university of california berkeley public health phd

On-Campus Graduate Program Admissions

Requirements, dates and deadlines, and application instructions.

Read this important information first!

All information provided on this page is specific to on-campus graduate programs that incorporate SOPHAS in the admissions process.

The information on this page:

• Does not include the Biostatistics MA
• Does not include the Biostatistics PhD
• Does not include the Environmental Health Sciences PhD
• Does not include the Epidemiology PhD
• Does not include the Health Policy PhD
• Does not include the Infectious Diseases and Immunity PhD
• Does not include the Online MPH Program
• Does not include concurrent or joint degrees

If you are applying to an on-campus graduate program and do not see your program on the list above , proceed on the current page. Otherwise, return to the admissions landing page and select the appropriate link to access the admissions page for your intended program.

Graduate Admissions Requirements

The School of Public Health’s minimum graduate admission requirements are defined below. More information can be found on the UC Berkeley Graduate Division website :

• A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
• A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum B average (3.0) or equivalent (focused on work completed in the last two years of a bachelor’s degree program and in all post-baccalaureate coursework). If your undergraduate GPA does not meet the minimum, you may still submit an application. Remember to provide evidence of other academic and professional accomplishments to demonstrate your capability to be successful in an academically rigorous environment. Alternative evidence may include courses you have successfully completed as work-related training.
• Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen area of study – see the Individual Program Requirements section below for more information
• Evidence of English Language Proficiency (only for applicants from countries / regions in which the official language is not English)
• Submission of all required application materials.

Application Requirements

• SOPHAS Application and fee ($145)
• Berkeley Graduate Application and fee ($100 – $155)
• Official Transcripts from each institution you have attended
• 3 Letters of Recommendation

Statement of Purpose

Personal history statement.

• GRE scores if applicable – view which programs require it here
• Degree Certificates (if your transcript does not contain conferral date)
• Official TOEFL or IELTS test score (test taken after June 1, 2021)
• WES ICAP course-by-course evaluation of international transcripts sent to SOPHAS ($208 + delivery fees)

Individual Program Requirements and Qualifications

All applicants to our on-campus graduate degree programs must choose a degree program ; applicants may apply to only one program and should tailor their applications to their program of choice. The coursework, application materials, and amount of work/research experience required by each program varies. Please thoroughly review the webpages for the program you are applying to for more guidance.

Recommendations for Competitive Applicants

• We recommend submitting a GRE if you have no other evidence of quantitative, verbal, or analytical abilities in your application.

Admission and Application Requirements

• Applicants must hold a master’s degree in the health sciences OR in another related field or non-US equivalent degree.
• Applicants must have a minimum of two years of professional experience post-master’s degree showing progressive responsibility and evidence of leadership potential.
• A writing sample. Writing samples should be no more than 7,000 words in length and all or mostly written by the applicant. Examples include: publications in peer-reviewed journals on which you were the sole or first author, papers written for a graduate course, media pieces, or reports written for public agencies.
• Candidates with undergraduate coursework in calculus, chemistry and biology are preferred.
• Common undergraduate majors for admitted applicants: engineering, microbiology, environmental science, biology, chemistry, other biological, natural or physical sciences fields, population sciences and biomedical fields.
• Common work experience for admitted applicants: applicants in past years have worked as lab technicians, student researchers, research scientists, environmental consultants, post-graduate fellows, toxicologists, industrial hygiene engineers, and for the Peace Corps.
• Submissions of GRE scores are optional but recommended for this program, especially if you have no other evidence of quantitative, verbal, or analytical abilities in your application.

A writing sample. There is no length requirement for the writing sample, but a sample approximately 10 pages in length is typical. The writing sample may be a final paper from a class, a popular media article, a report, a blog entry, an undergraduate thesis, etc. The purpose of the writing sample is to demonstrate your preparation for graduate-level coursework and research at Berkeley by sharing an example of your prior work that exhibits your ability to articulate and support complex ideas, solve technical problems, construct and evaluate arguments, and/or sustain a focused and coherent discussion. The writing sample should be your own work; if there were multiple authors, please describe your specific contributions to the writing and project.

Special note: The Epidemiology MS program admits about one to two students each year. Interested applicants are encouraged to also consider the Epidemiology and Biostatistics MPH program as the coursework is similar and that program admits a cohort of 20 to 25 students each year.

• Common undergraduate majors for admitted applicants: Biological, social, or mathematical sciences.
• Work experience in a public health setting.

Applicants must have a strong background in biological, social, or mathematical science, which will provide a basis for the application of epidemiological methods and principles to the study of diseases.

• Common work experience for admitted applicants: lab technicians, student researchers, research scientists, environmental organizers and advocates, program managers, engineers, post-graduate fellows, in global health programs and for the Peace Corps.

Two-Year MPH

• Ideally, applicants should have completed one undergraduate course in chemistry and one undergraduate course in biology. An undergraduate course in mathematics (e.g., calculus, linear algebra or statistics) is also desirable.
• Common undergraduate majors for admitted applicants: chemistry, biology, microbiology, molecular biology, nutrition, ecology, public health and environmental studies.
• Common work experience for admitted applicants: Work experience is not required for admission, but successful applicants in past years have worked as lab technicians, student researchers, research assistants, environmental consultants, industrial hygienists, community organizers, study coordinators and post-graduate fellows, as well as for the Peace Corps.
• A writing sample. The writing sample may be a final paper from a class, a popular media article, a report, a blog entry, an undergraduate thesis, etc. The purpose of the writing sample is to demonstrate your preparation for graduate-level coursework and research at Berkeley by sharing an example of your prior work that exhibits your ability to articulate and support complex ideas, solve technical problems, construct and evaluate arguments, and/or sustain a focused and coherent discussion. The writing sample should be your own work; if there were multiple authors, please describe your specific contributions to the writing and project.
• Common undergraduate majors for admitted applicants: Health, biological, natural, social, and cognitive sciences.
• Common work experience for admitted applicants: Volunteer work in public health, research assistant, lab technician.

GRE scores are optional. We recommend submitting a GRE if you have no other evidence of quantitative, verbal, or analytical abilities in your application.

Completed undergraduate coursework in mathematics, biological sciences and/or, social sciences.

• Ideally, applicants will have completed one undergraduate course in chemistry and one undergraduate course in biology.
• Common undergraduate majors for admitted applicants: any biological, natural or physical science; public health; environmental studies; international studies; economics; political science; anthropology; and sociology.
• Common work experience for admitted applicants: Work experience is not required for admission, but successful applicants in past years have worked as student researchers, environmental organizers and advocates, lab technicians, program managers, research scientists, engineers and post-graduate fellows, as well as for global NGOs and the Peace Corps.

A writing sample. Writing samples should be approximately 10 pages and highlight your writing and analytical skills. The writing sample may be a final paper from a class, a popular media article, a report, an undergraduate thesis, etc.

• We strongly prefer at least 2 years of full time work experience after the undergraduate degree. Can be paid or volunteer (e.g. PeaceCorp, AmeriCorp, etc). Ideally an applicant will have had relevant experience in related health policy or management areas. The program may request a short video interview for applicants who are recent graduates and/or have less than 2 years of work experience.
• Contribution to diversity of the program and the public health workforce.
• Academic excellence in undergraduate (and graduate, if applicable) studies.
• Course work in one or another of the behavioral, social, or biological sciences.
• Work experience in community, health promotion, or health-related practice or research. Most students admitted to the program have two years or more of paid work experience. We strongly urge you to apply to our program only after you have worked in a professional capacity in public health or related fields.
• A writing sample that highlights your writing and analytical skills is required. The writing sample may be a final paper from a class, a research article, a report, an undergraduate or graduate thesis chapter, or similar document. The purpose of the writing sample is to demonstrate your preparation for graduate-level coursework and research at Berkeley by sharing an example of your prior work that exhibits your ability to articulate and support complex ideas, solve technical problems, construct and evaluate arguments, and/or sustain a focused and coherent discussion. The writing sample should be your own work; if there were multiple authors, please describe your specific contributions to the writing and project.
• Hold a bachelor’s degree with a strong background in science and a demonstrated interest in public health.
• Students in their senior year are welcome to apply.
• Common undergraduate majors: any major in biological sciences or any other major with courses equivalent to those of a biological science major, e.g. microbiology, genetics, and molecular biology. The courses listed are examples of courses taken by successful applicants; however, they are not prerequisites and not having taken one or more of them does not preclude admission to our programs.
• Common work experience for admitted applicants: Work experience is not required for admission, but relevant volunteer, service and/or work experience related to infectious diseases and public health (e.g., community service, laboratory or surveillance work, and Peace Corps) is a plus. Many of our admitted applicants have some research experience.
• Common undergraduate majors for admitted applicants: biology, medicine, sociology, anthropology, global studies, political science, and public health.
• Examples of experience in the field of MCAH include: epidemiological and/or quantitative research, data analysis, program planning, implementation and/or evaluation.
• The admissions committee may occasionally consider applicants who do not meet this requirement if other measures of performance, such as research experience, are particularly strong.
• Demonstrate leadership potential.
• Demonstrate academic and professional capability to study at the graduate level in a quantitative and epidemiological focused program.
• Application materials focused on work completed after the bachelor’s degree program and in all post-baccalaureate coursework.

