Global Environmental Health 1: Air Pollution & Radiation
Program Overview
- Online self-paced format
- Expert-led video sessions & interactive exercises
- Start any time
Global Environmental Health: Air Pollution & Radiation provides a foundational introduction to major air pollutants, their sources, physical properties, and fate in the environment. Participants will explore critical air pollution challenges—including urban air pollution, acid rain, and the depletion of stratospheric ozone—and examine how energy production and transportation contribute to these environmental risks. The course also introduces the fundamentals of environmental radiation, including types of radiation, measurement methods, and exposures from terrestrial and cosmic sources, along with their potential impacts on human health.
This course is part of the Environmental Health Certificate of Specialization, a four-course series covering air pollution, climate change, water quality, and environmental health research methods. Participants may enroll in this course individually or complete all four courses to earn the Certificate of Specialization and gain a comprehensive foundation in environmental health.
Program Details
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Examine major sources of air pollution, along with the properties, transport, and fate of pollutants in the environment.
- Explore pollutant risk assessment and the policies used to address air quality challenges.
- Analyze terrestrial and cosmic radiation sources and their effects on human health and the environment.
- Strengthen your ability to search, archive, evaluate, analyze, and apply evidence from current scientific and professional literature.
- Gain insight into the field of air pollution, including opportunities for master’s and doctoral study and related career paths.
This program is fully online in a flexible, self-paced format, designed with flexibility in mind, allowing you to tailor your learning experience to your needs. The program includes 8 hours of content organized into 7 modules*, and each module contains expert-led video segments and interactive learning elements.
Participants pursuing the Environmental Health Certificate of Specialization complete three self-paced online courses and a fourth hybrid online course that provides opportunities to interact directly with faculty and engage with fellow participants.
*Each module has 2-3 video segments
Global Environmental Health: Air Pollution & Radiation is designed for:
- Public health officials
- Medical and Graduate Students
- Epidemiologists
- Health care workers
- Environmental scientists and engineers
- Other related professionals who want to pursue careers in Environmental Health
Curriculum
The curriculum is organized into the following modules:
- 1: Introduction to Air Pollution
- 2: Air Pollutants and Sources
- 3: Environmental Impacts of Energy Production
- 4: Environmental Impacts of Transportation
- 5: Emission Controls & Policy
- 6: Introduction to Environmental Radiation
- 7: Cosmic Radiation & Human Health
Program Logistics
Please visit our website in the near future to view the agenda.
Current faculty, subject to change
This program does not offer continuing education credit.
This program also contributes to the Environmental Health Certificate of Specialization. While each program can be taken independently, completing all 4 Global Environmental Health courses in our portfolio earns the Certificate of Specialization.
Certificate of Specialization
Earn an Environmental Health Certificate of Specialization
Take this program to earn a Certificate of Fundamentals, or complete 4 to earn a Certificate of Specialization. Learn more here.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may enroll in this course individually or as part of the 4-course Environmental Health Certificate of Specialization. Completing this course individually earns you a Certificate of Fundamentals from the Harvard Chan Advanced Learning Academy. If you are interested in pursuing the Certificate of Specialization, you will need to register for each course separately.
Participants have one year from the date they receive access to the course—granted upon payment—to complete all materials.
This is a 4-course Certificate of Specialization offered by the Harvard Chan Advanced Learning Academy to participants who complete multiple courses and demonstrate advanced skills and competencies in a given subject area.
The Environmental Health Certificate of Specialization is composed of the following 4 courses:
- Global Environmental Health: Air Pollution & Radiation
- Global Environmental Health: Water & Climate
- Global Environmental Health: Intro to Research Methods
- Global Environmental Health: Projects in Environmental Health: Translation & Application
Note: As of April 2026, only the first program in the Certificate of Specialization—Global Environmental Health: Air Pollution & Radiation—is open for enrollment, and the subsequent three programs will be launched soon thereafter.
Yes. This program can be delivered in a custom format for organizations seeking to build capabilities aligned with specific goals and context. The Harvard Chan Advanced Learning Academy works with organizations across public health to design and deliver custom programs that address workforce development needs and strategic priorities. To learn more about custom options, please contact priya_ponnappan@hsph.harvard.edu.