Health & Medical Sciences
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) focuses on providing safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene education to improve public health. Students study water treatment, sanitation infrastructure, behavioral change communication, and the management of WASH programs in both developed and developing contexts.
Program objectives
- 01Understand the principles of water treatment, sanitation technologies, and hygiene practices.
- 02Analyze the public health impacts of poor WASH conditions and disease transmission.
- 03Design and manage WASH programs for communities, schools, and healthcare facilities.
- 04Develop strategies for behavior change and community engagement in hygiene practices.
Why choose this program
Direct Health Impact
WASH interventions are among the most cost-effective ways to prevent disease and improve community health.
Global Demand
International development agencies and NGOs have a massive, ongoing need for WASH specialists.
Interdisciplinary Skill Set
You combine engineering, public health, and social science, making you highly versatile.
Skills you'll build
- Water quality testing
- Sanitation technology design
- Hygiene promotion
- Program monitoring and evaluation
- Community engagement
- Cultural sensitivity
- Project management
- Behavioral communication
Tools & software
- Water testing kits
- Sanitation design tools
- M&E software
- GIS for mapping
Challenges to expect
Academic
- Requires balancing technical engineering concepts with social science and public health theories.
Technical
- Implementing sanitation infrastructure in remote or informal settlements can be logistically difficult.
Financial
- WASH projects in developing regions often rely on unpredictable donor funding.
Personal
- Working in areas with severe sanitation crises and high disease burdens can be emotionally challenging.
Tips from the field
- Learn the local language and cultural norms if you plan to work in community-based WASH projects.
- Gain experience in monitoring and evaluation (M&E), as donors heavily prioritize measurable impact.
- Take courses in behavioral science to understand how to effectively promote hygiene practices.
Career paths
- WASH program manager
- Public health engineer
- Hygiene promotion specialist
- Sanitation consultant
Where you can study this
| Name | Latest cutoff | Tuition (annual) |
|---|---|---|
| University of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentBSc | — | — |
FAQs
Is this the same as Environmental Engineering?+
Environmental Engineering is broader and more technical. WASH is specifically focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions for public health, often in community or development contexts.
Do I need to be an engineer?+
Not necessarily. While technical knowledge of water treatment and sanitation is important, the degree also heavily covers public health, management, and social science.
Can I work for the UN or NGOs?+
Yes, WASH is a core sector for organizations like UNICEF, WHO, and numerous international NGOs.
What is the biggest challenge in WASH?+
Changing human behavior regarding hygiene practices is often harder than building the physical infrastructure.
Is fieldwork common?+
Yes, you will likely spend time in communities assessing needs, implementing projects, and conducting hygiene education.
Related programs
Health & Medical Sciences
Ageing Studies
Ageing Studies (also called Gerontology) looks at what happens to people physically, mentally, socially, and economically as they grow older, and how societies can support healthy ageing. You'll study the biology of ageing alongside psychology, social policy, and health service management, learning how to design programmes and care that actually work for older adults. Coursework often includes topics like dementia care, elder abuse prevention, retirement planning, and age-friendly community design. Many programmes include practical placements in care homes, community centres, or health services so you get real exposure to working with older populations.
Health & Medical Sciences
Anatomy
Anatomy is the study of the structure of the human body -- how bones, muscles, organs, and systems are built and how they fit together. You'll spend a lot of time in the dissection lab studying real (or prosected) human tissue, learning to identify structures and understand how form relates to function. Coursework typically covers gross anatomy, histology (tissue-level structure), neuroanatomy, and embryology. It's a foundational biomedical science degree, often taken by students heading toward medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, or research, though it also stands on its own for careers in teaching and lab-based work.
Health & Medical Sciences
Applied Epidemiology and Disease Control
Applied Epidemiology and Disease Control trains you to track, investigate, and respond to disease outbreaks and public health threats using real data and field methods. You'll learn the core methods of epidemiology -- study design, biostatistics, and surveillance systems -- with a strong practical emphasis on actually investigating outbreaks and designing disease control programmes, rather than just studying theory. Coursework typically includes infectious and chronic disease epidemiology, outbreak investigation, and health data analysis. Many programmes include a field placement or applied practicum with a health department or public health agency, giving you real experience working a live public health problem.
Health & Medical Sciences
Applied Health Social Science
Applied Health Social Science looks at health from a social and behavioral angle -- how culture, community, economics, and behavior shape health outcomes, and how to design programmes that actually change health-related behavior. You'll study health behavior theory, community health assessment, and programme design, learning to research and address the social factors that affect why people get sick, seek (or avoid) care, and respond to health interventions. Coursework blends social science research methods with public health content, and often includes practical fieldwork designing or evaluating community health programmes.
Health & Medical Sciences
Applied Human Nutrition and Nuclear Techniques
Applied Human Nutrition and Nuclear Techniques is a specialized graduate programme that uses nuclear science methods -- like stable isotope tracing -- to study human nutrition with a level of precision that standard dietary methods can't match. You'll learn how techniques such as isotope tracing are used to measure things like body composition, breast milk intake, and micronutrient absorption accurately, which is especially valuable in nutrition research and public health programme evaluation. Coursework combines core human nutrition science with radiation safety and nuclear analytical methods. It's a niche but genuinely useful specialization for people who want to work in advanced nutrition research rather than clinical dietetics.
Health & Medical Sciences
Applied Parasitology
Applied Parasitology studies parasitic organisms -- like the ones that cause malaria, schistosomiasis, or intestinal worm infections -- and how to detect, control, and prevent them in humans, animals, and the environment. You'll learn parasite biology, life cycles, and transmission patterns, alongside diagnostic techniques and disease control strategies. Lab work is central, covering identification and analysis of parasites, and many programmes include fieldwork studying parasite transmission in real communities or ecosystems. It's a specialized graduate field that draws students from biology, veterinary science, and medical backgrounds who want to focus specifically on parasitic disease.