Completed at least one college-level mathematics or statistics course with at least a grade of B or equivalent, reflected on an official transcript.

• Generally, some coursework in the sciences underlying human nutrition (including biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physiology), and in food and nutrition sciences, with good to excellent grades in these courses.
• Cultural competence and demonstrated knowledge of and interest in other cultures and languages.
• Critical thinking ability with an analytical approach to solving current issues in nutrition and public health.
• Enthusiasm for and commitment to making a contribution to the public’s health as reflected in your Statement of Purpose.
• Relevant work experience in public health nutrition or related fields.

11-month MPH

All of our 11-month programs require that you have an advanced degree at the time of applying. For more information about our 11-month programs and what their specific requirements are, please go to the program page for the degree you are interested in.

• Common work experience for admitted applicants includes medical doctor, dentist, pharmacist, veterinarian, and/or research experience in a public health setting.

Applicants must be doctoral level health professionals (e.g. physicians, veterinarians, and dentists), have a prior doctoral degree in a related discipline (e.g. anthropology, sociology, psychology, demography, the biology sciences), or be concurrently enrolled in a doctoral level degree program in a health profession or related discipline.

• Prefer candidates to have some volunteer and/or paid experience in related health policy or management areas.

Must be doctoral-level clinical students or graduates (MD, DDS, PharmD).

• Demonstrate ability to work both independently and within a team-based structure.
• While many successful applicants are health professionals, applicants from disciplines not traditionally associated with public health are also encouraged to apply.
• The program is also appropriate for dual-degree students completing an MPH in conjunction with an MD, MSW, MPP, or other graduate degree.
• Medical students from Stanford and UCSF should consult their dual degree liaisons for details on our inter-campus collaboration.

Hold a graduate degree (Master, PhD, MD, JD, DO, DVM etc.) or its academic equivalent from an accredited institution.

• Note: We will not accept applicants who only have a bachelor’s degree, unless they are currently enrolled in medical school.
• Common master’s or doctoral degrees held for admitted applicants: medicine, nursing, social work.
• Common work experience for admitted applicants includes health professionals (e.g., pediatricians, obstetricians, gynecologists, nurses and social workers, and other qualified master- or doctoral-level trained health professions) and/or research in a public health setting.

Be a professional Registered Dietitian (RD) with at least 2 years of experience as an RD.

For information about this degree, which is available to UC Berkeley Public Health Majors and Alumni only, go to the “4+1” 11-month MPH program page.

• Declared UC Berkeley Undergraduate Public Health Major
• Required to Apply: completed PBHLTH 142 Intro to Probability and Statistics in Biology and Public Health and PBHLTH 150A Introduction to Epidemiology and Human Disease in junior/third year for a letter grade (can S/US if completed in Spring 2020)
• PB HLTH 241 Statistical Analysis of Categorical Data
• PB HLTH 250B Epidemiologic Methods II (optional, can take other 4 units of graduate coursework in final semester or proceeding summer)
• Application materials focused on work, volunteer and/or research related to maternal, child, and adolescent health.
• PB HLTH 205 Needs Assessment & Program Planning
• PB HLTH 250B Epidemiologic Methods II
• Other graduate-level PBHLTH courses depending on approval
• NST 10 and 1 upper division NST course OR PBHLTH 118

Graduate Admissions Dates and Deadlines

The dates and deadlines for the Summer/Fall 2024 on-campus application cycle are below.

For the on-campus graduate program, 11-month applicants are admitted for the summer term only. For all other on-campus programs, students are admitted for the fall term only. We do not accept applications on a rolling basis.

SOPHAS applicants do not need to resubmit application materials and documents to their Berkeley Grad applications. Once the fee for the Berkeley Grad application has been paid and submitted, all of the materials you send through SOPHAS will be relayed over to your Berkeley Grad application. Please allow 3–4 business days for processing.

The SOPHAS Application will become available August 16. Visit sophas.aspph.org to make an account. In order to submit a SOPHAS application, you will need to include a UC Berkeley Graduate Applicant ID, which won’t become available until September 15. However, you may begin your SOPHAS application and prepare your supplemental materials.

The UC Berkeley Graduate Application is required for all applicants and will open on September 15. SOPHAS applicants will only be required to complete a truncated version of the form.

Applicants who apply by the priority deadline will be given the highest priority for admissions and consideration for scholarships and assistantships. This is the recommended deadline for all applicants.

To meet this priority deadline, Berkeley Public Health’s Admissions Office recommends you request test scores be sent by early October and submit your SOPHAS application in early November. This allows time for SOPHAS to process your application.

We will not penalize you for submitting your application on the last day of the deadline. However, we highly recommend that you submit your application earlier so you can resolve any technical difficulties and/or correct any errors found by SOPHAS (e.g. transcript discrepancies) before our first batch of applications are released for review.

Applications submitted after December 4 will not be accepted, unless the program offers a secondary deadline (see below).

In the event that the following programs are not full*, applications will be accepted until March 4:

• Interdisciplinary (11-month MPH)
• Public Health Nutrition (11-month and 2-Year MPH)

If your program/degree of interest is not listed above, it is not eligible for the secondary deadline.

If you would like to apply for the secondary deadline please email [email protected] , as we will have to manually extend the deadline in our application portal for you.

*Applying for the second round does not guarantee that your application will be reviewed. It will only be reviewed in the case that the program did not fill all of its slots in the priority round.

Graduate Admissions Dates and Deadlines FAQ

No, as long as you originally submitted your application by the deadline, your application will still be eligible for review. When your application is “undelivered,” that means that the SOPHAS verification team noticed some errors in the self-reported course entry portion of your application and/or there are other parts of your application that you need to fix. Address these issues and resubmit your application to SOPHAS as soon as possible so they can complete the verification process. Just make sure you follow their instructions and complete all of the requested tasks in a very timely manner and resubmit your application to SOPHAS. This will not change your original submission date.

No. As long as you have submitted your application by the deadline, it is okay if your application is in queue for verification and gets verified shortly after the deadline. Just be sure to regularly check your application to ensure all of your supplemental materials have arrived. If all of your supplemental materials have not arrived, follow up to make sure they arrive in a timely manner so this submission process does not impact your verification period. It is your responsibility to ensure your application is complete and ready for review.

We will still review your application as long as your letters of recommendation, test scores, and transcripts or transcript evaluations are received by December 14.

Graduate Application Instructions

If you are unsure if your program is SOPHAS or non-SOPHAS, you can find out on the admissions landing page and select the appropriate link for your intended program.

You can only apply to one program per admissions cycle. All programs except for those listed in red below require two separate applications to SOPHAS and UC Berkeley. Both applications must be completed and submitted before your file is considered complete and ready for review. Incomplete application files or late applications (submitted after the December 4 deadline) will not be reviewed.

Application Checklists

• SOPHAS Application + $145 fee or fee waiver
• Supplemental UC Berkeley Graduate Application + $100 fee or fee waiver
• CV or Resume
• Three Letters of Recommendation from a combination of professional and academic recommenders
• Transcripts from each institution you have attended
• Official GRE test score, if applicable
• Submit by December 4 at 8:59pm PST
• WES ICAP ($208) course-by-course evaluation of international transcripts sent to SOPHAS
• Transcripts and/or degree certificates from each institution you have attended uploaded to Berkeley Graduate Application
• Official TOEFL or IELTS test score, if applicable
• Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional instructions about the required materials for international applicants.

Application Portals

Both the SOPHAS and UC Berkeley Graduate application must be submitted by the deadline to be considered for admission and awards (no separate application process is necessary for award consideration). Late applications will not be accepted.

