Environmental Health · California

Environmental Health colleges in California

CampusPin lists 320 U.S. colleges in California that offer Environmental Health programs. Compare tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment in the table below, every figure links back to the institution's official IPEDS data.

Environmental Health studies how water, air, food, waste, radiation, and workplace hazards affect human health, training specialists in inspection, risk, and regulation.

Schools in California that offer Environmental Health

Environmental Health programs in California: by the numbers

A quick comparison of the 50 schools (of 320 total) listed above, drawn from each institution's published IPEDS data.

Schools listed

320

Public / private

15 / 35

Universities / 2-year

38 / 12

Cities represented

34

In-state tuition range

$1,104–$63,255

Median in-state tuition

$15,977

Lowest published in-state tuition

Barstow Community College

$1,104

Most selective

California Institute of Technology

3% acceptance

Largest by enrollment

Ashford University

31,389 students

Figures reflect the schools currently listed and each institution's most recent reported data. Verify current tuition and admissions details with the school before applying.

What you'll study in a Environmental Health program

  • Environmental toxicology and how contaminants harm the human body
  • Epidemiology and biostatistics applied to environmental exposures
  • Risk assessment: estimating hazard, exposure, and acceptable limits
  • Water quality, sanitation, and drinking-water safety
  • Air quality assessment and indoor and ambient pollution
  • Food protection, safety inspection, and foodborne illness control
  • Solid, hazardous, and radioactive waste and radiation safety
  • Environmental law, regulation, and public policy analysis
  • Occupational health and safety and workplace hazard control

Where a Environmental Health degree can lead

  • Environmental Health Specialist
  • Registered Sanitarian
  • Public Health Inspector
  • Environmental Health and Safety Officer
  • Food Safety Inspector
  • Environmental Compliance Specialist

Typical pay: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 environmental scientists and specialists, including health median $80,060).

Environmental Health applies environmental science, public health, the biomedical sciences, and environmental toxicology to a single question: how do the conditions around us affect human health, safety, and the ecological systems we depend on. Students learn to identify and measure hazards in drinking water, ambient and indoor air, food, solid and hazardous waste, and sources of radiation, then to judge how much exposure poses a danger. The field is narrower and more applied than Public Health, which examines the broad determinants of population health, and it differs from Environmental Science, which centers on the earth and ecological systems themselves. Here the focus is human, regulatory, and protective. Coursework draws on epidemiology, biostatistics, toxicology, risk assessment, environmental law, and public policy analysis so graduates can translate scientific evidence into inspections, standards, and enforceable safeguards.

Most programs award a bachelor's degree, the typical entry point for environmental health specialist and related roles, and pair classroom science with laboratory and field practice. Students sample and test water, evaluate air quality, study food protection and occupational health and safety, and complete a practicum or internship with a health department, an inspection agency, an industrial site, or an environmental consulting firm. Graduates work for local, state, and federal agencies, hospitals, food and water utilities, and private employers, conducting inspections, investigating complaints, assessing exposure risk, and advising on compliance. Some environmental health programs are accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council, and many roles use the Registered Environmental Health Specialist, also called Registered Sanitarian, credential; verify program accreditation and your state's credentialing rules before you enroll or apply.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of environmental scientists and specialists, including health, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $80,060 and projects employment to grow about 4.4% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.

Environmental Health in other states

Other majors in California

Find more Environmental Health schools

Use CampusPin's filter-first search to narrow 320+ Environmental Health programs in California by tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting.

Search Environmental Health schools in CaliforniaAbout the Environmental Health majorAll colleges in California

Related majors in California