, hazardous agents in contaminated floodwaters, antibiotic resistance, air pollution exposures from drought-enabled wildfires, changes in water availability in low-income countries, extreme weather-impacts on the financial health of local water districts and prenatal exposures to legacy and emerging contaminants. We work on transition to clean energy, safe drinking water for vulnerable children, protection from infection where we work and play, economically feasible actions with co-benefits for public health and climate sustainability — this work to create a healthy, and sustainable future which is uniquely possible at Gillings, where engineering, science and public health are found together, and where health promotion has always been a central part of our mission. Upon graduation, our students join over 2000 ESE alumni furthering knowledge and leading evidence-based changes in environmental and public health practice and policies. Our graduates take with them an integrated, interdisciplinary, quantitative, mechanistic education that links health risks back to sources. They are engaged in efforts to improve environmental quality locally and globally, including through technological innovation, effective environmental policies, research, and community engagement. ESE has an internationally recognized faculty in air pollution, environmental health sciences and toxicology, climate change and health, global water policy, infectious disease and microbiology, environmental chemistry, complex systems modeling, energy systems, risk assessment, water resource management, and engineering. We are home to UNC’s Water Institute , the Institute for Environmental Health Solutions, and participate in UNC’s strong university-wide environmental and climate change communities.