To avoid delays in processing, use the same email address for your SOPHAS and UC Berkeley applications if possible and make sure you apply to the same program in both systems.

Submit an online application to SOPHAS with the following items:

• CV or Resume,
• Statement of Purpose,
• Personal History Statement,
• Three Letters of Recommendation (letters of recommendation must be submitted electronically),
• One set of official transcripts from each institution you have attended,
• Official GRE test score sent to SOPHAS only, if applicable (code 4227),
• Official TOEFL test score sent to SOPHAS, if applicable (code 5688),
• Include your Berkeley Graduate Reference number in the SOPHAS application,
• SOPHAS application fee or fee waiver .

If you are applying to more than one school in SOPHAS and they have different deadlines, enter only the school(s) with the earliest deadline, and then complete and submit the application. To apply to additional schools, you may add another school designation to your existing application and fill out the program materials section for that specific program. If you have questions, please contact the SOPHAS customer support department directly.

If you have completed the application but are waiting on any supplemental materials, (e.g. letters of recommendation, GRE scores, transcripts, etc.), you can still submit your application and should do so by the application deadline. It is acceptable for supplemental materials to be submitted a few days after the deadline.

While there is a small grace period for supplemental materials to be submitted, you need to submit your application by the application deadline—otherwise your application will be considered late and ineligible for review.

Access the SOPHAS Application at sophas.aspph.org .

Once you submit your SOPHAS application, you will receive an email with instructions to create a login for the mandatory supplemental UC Berkeley Graduate Application portal. The supplemental application portal costs $100 and there are fee waivers available for individuals who meet the eligibility criteria. Completion of this step is required in order for your application to be complete and reviewed .

• Additional materials do not need to be submitted to this portal.
• Please use the same email address that you used in SOPHAS to create your UC Berkeley Graduate Application login to avoid delays in processing.
• Fee waiver information

The cost for a SOPHAS application is $145 for the first school or program to which you apply. Any additional schools or programs to which you choose to apply will cost $55 per designation, even if you submit those schools or programs later in the application cycle.

The cost for the supplemental UC Berkeley Graduate Application is $100 for all SOPHAS applicants. Payments should be submitted by credit card only.

If you would like to request a fee waiver, you must reach out to SOPHAS and the UC Berkeley Graduate Division. Please see the following links for more information.

• SOPHAS Fee Waiver Information
• Berkeley Graduate Application Fee Waiver Information

Supplemental Materials

You must submit electronic transcripts to both SOPHAS and to UC Berkeley.

International Students: Please see more information about international student transcripts in the “Additional Application Instructions for International Students” section of this page.

Submit OFFICIAL transcripts to SOPHAS

• Official U.S. transcripts of all the schools you attended for post-secondary education must be sent to SOPHAS.
• SOPHAS only accepts electronic transcripts from Credentials Solutions, Parchment, and National Student Clearinghouse.
• If your school does not offer any of these services, your transcript must be sent by mail. The mailing address can be found on the SOPHAS website; please see the SOPHAS website for a detailed set of instructions .

Submit UNOFFICIAL transcripts to UC Berkeley

For application review purposes only, include copies of transcripts for all of the post-secondary institutions you attended, including study abroad institutions in the Berkeley Graduate Application. During the online application process, you will be prompted to upload scanned documents. Uploaded transcripts should be recent and include the following:

• The institution name
• Dates of attendance
• Conferral date if applicable
• Grades/marks received and credits
• If you studied abroad, your study abroad grades must also be listed in the transcript, otherwise you will need to submit a transcript directly from the study abroad institution

Note: Official transcripts will be requested if you are admitted and then decide to attend UC Berkeley

Please do not send any paper transcripts to Berkeley Public Health—any unsolicited materials will be destroyed.

The GRE is optional for the majority of our programs. See our GRE requirement chart to see a summary of each program’s requirement.

For programs that require the GRE, the current GRE Exemption Policy for these applicants will still hold. Applications to these programs will not be considered complete and will not be reviewed by Berkeley Public Health’s Admissions Committee without the required test scores.

GRE Exemption Policy

Applicants who have completed a MD, PhD or equivalent doctoral-level degree at the time of application from an accredited institution are not required to submit GRE scores.

Students currently enrolled in medical, dental, optometry, business, or law school can submit their MCAT, DAT, OAT, GMAT, or LSAT scores, respectively, in lieu of the GRE. Other professional school exams will not be eligible as alternatives to the GRE exam.

Applicants who have completed a MBBS degree and have passed the Step 1 and Step 2 of the USMLE are not required to submit GRE scores. In order to be eligible for the GRE waiver, copies of both official USMLE scores will be required to be uploaded with your application.

Minimum GRE Scores

We do not have a minimum GRE score as we review applications holistically; however, competitive applicants tend to score in the 50th percentile and above. Many program pages include the average GRE scores of admitted students for that specific program.

How to submit scores

• While you can take your exam as late as the date of the deadline, we recommend that you plan to take your exam no later than October to allow time for scores to arrive in time for consideration for fall admission.
• At-home test scores are acceptable.
• All applicants who submit GRE test scores must send official scores through ETS directly to SOPHAS only. To send an official GRE score report to SOPHAS, please use code 4227 .
• Scores must be from within 5 years of the test date for them to be considered valid. In order to apply, you must retake the test if your scores are more than five years old.
• When completing the UC Berkeley supplemental graduate application, do not indicate that you intend to submit GRE scores even if you will, as those should be sent to SOPHAS only.

Note: Since an official GRE score report should only be submitted to SOPHAS, it will not show as received on your UC Berkeley application. You only need to confirm receipt of your GRE scores on your SOPHAS application.

The SOPHAS Application will contain a text box for you to write a short answer response to a question on your quantitative and analytical abilities. The question has a word limit of 250 words.

Please indicate your achievements in obtaining verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing skills that prepare you for the specific program to which you are applying. This can be completed coursework, such as undergraduate or post-baccalaureate math/stats or epidemiology/biostatistics courses, quantitative research, programming, data analysis, or evaluation experience, verbal/writing strengths such as professional publications and/or presentations, etc.

Note: you may also submit a writing sample, publication, or other documents that demonstrate the above skills in the “Documents” section of the application.

Berkeley Public Health’s Admissions Committee requires a minimum of three letters of recommendation be submitted electronically to SOPHAS with your SOPHAS application. We recommend that you request that your letter writers use an official letterhead.

Typically, we recommend you have at least one letter of recommendation from an academic and two from individuals who can evaluate your professional experience. However, please thoroughly look at the requirements and qualifications of the program you are applying to for more guidance. Overall, it will be in your best interest to have three individuals who can attest to your academic and/or professional ability to succeed in a public health career.

For academic references, we recommend you ask professors who you think will write the strongest recommendations. A strong quality letter attesting to your ability to succeed in the program will weigh more than a generic letter from a high-ranking professor.

Berkeley Public Health does not accept hard-copy letters sent to our offices.

Applications should include a resume or CV. Prior work experience, preferably in health sector related activities, is required for some programs.

Resumes should include:

• Educational degrees
• Experiences (especially those that are public-health related)
• Professional skills and accomplishments
• Volunteer activities (specify any leadership roles)

Word limit: 1,000 words

Your Statement of Purpose should explain why you are pursuing graduate training in public health. Your essay should also explain your eventual career goals and why you need a degree in your specific program. You can choose to explain why you are pursuing this degree now and why at Berkeley Public Health. If you are applying to a doctoral program, include your proposed research topics. Please be sure to check your program’s page, as some programs have specific questions to answer. If there are no specific program guidelines, please follow the above-mentioned general guidelines.

Here are some best practices from the DREAM Office and the UC Berkeley Graduate Division on how to write the statement of purpose .

Your Personal History Statement gives you an opportunity to add some individuality and depth to the information provided in your Statement of Purpose. Your Personal History Statement can include information about who you are as a person, your family background, cultural background, socioeconomic status, educational advantages and/or experiences growing up. It is intended to give you the opportunity to provide a narrative about your diverse personal experiences. It is important to be concise and impactful by focusing on a specific part of your life experience.

You may also use the personal history statement to describe any impacts the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on you, such as your academics, obtaining employment, or pursuing public health experiences. We understand that there may be downstream effects of the pandemic on your ability to meet criteria for admission that is beyond your control. Use this essay to provide context on your other application materials, and elaborate on anything that may be helpful for the admissions committee to be aware of.

