Greetings, My name is Sara Al-Darras, I was enrolled in Environmental Health Sciences bachelor’s program at University of Sharjah (UOS) and successfully earned my degree in June 2020. I was very glad to have the opportunity to study at UOS as it provides students with different types of facilities to enhance and improve their skills and knowledge. The overall environment was friendly and comfortable as all staff, instructors, and students were very supportive and companionable. During my 4 years of study, the university helped me to join several events held inside and outside UOS enabling me to meet and learn from different people and to gain additional experiences. Special thanks to all UOS staff who never hesitated to help. Thank you.

Thinking of Environmental health and Sciences at first was a bit different than thinking of any other major before enrolling into the University. Maybe, because students have different perceptions about the image of it in general. Choosing to study this major was the best decision I have ever made. The program includes a very huge variety of courses which never made it uninteresting to study. It was so exciting and very enjoyable. The program helped us to realize and notice the importance of details of the environment surrounding us, how it functions, and made us always think twice before doing any act. It made us more responsible towards our homes, environment and our community as a whole. Our professors were amazing guides, teachers and leaders who had always pushed us beyond our limits so we could expand and explore more of our intuition within ourselves. Those four prosperous years of studying and fun will be unforgettable, and will always hold a great warm place in my heart.

This is a well-established program that has both immediate and long-term strategic value to UoS, to Sharjah, and to the country. As the first and most complete program in Environmental Health Sciences in the Emirates, it is positioned to address professional workforce development needs that will grow significantly as the Emirates economy continues to expand in all sectors. The emphasis on the science base and the challenges of defining priorities and approaches for managing environmental issues related to food, water quality, waste management, air quality, sustainable energy, occupational protection, environmental protection tied to industrial activities ranging from petrochemical to agriculture to transportation all combine to make this program a natural launching pad for graduate study and a center of excellence in the region. By reputation and by the External Review Team’s observations, the program is of high quality and provides a background to professional practice that equals or exceeds that in major programs in Europe or the Americas.