Here are some best practices from the DREAM Office and the UC Berkeley Graduate Division on how to write the personal history statement .

Additional Application Instructions for International Students

International applicants should apply early in order to allow sufficient time for financial and visa document preparation.

If you are an international applicant who obtained a bachelor’s degree in the United States or an English-speaking Canadian institution, then you only need to submit the materials described in the previous sections.

If you are an international applicant who obtained a bachelor’s degree from a non-US or non-English-speaking Canadian institution, then please submit the additional materials below.

All applicants who attended college in a country/region in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency via a TOEFL or IELTS score, regardless of whether or not English was the primary language of instruction at your college . This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, Israel, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and non-English-speaking countries in Africa.

We recommend that you plan to take any required exams no later than October to allow time for scores to arrive in time for consideration for fall admission.

For Summer/Fall 2023, tests taken before June 1, 2021 will not be accepted even if your score was reported to UC Berkeley.

The USMLE and other similar exams are not approved substitutes for the TOEFL.

You may be exempt from this requirement if you:

• Have a basic degree from a recognized institution in a country where the official language is English
• Have completed a basic or advanced degree at an institution, in the United States or a United States institution abroad, where the language of instruction is English and the institution is accredited by one of the United States’ regional accrediting agencies
• Have completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with a grade B or better at a regionally accredited* institution within the United States.

If you qualify for an exemption, you must upload an unofficial transcript from the recognized U.S. institution to your Berkeley Graduate Application. If you are unsure if your country of education qualifies you for a TOEFL exemption, please contact us at [email protected] .

Minimum Scores

• TOEFL: Paper: 570, Internet (iBT): 90

Scores below the minimum will require an exception request

How to submit TOEFL

Official TOEFL test scores administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) must be submitted to UC Berkeley (code 4833). We do not accept MyBest Scores.

How to submit IELTS

Beginning for the Fall 2022 application cycle, we will no longer be accepting paper Test Report Forms. All IELTS scores must be sent electronically from the testing center, no institution code is required, directly to UC Berkeley.

Our address for identification purposes is:

University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Division Sproul Hall Rm 318, MC 5900 Berkeley, CA 94720

Please do not mail any score reports to us.

Graduates of recognized academic institutions outside the United States should hold a degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Equivalency is determined by International Evaluators in the Graduate Admissions Office. If you are unsure if your degree is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree, you can email us at [email protected] .

Submitting Transcripts to SOPHAS

Official World Education Services (WES) ICAP Evaluations of international transcripts are required to be sent to SOPHAS. SOPHAS will not accept any foreign transcripts or translated foreign transcripts; only an evaluation for U.S. equivalency via WES will be accepted.

We require a WES ICAP course-by-course evaluation which costs $208 (fees subject to change). It should be sent directly to your SOPHAS application, not to Berkeley Public Health.

Please do not send any materials to Berkeley Public Health—any unsolicited materials will be destroyed.

Submitting Transcripts to Berkeley Graduate Application

Please upload copies of unofficial or official foreign transcripts and degrees to the UC Berkeley Graduate application. Academic records should:

• English translations are required for all languages except Spanish; degree names and grades should be transliterated, not converted into English words or the U.S. grades of A–F.
• If your home institution does not issue documents in English, you may submit translations prepared by certified translators for the American Translators Association.
• In general, be issued by the school and include the school’s stamp or embossed seal and the signature of the authorizing official. For more detailed information on acceptable documents, please contact us at [email protected].
• If your academic records do not include official evidence of the award of your degree, you must also submit additional documents that verify the degree conferral, such as a degree certificate.

Official transcripts or academic records for all university-level studies you have completed abroad will be required to be re-submitted directly to UC Berkeley if admitted . Although SOPHAS accepts WES evaluations, UC Berkeley does not accept WES evaluations for matriculation purposes.

We are unable to provide international applicant fee waivers for the UC Berkeley Graduate Application at this time. AB540 students may apply for the fee waiver if they meet the eligibility criteria. Please contact the Graduate Admissions Office at [email protected] for instructions.

SOPHAS offers fee waivers for international applicants from select countries. Please read more about which countries are eligible and access the International-based fee waiver form on this page . You can also request a 50% off WES evaluation coupon in the waver form.

Fees and Financial Aid

A degree in public health is an investment in your future. At Berkeley Public Health, we understand the important role funding opportunities play in the decision to pursue your degree.

For information about Berkeley Public Health’s tuition and fees, as well as residency requirements, please visit the tuition, fees and residency section of UC Berkeley’s Office of the Registrar website . Please note that all costs are subject to change.

Tuition, fees, and charges are included on the UC Berkeley’s Office of the Registrar’s website along with more details about fee definitions. To view fee rates, please scroll down to the tab labeled “Graduate: Academic” if you are an MA, MS, or PhD student, and “Graduate: Professional-School of Public Health” if you are an MPH or DrPH student. If you enroll in an MPH or DrPH program, you are required to pay professional degree supplemental tuition each semester. The total cost of your degree is based on the length of your program.

Tuition, fees, and charges are subject to change by the Regents of the University of California and could be affected by State funding reductions. Accordingly, they may differ from the amounts shown.

Your cost of attendance budget is the estimated average cost of completing an academic year at UC Berkeley. This estimate includes the cost of tuition and fees, room and board, supplies, transportation, and personal expenses.

Your budget also serves as a limit for the amount of grants, scholarships, fee remission, loans, and other forms of aid that can be offered to you. You may find the graduate student budget on UC Berkeley’s Financial Aid and Scholarships website .

Each academic year, fellowships and scholarships are awarded to eligible students by Berkeley Public Health. Awards are given out by nomination only by each program’s respective admissions committee. There is no separate application process for these awards beyond completing the SOPHAS or UC Berkeley application by the priority deadline.

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships provide funding to students to encourage the study of critical and less commonly taught foreign languages in combination with area studies, international studies or international aspects of professional studies.

In order for incoming students to be considered for this award, the FLAS portion of their admissions application must be completed and include a ­­statement of purpose indicating the relevance the study of the language has to the preparation of their academic program, chosen career and/or future goals.

APHA KP Community Health Scholarship

The APHA Kaiser Permanente Community Health Scholarship supports students who intend on pursuing an MPH or DrPH/PhD. This scholarship is part of the APHA KP Community Health Leadership Program . Apply directly here .

• MPH Scholarship: Awardees receive a $15,000 tuition award each year over the course of two years of full-time study.
• DrPH/PhD Scholarship: Awardees receive a $20,000 tuition award per year for three years. In the third and final year, the award can be given as a stipend or as a combination of stipend/tuition.
• Be applying for a full-time MPH or a DrPH/PhD in public health at one of our partner universities (see below) for the upcoming academic year. Students do not need to be admitted by the scholarship deadline.
• Be U.S. citizens or hold a permanent residence visa (Green Card) in the U.S.

PhD candidates typically receive funding through a variety of sources such as soft-money grants, Graduate Division Fellowships , and fee remission from working as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) or teaching as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI).

PhD programs are fully funded for up to 5 years. Full funding includes regular tuition, fees, SHIP, and a salary or stipend if you are in good academic standing. Please note that our funding packages do not include housing offers. Reach out to your program of interest for more details.

PhD candidates may also be AB 540 eligible for tuition purposes. Please see the University of California’s website for more information.

DrPH candidates are funded by departmental funding and are also eligible for fee remission from working as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) or teaching as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI). However, they are not guaranteed funding for the duration of their program or offered a living stipend as a part of their funding package.

Students enrolled in Master’s programs typically fund their education with a combination of student loans, GSI/GSR appointments, extramural scholarships and work-study opportunities.

AB540/DACA postgraduate program students are eligible for UC Berkeley and departmental funding.

Graduate students may apply for need-based loans and work-study through the UC Berkeley Financial Aid Office . The programs are based on demonstrated financial need and require a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Questions about Financial Aid programs may be directed to Cal Student Central . In addition, please visit the UC Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships website for more information. Only U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens (those holding permanent resident cards) may apply for funds administered by the UC Berkeley Financial Aid Office.

UC’s Native American Opportunity Plan ensures that in-state systemwide Tuition and Student Services Fees are fully covered for California students who are also enrolled in federally recognized Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native tribes. This plan applies to undergraduate and graduate students.

To learn more about the eligibility requirements visit the Native American Opportunity Plan website .

Financial aid awards from the UC Berkeley International Office consist of individual grants applied directly to tuition and fees via the UC Berkeley student records system. Award amounts vary depending on the number of applicants and levels of need per semester. Grants do not need to be repaid.

International students are eligible for a number of departmental awards. There is no separate application process for these awards beyond completing the fellowships portion of the SOPHAS or UC Berkeley application.Students who are married and/or have children living with them in the Bay Area may also apply for the Supplemental Family Grant. A family grant can be applied directly to tuition and fees or can be disbursed in the form of a taxable stipend. Award amounts vary depending on the number of applicants and level of need. Family grants do not need to be repaid. See a complete list of financial aid options on the UC Berkeley International Office website .

The University of California offers a variety of services and resources for student families. Visit the UC Berkeley Graduate Division website to learn more about campus resources that aid student families in the search for affordable housing, child care, health insurance and more.

UC Berkeley Veteran Services offers information related to the types of benefits, certification of benefits, contact information for dedicated support, and campus resources for students who have served in the military.

Eligibility for veteran’s educational benefits is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), not by UC Berkeley. For more information on eligibility and to apply visit the VA’s “How to apply for the GI Bill and related benefits” page .

After you apply for benefits through the VA, please provide the following documentation to the Veterans Benefits Office at the Office of the Registrar .

Please visit the Cal Veteran Services Center website for more information.

In addition to Student Family Assistance, the UC Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office offers a variety of services and resources for student parents, disabled students, nonresidents of California and veterans.

Another resource is the ASUC Student Advocate’s Office , a student-run office that provides free and confidential advice and representation to students who experience issues or conflicts with the university. This office also offers support in completing an appeals process.

For information about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid website .

Students are also encouraged to independently seek funding from external sources. A number of scholarship search resources are available online, including:

• Berkeley Financial Aid & Scholarship search
• Basic Needs Center
• UC Berkeley Graduate Division’s Graduate Fellowships and Awards
• Cal Veterans Services Center
• Undocumented Student Program
• Berkeley International Office
• Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
• Association for Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)
• BestColleges.com Financial Aid Resources
• Fastweb.com

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University of California Schools of Public Health

Want to drive public health solutions for some of the world’s toughest problems? We’re ready for you.

Through their expertise, research and government advisory roles, UC public health faculty and alumni are among the leading voices in the field. Many of our faculty, centers and institutes regularly conduct policy-shaping research.

Whether you want to focus on community health, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics or health policy and management, UC public health programs will equip you to lead responses to critical public health issues.

Critical Need for Public Health Expertise

Public health creates the conditions that enable individuals and communities to remain healthy and free of disease. Public health careers can involve scientific research, community engagement, raising awareness of health risks and advocating for improved safety conditions or healthy food.  

Identifying and responding to health inequities driven by socioeconomic, geographic, occupational and educational factors is central to public health research and impact. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for greater reinvestment in public health workers. Additionally, climate change, social inequality, chronic diseases — all require public health to be an integral part of creating and driving solutions for our world.  

UC prepares our public health students to meet today’s most pressing needs — and to shape our global responses to them in the future.  

Leading California — and the Nation

Our public health schools and programs are among the top in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report .

UC Berkeley

#8 Graduate School of Public Health

#19 Department of Public Health Sciences (tie)

#31 Program in Public Health (tie)

#10 Graduate School of Public Health

*UC Davis and UCI offer degrees in departmental public health programs vs. a School of Public Health; UCI is currently seeking accreditation as a School of Public Health.

Degree Programs Offered Across the UC System for Public Health

*UC Davis and UCI offer degrees in departmental public health programs rather than a School of Public Health; UCI is currently seeking accreditation as a School of Public Health. 

Our Schools of Public Health

Our Schools of Public Health offer a variety of public health degree tracks, including in biostatistics and environmental health sciences.

UC Berkeley Public Health

For more than 75 years, Berkeley Public Health has been changing the world through groundbreaking research, world-class education and community-engaged action — working with networks across the state and worldwide, including partnerships with UCSF. In the coming decade, Berkeley Public Health is going all in to tackle four of the most pressing public health problems of our time: climate change, pandemic outbreaks, chronic diseases and social inequality. Berkeley Public Health offers online degree programs.

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UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science (HWSPH)

The UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science was established in 2019 and built upon a robust, decades old program in public health. The school has vibrant diversity among the students and faculty and has particular focuses in behavioral medicine, biostatistics and bioinformatics, epidemiology, global health, health policy, health equity, public mental health, and climate and environmental health — as well as several degree programs with incredible research training opportunities.

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is home to one of the brightest and most diverse public health student bodies in the United States, with students hailing from 25 countries. Our students also have access to a wide range of local and global hands-on training opportunities that provide the skills needed to move public health evidence to action.

Systemwide Expertise Across California

As a system with six highly respected academic health centers , our public health graduates have many opportunities to collaborate with their UC peers. Our graduates collaborate across numerous fields, including data science, environmental science, health education, patient care and more. UC public health graduates can also draw from a rich alumni network—spread across the world—throughout their careers.

See how we’re joining forces to improve patient care within our six academic health centers

Using Research to Inform Patient Care

Our public health programs seek to make the greatest population health impact possible. To achieve this mission, UC public health faculty and students conduct research across bench science, applied research, policy analysis and community-based local projects here and internationally. Our public health institutes regularly publish comprehensive research that shapes today’s — and tomorrow’s — public health policy.

See how University of California Health is using innovative research to challenge the status quo

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UCSF Refugee Health Symposium

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UCSF Medical Management of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 Conference

Winston Tseng

Working Group Scholars

U.s.-taiwan next generation working group.

Winston Tseng, PhD, is Associate Professor of Research in the School of Public Health Division of Community Health Sciences and Lecturer in the Department of Ethnic Studies Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is Associate Director of Research at Health Research for Action at UC Berkeley. He is also Visiting Associate Professor at National Taiwan University College of Public Health and teaches in its Global Health Graduate Program.

Dr. Tseng’s participatory action research has focused on social determinants of health. He collaborates with underserved and immigrant communities across local, state, national, and global levels, particularly among Asian communities (e.g., Chinese, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese), to understand their assets and needs, and develop, test, and implement community-defined interventions and policies to strengthen their community infrastructure for improving the health and social conditions. His research focus areas has included diabetes and other chronic conditions, health literacy and health promotion, building community health infrastructure, policy development, healthy aging, and social & behavioral health.

Dr. Tseng currently serves as an advisor on the Asian American & Pacific Islander Standing Committee under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Equity & Inclusion at UC Berkeley. He served as Chair (2012–2014) of the Community Health Planning and Policy Development Section of the American Public Health Association and continues to serve as an APHA Governing Councilor. The APHA Asian Pacific Islander Caucus recognized Dr. Tseng in 2012 for the Best Published Paper: “Reshaping Data and Research through the Affordable Care Act: Opportunities for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health,” and for his leading national health policy research to advance Asian American & Pacific Islanders. He received his PhD in Medical Sociology from UC San Francisco and his BA in Biology from Johns Hopkins University.

Websites:  Health Research for Action

Taiwan Questions Series: Ep. 7 | Winston Tseng

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Dissertations & theses: life & health sciences: find dissertations & theses.

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Find UCB Dissertations & Theses

UCB Dissertations & Theses Online:

• Dissertations & Theses @ University of California A subset of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Nearly all of the University of California dissertations filed since 1996 are available full-text; citations are provided for UC dissertations filed prior to 1996. Limit to UC Berkeley dissertations using the University/Institution field, however limiting to individual departments is only available for dissertations published starting in 2009.

UC Berkeley dissertations may also be found in eScholarship , UC's online open access repository.

Please note that it may take time for a dissertation to appear in one of the above online resources. Embargoes and other issues affect the release timing.

Finding UCB Life & Health Sciences Dissertations in the Library Using UC Library Search :

Dissertations have been cataloged using various subject terms. To find these dissertations, try a keyword search University of California, Berkeley [Department/School/Group Name] Dissertations ; this works best if you change the search option to 'UC Berkeley catalog' -  select this in the search box as you type,or make the selection above the search box in Advanced Search.

• University of California, Berkeley. Vision Science Dissertations 
• University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Dissertations.
• University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology Dissertations.
• University of California, Berkeley. School of Public Health Dissertations.

You may find your search results improve by placing the Department/School/Group Name as an exact phrase subject in Advanced Search. Example:

• Any field contains University of California, Berkeley. Dissertations
• AND Subject contains exact phrase Vision Science

Finding Master's Theses using UC Library Search (catalog) :

• Currently, only Master's theses older than 2020 are available in UC Library Search.
• Click Advanced Search, to the right of the search box.
• Change the drop down menu to the left of the search box to Subject and type (for example) University of California Berkeley public health in the search box.
• In the next search box, keep the default Any field and type master* in the search box (adding the * searches for both "master" and "masters").
• Click Search.

Master's theses from 2020 onwards are available via UC Berkeley Library's Digital Collections .

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City Planning & Public Health MCP/MPH

The mission of the Department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley is to improve equity, the economy and the environment in neighborhoods, communities, cities, and metropolitan regions by creating knowledge and engagement through our teaching, research, and service. We aim to design and create cities, infrastructure, and public services that are sustainable, affordable, enjoyable, and accessible to all.

Wisely and successfully intervening in the public realm, whether locally, nationally, or globally, is a challenge. Our urban future is complex and rapidly changing. Resource scarcity and conflict, technological innovation, retrofitting of existing built environments, and social empowerment will alter the ways in which planning has conventionally been carried out.

We believe the planning academy has a special responsibility to always address social justice, equity, and ethics; to teach and research means of public participation, collective decision making, and advocacy; and to focus on reforming institutions, urban governance, policy, and planning practices to make these goals possible.

Master of City Planning (M.C.P.)

The two-year Master of City Planning (M.C.P.) program comprises a solid core of knowledge in the field of city and regional planning, including history and theory, planning skills and methods, planning law, and urban economics. The program offers the opportunity to specialize in one to two of the four concentration areas: Environmental Planning and Healthy Cities (EPHC); Housing, Community and Economic Development (HCED); Transportation Policy and Planning; and Urban Design.

Accreditation

The M.C.P. program at UC Berkeley is one of the oldest accredited planning programs in the country. The Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) last reviewed the M.C.P. program in Fall 2016, and in Spring 2017 issued reaccreditation for five years. For more information about PAB, please visit http://www.planningaccreditationboard.org/ .

Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) Designated Degree Program

The M.C.P. degree is an approved field of study within the U.S. governments official STEM fields list. For international students, practical work experience in your field of study, typically after completion of a degree for a maximum of 36 months (12 months of regular OPT with a 24-month extension possible). For further details regarding STEM extensions , contact the Berkeley International Office (BIO) .

Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning

The Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley provides training in urban and planning theory, advanced research, and the practice of planning. Established in 1968, the program has granted more than 170 doctorates. Alumni of the program have established national and international reputations as planning educators, social science researchers and theorists, policymakers and practitioners. Today the program is served by nearly 20 City and Regional Planning faculty with expertise in community and economic development, transportation planning, urban design, international development, environmental planning, and global urbanism. With close ties to numerous research centers and initiatives, the program encourages its students to develop specializations within the field of urban studies and planning and to expand their intellectual horizons through training in the related fields of architecture, landscape architecture and environmental planning, civil engineering, anthropology, geography, sociology, public policy, public health, and political science.

Contact Info

[email protected]

228 Wurster Hall, #1850

Berkeley, CA 94720

At a Glance

Department(s)

City & Regional Planning

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 4, 2023

Degree Type(s)

Masters / Professional, Concurrent

Degree Awarded

M.C.P/M.P.H.

GRE Requirements

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Berkeley Berkeley Academic Guide: Academic Guide 2023-24

Public health.

About the Program

Bachelor of arts (ba).

The Berkeley Public Health (a graduate school) offers an undergraduate major through the  College of Letters & Science . The goal of the major is to provide students with an understanding of epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health behavior, and health policy. These areas of emphasis range across the spectrum of natural science to social science.   Public health is the interdisciplinary science of preventing disease and injury to improve the health of communities and populations. Public health professionals work to identify solutions to address complex issues as wide ranging as air pollution, chronic disease, gun violence, infectious diseases, tobacco control and mental health. 

The Berkeley Public Health offers a major and summer minor . The curriculum prepares students to become changemakers in public health, for a more equitable and just world.

Declaring the Major

Although the major remains capped (impacted), the department encourages all qualified students to apply. To qualify, students must have completed the prerequisites in math, biology, and the social sciences. For further information regarding these prerequisites, please see the Major Requirements tab on this page.

Students should apply to the public health major after completion of the lower division requirements. Non-transfer students must apply to the major by the end of their fifth semester in attendance at UC Berkeley. Transfer students must apply by the end of their first semester in attendance at UC Berkeley. 

After completing the prerequisites , students should submit an application, which includes the following:

• A review of an applicant's academic preparation (Coursework and GPA)
• Two essays (Statement of Purpose and Personal History Statement)
• Resume or CV

For more information, please see the Berkeley Public Health website .

While completing the prerequisites for public health, students should also take the necessary steps to prepare themselves to declare an alternate major. While the department will do its best to bring in all qualified students, there is no guarantee that any one particular student will be admitted into the major. Therefore, students interested in the public health major should prepare an alternate major in case they are not admitted into the major. Public health demands everyone's attention — there are myriad undergraduate majors at UC Berkeley that will help students prepare to work in this field. All students interested in the major, or the field of public health in general, are encouraged to consult with an academic adviser.

Summer Minor or Certificate Program

Public health seeks to improve human health through the development and application of knowledge that prevents disease, protects the public from harm, and promotes health throughout the state, the nation, and the world. Under the global public health summer minor or certificate, students will develop and apply knowledge from multiple disciplines for the promotion and protection of the health of the human population, giving due consideration to principles of human rights and many cultural perspectives in our multicultural country and world. The summer minor or certificate can serve as a precursor to further study in public health, other health professions, or any fields in which the health of persons and populations is a relevant concern. The summer minor can augment and enhance many different undergraduate bachelor degree programs and prepare students for professional and academic careers. In addition, public health is of interest for its own sake, as a component of a rigorous liberal arts education. Please note: the Summer Minor is only available to Berkeley students, and the Summer Certificate is only available to non-Berkeley students.

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Major Requirements

In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill requirements specific to their major program.  

General Guidelines

• All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit, other than courses listed which are offered on a  Pass/No Pass  basis only. Other exceptions to this requirement are noted as applicable.
• No more than two upper division courses may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's double major within L&S.  No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's minor within L&S.  Majors and minors offered outside of the College of Letters & Science may have different restrictions.  Please contact the Public Health Advisors for more information.  
• A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper and lower division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.

For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.

Lower Division Prerequisites

All prerequisite courses must be completed before declaring the major with a minimum grade of C- or above. Public Health accepts Advanced Placement (AP) Exam and International Baccalaureate (IB) Exam units for the Math and Social Science prerequisites.  If students have taken both an AP exam or IB exam and the equivalent college-level course, we will only take the grade from the college-level course into consideration for admissions purposes. 

For more information around Lower Division Prerequisites, please see the Berkeley Public Health website  Undergraduate Admissions section.

Lower Division Requirements

This is a major requirement, not a prerequisite however it is best to take this course earlier. 

Upper Division Requirements

PB HLTH W142 is for graduate students only. Alternatively, PB HLTH 141 Introduction to Biostatistics  can be substituted for PB HLTH 142  for students Summer 2016 and prior.  

Students are required to enroll in Fall Semester's PB HLTH 155A and Spring Semester's PB HLTH H195B (with permission from the department) during their senior year to complete the honors thesis and earn honors in the major.

Elective Requirements - These courses listed below are approved examples. Our electives list grows during the academic year.  Please see our website for the most up to date list at publichealth.berkeley.edu/undergraduate

Summer minor requirements.

The summer Global Public Health Minor/Certificate explores health-related issues affecting populations in the United States and worldwide. Students complete courses covering a range of disciplines and methods relevant to promotion and protection of human health, emerging health issues, healthcare systems, and approaches to address and intervene. It will expand knowledge and comprehension of domestic and international challenges for human health. Valuable internship experience, completed locally, nationally, or abroad, and the development of both technical and public health practice skills is part of the available curriculum. The certificate can be pursued by non-UC Berkeley students in or outside of California, including international students. 

Please note: This program option is only available during the summer.

The two options available are described below:

Summer Global Public Health Minor for UC Berkeley students:  The Summer Minor in Global Public Health consists of three core and two elective courses taught in two consecutive, six-week summer sessions. Completion of core courses and any two electives listed below will satisfy the minor. A local or global public health 8-week internship with a required seminar can also serve as one of the elective courses. Students interested in declaring a GPH minor must submit the minor/certificate declaration form . The minor can be completed in one or two summers. Students pursuing the 8-week internship as one elective will need two summers to complete the minor.

Summer Global Public Health Certificate for non-UC Berkeley students:  The Summer Certificate in Global Public Health consists of three core and two elective courses taught in two consecutive, six-week summer sessions. Once the required core courses are completed, any two electives listed below will satisfy the requirements of the certificate. Students interested in completing the GPH certificate program must submit the minor/certificate declaration form .  The certificate can be completed in one or two summers.

Students must declare the minor anytime prior to the first day of classes of the student's EGT. If the semester before the EGT is summer, the deadline to declare the minor is anytime prior to the first day of classes for Summer Session A. To declare a minor, review the declaration process on the website and submit the minor/certificate declaration form.

UC Berkeley and visiting students who do not want to declare the minor or receive a certificate, but are interested in these classes may enroll in as many courses as they wish.

For more information about the requirements for the Summer Minor, please visit the website .  

College requirements.

Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.

For detailed lists of courses that fulfill college requirements, please review the  College of Letters & Sciences  page in this Guide. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages. 

University of California Requirements

Entry level writing.

All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley. 

American History and American Institutions

The American History and Institutions requirements are based on the principle that a US resident graduated from an American university, should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.

Berkeley Campus Requirement

American cultures.

All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.

College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements

Quantitative reasoning.

The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course.

Foreign Language

The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work.

Reading and Composit ion

In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses in sequential order by the end of their fourth semester.

College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements

Breadth requirements.

The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.

Unit Requirements

120 total units

Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units

• Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department

Residence Requirements

For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes here for four years, or two years for transfer students. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you go abroad for a semester or year or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.

Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.

Senior Residence Requirement

After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your BA degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.

You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.

Modified Senior Residence Requirement

Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.

Upper Division Residence Requirement

You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.

Student Learning Goals

Learning goals for the major.

• Describe the public health framework of the determinants of the health of populations.
• Recognize the public health perspective of disease prevention and health promotion.
• Explain how public health studies the interplay between biology, environment, and behavior.
• Understand the basic concepts from the social and behavioral sciences in public health.
• Recognize commonly used measures of population health.
• Identify commonly used methods of measuring risk.
• Describe common study designs for assessing risk from exposures.
• Assemble and display summary measures using graphs and tables.
• Recognize the basics of statistical hypothesis testing.
• Know how to calculate and interpret confidence intervals.
• Incorporate statistical and scientific findings into written materials.
• Prepare fact sheets and other health education tools.
• Know how to interpret public health reports and scientific literature.
• Create and give presentations on public health issues.
• Research and summarize relevant public health literature.
• Apply the systems thinking approach to issues in public health.
• Identify problems in public health with upstream-downstream model.
• Integrate human biology and genetics with public health issues.
• Comprehend the basics of infectious disease.
• Understand the basics of chronic disease.
• Examine and assess environmental health issues.
• Describe the organization and financing of the United States health care system.
• Identify ethical issues of public health.
• Be able to perform data collection and research.
• Acknowledge the role of disparities in public health.

Major Maps help undergraduate students discover academic, co-curricular, and discovery opportunities at UC Berkeley based on intended major or field of interest. Developed by the Division of Undergraduate Education in collaboration with academic departments, these experience maps will help you:

Explore your major and gain a better understanding of your field of study

Connect with people and programs that inspire and sustain your creativity, drive, curiosity and success

Discover opportunities for independent inquiry, enterprise, and creative expression

Engage locally and globally to broaden your perspectives and change the world

• Reflect on your academic career and prepare for life after Berkeley

Use the Major Maps  as a guide to planning your undergraduate journey and designing your own unique Berkeley experience.

Explore the Public Health Major Map and other maps here.

PB HLTH 14N Healthy People: Introduction to Health Promotion 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Summer 2014 10 Week Session This course introduces students to the basic theories and skills of personal and community health promotion within a public health context. Using a broad multi-disciplinary perspective, the course will examine selected health topics with particular attention to individual and group behaviors and their implications for personal and community health. Healthy People: Introduction to Health Promotion: Read More [+]

Objectives & Outcomes

Course Objectives: 1. To introduce students to the depth and scope of issues embraced by the theory and practice of public health. 2. To provide an overview of the meaning, principles, ethics and scope of personal and community health promotion. 3. To help students identify ways that individuals can take action to maximize their own health and create health-promoting environments. 4. To provide an opportunity for students to critically explore selected health issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective. 5. To provide an opportunity for students to apply the above concepts to a scholarly examination of a health issue in their own community, and to create positive, healthy change in their own community.

Hours & Format

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week for 8 weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Public Health/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructors: Harris, Gamble

Healthy People: Introduction to Health Promotion: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 15 Introduction to Global Health Equity 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017 This seminar provides an overview of the intersection between global health and social justice, with a specific focus on the ways in which inequity, specifically the conditions that lead to poverty, disproportionately affect health outcomes. Students will learn about the historical and theoretical underpinnings of global health, how social determinants affect medical outcomes and health policy, the principles of international law and health economics, and the structure of health delivery models. In the process, students will engage in topics related to social factors that impact health, including class, race, gender, and poverty. Class discussions will address contemporary global health priorities through the lens of human rights activism. Introduction to Global Health Equity: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.

Instructor: LE

Introduction to Global Health Equity: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 24 Freshman Seminar in Public Health 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Seminar limited to 15 freshmen led by senior faculty on broad topics in public health such as financing health care, promoting preventive behavior, controlling major public health problems such as world hunger, AIDS, drugs, and the population explosion. Freshman Seminar in Public Health: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week

Additional Format: One hour of seminar per week.

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final Exam To be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.

Freshman Seminar in Public Health: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 84 Sophomore Seminar 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Spring 2019 Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores. Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: At discretion of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Fall and/or spring: 5 weeks - 3-6 hours of seminar per week 10 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of seminar per week 15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-5 hours of seminar per week 8 weeks - 1.5-3.5 hours of seminar and 2-4 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: One hour of seminar per week per unit for fifteen weeks. One and one half hours of seminar per week per unit for 10 weeks. Two hours of seminar per week per unit for eight weeks. Three hours of seminar per week per unit for five weeks.

Sophomore Seminar: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015 Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week

Additional Format: Variable format.

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Directed Group Study: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 99 Supervised Independent Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015 Supervised Independent Study: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 1.5-6 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to Four hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. One and one-half to Six hours of Independent study per week for 10 weeks. One and one-half to Seven and one-half hours of Independent study per week for 8 weeks. Two and one-half to Ten hours of Independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Supervised Independent Study: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 101 A Sustainable World: Challenges and Opportunities 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Students now attending Berkeley will confront an extremely different set of challenges than the current faculty experienced. Economic growth cannot continue exponentially in a finite world. Human activity and human numbers threaten the possibility of irreversible damage to the fragile biosphere on which all life depends. In this 3-unit interdisciplinary course, students will focus on finding creative solutions to the problems faced by their generation. Each week, experts will discuss problems and solutions concerning sustainability and climate change that they’re passionate about. Topics include energy consumption, food security, population growth and family planning, migration, climate change, policy, and governance. A Sustainable World: Challenges and Opportunities: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: Find ways to roll back the many political, social, and cultural barriers that stand in the way of developing needed, evidence-based policies and investments. Identify those behaviors that must change, those public policies that must be put in place and the investments that must be made in order to move the current pattern of unsustainable economic activity to a biologically sustainable one. Learn to appraise critically different and sometimes conflicting sources of information. Propose solutions to complex interdisciplinary problems that draw on politics, economics, and philosophy and other social sciences as well as the hard sciences. Understand how adverse trends- for example in global warming and population growth- can interact in adverse ways, sometimes with considerable rapidity. Understand that the continued exponential growth in energy consumption and human population growth is unsustainable. Understand the current rate of destruction of natural resources and biodiversity.

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).

Instructors: Maus, van der Walt

A Sustainable World: Challenges and Opportunities: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 104B Health Promotion in a College Setting 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015 Topics include health promotion, medical self-care, and delivery of health care service. Through a combined theory and practice approach, topics are covered as they apply to the campus community. The course is divided into three sections corresponding to particular campus health field experiences in which students may be involved. Health Promotion in a College Setting: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hour of lecture per week and one hour of seminar every other week.

Instructor: Kodama

Health Promotion in a College Setting: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 107 Violence, Social Justice, and Public Health 2 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2021 First 6 Week Session This course addresses violence as a public health issue, using an interdisciplinary public health approach to enable undergraduate students to explore and analyze violence from personal, social, community and political perspectives. Students will learn to apply public health strategies to identify causes of violence and develop practical community-based plans to prevent violence and promote safety. This course will examine violence through the lens of the college campus, paying particular attention to the types of violence more commonly seen on, or associated with, collegiate life, and will include a term paper component. Violence, Social Justice, and Public Health: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week. Six hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Gamble

Violence, Social Justice, and Public Health: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH W108 Women's Health, Gender And Empowerment 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 The course will provide core knowledge and skills from several disciplines on how to improve women's health and well-being globally, and it will follow a life course framework. It aims to expand students’ understanding of the interconnected factors that influence women’s health and empowerment - including foundations of sexual and reproductive health, economic development, political frameworks and global reproductive rights, demographic and social changes, basic principles of empowerment theory, educational opportunities, and efforts to ensure gender equity. Women's Health, Gender And Empowerment: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: A.[KNOWLEDGE]: To expand students’ understanding of the interconnected cultural, demographic, social, and economic factors that influence women’s health and empowerment globally. B.[KNOWLEDGE]: To gain knowledge of the historical and present-day contexts of politics, policies, and laws related to women’s health outcomes, human rights, sexual and reproductive rights, and gender inequities. C.[SKILLS]: To critically engage with contrasting perspectives and changing paradigms about women’s health and empowerment among epidemiologists, clinicians, public health experts, demographers, economists, human rights activists, and development specialists. D.[SKILLS]: Assess policies, development frameworks and case studies of interventions designed to improve women’s health and empowerment in differing cultural and national contexts with specific attention to gender norms.

Student Learning Outcomes: Analyze case studies applying the relevant historical context of politics, policies, and laws related to women’s health and human rights. Analyze the contrasting perspectives and changing paradigms among epidemiologists, public health experts, demographers, economists, human rights activists and development specialists related to women’s health and empowerment Assess the impact of women’s health on advances in other sectors including child health, education, economic development, and social stability Compare macro level political, institutional, and structural factors that influence women’s health and empowerment in relation to local, cultural, and regional contexts Critically examine how gender and women’s empowerment is addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals and other development frameworks Evaluate case studies of interventions designed to improve women’s health and empowerment in differing cultural and national contexts and recommend improvements Examine how girls’ education contributes to individual, community, and national development. Explain the ways in which social, economic, and cultural factors can both promote and impede women’s and girls’ health. Identify the major institutions and non-governmental organizations that influence women’s health and empowerment and suitable approaches for implementing interventions to ensure gender equity Identify and analyze gender inequities in health care needs and access to care.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of web-based lecture and 1 hour of web-based discussion per week

Additional Format: One hour of web-based discussion and one and one-half hours of web-based lecture per week.

Online: This is an online course.

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Instructors: Hemmerling, Decker, Mindry

Women's Health, Gender And Empowerment: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 112 Global Health: A Multidisciplinary Examination 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2017 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2016, Spring 2015 This course examines health at the individual and community/global level by examining the interplay of many factors, including the legal, social, political, and physical environments; economic forces; access to food, safe water, sanitation, and affordable preventive/medical care; nutrition; cultural beliefs and human behaviors; and religion; among others. Students will be expected to read, understand, and use advanced materials from diverse disciplines. Class accompanied by case-based discussions. Global Health: A Multidisciplinary Examination: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students who complete PH N112 receive no credit for completing PH 112

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 9 hours of lecture and 3 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Nine hours of lecture and three hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Instructors: Krishnan, Reingold

Global Health: A Multidisciplinary Examination: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH N112 Global Health: A Multidisciplinary Examination 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session This course examines health at the individual and community/global level by examining the interplay of many factors, including the legal, social, political, and physical environments; economic forces; access to food, safe water, sanitation, and affordable preventive/medical care; nutrition; cultural beliefs and human behaviors; and religion; among others. Students will be expected to read, understand, and use advanced materials from diverse disciplines. Class accompanied by case-based discussions. This class is the Summer Session version of PH 112; same units and content, increased lecture and discussion hours. Global Health: A Multidisciplinary Examination: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students who complete PH 112 receive no credit for completing PH N112.

Summer: 6 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 6 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture and six hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Instructors: Reingold, Colford

PB HLTH 115 Introduction to Global Health Equity 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2021 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session This lecture will provide an overview of the intersection between global health and social justice, with a specific focus on ways in which inequity, specifically conditions that lead to poverty, disproportionately affect health outcomes. Students will learn about historical and theoretical underpinnings of global health, how social and structural determinants affect health outcomes and policy, the principles of international law and health economics, and the structure of health delivery models. In the process, students will engage in topics related to social factors that impact health, including class, race, gender, and poverty. Class discussions will address contemporary global health priorities through the lens of human rights activism. Introduction to Global Health Equity: Read More [+]

Student Learning Outcomes: Critically analyze and critique key grassroots global health advocacy efforts and models 
 Formulate comprehensive and equitable policy recommendations on global health cases Think critically about and articulate the history, pathology, and causation of contemporary global health inequity Utilize basic research methods and work collaboratively in a team setting to complete a group case project

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH 115 after completing PB HLTH 15 . A deficient grade in PB HLTH 115 may be removed by taking PB HLTH 15 .

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with advisor consent.

Summer: 6 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 3 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture and three hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

PB HLTH 116 Seminar on Social, Political, and Ethical Issues in Health and Medicine 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 This course offers an introduction to issues and perspectives related to health and medicine. Guest lecturers speak about the week’s topic, which can include a variety of topics such as public health, violence, chronic illnesses, environmental health, and health care economics. Speakers share their first-hand experiences in their fields, discuss current issues, debate ethical dilemmas, and pose and answer questions. During the weekly discussion sections, students delve deeper into the issues, not only exploring and perhaps questioning their own thoughts and beliefs, but also learning from the experiences and perspectives of their fellow students. Seminar on Social, Political, and Ethical Issues in Health and Medicine: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: Consider various socio-economic, ethical, political, and social justice issues in health and medicine from an interdisciplinary perspective, and learn something new. This course will help students form a more comprehensive picture of what public health is and how various levels interact to impact population health. In the process, students will become better acquainted with their own beliefs, as they pertain to the issues discussed, and will learn how to productively engage in discussion with others who may or may not share these same beliefs.

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam required.

Instructors: Francis, Keller

Seminar on Social, Political, and Ethical Issues in Health and Medicine: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH C117 Introduction to Global Health Disparities Research 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 This course prepares students to conduct a 10-week global health research project in a low or middle-income country (LMIC); provides a background in global health, emphasizing infectious disease research, international research ethics, and the conduct of health research in low-resource settings. Leads students through the process of preparing for, conducting, and completing a short-term research project, with modules focused on cultural communication , the role and pace of research in these other countries, presentation preparation, project development, and troubleshooting skills; gaining perspective into the relationship between global health and health disparities in the USA Introduction to Global Health Disparities Research: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week.

Instructor: Reingold

Also listed as: INTEGBI C195

Introduction to Global Health Disparities Research: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 118 Global Nutrition 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session We will focus on low- and middle-income countries because they experience the greatest burden of malnutrition, and because they face a unique context of limited financial and government resources. In this course, we will discuss the effects of nutrition throughout the lifecycle in pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adulthood. We will focus on nutrition broadly including issues of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity. We will also analyze and evaluate actions taken to ameliorate the major nutritional problems facing vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries. Global Nutrition: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: 1. Describe and interpret the prevalence and trends of public health nutrition issues faced by mothers and children living in low- and middle-income countries, ranging from undernutrition to overweight and obesity. 2. Discuss the political, environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic factors underlying a wide range of nutrition issues in low- and middle-income countries and understand how interventions affect these factors. 3. Identify the ways in which historical, social, cultural, economic, commercial, and institutional factors promote or act as barriers to the design and implementation of agriculture, food, and nutrition policies and programs, and the ways in which these policies and programs affect health and other outcomes. 4. Integrate knowledge of nutritional issues and policy to analyze methods through which stakeholder groups affect the design and implementation of food and nutrition programs and policies.

Student Learning Outcomes: • Ability to conduct a literature review of a specific public health nutritional problem using reputable sources and communicate important findings to various audiences • Ability to understand how pressing public health nutritional problems in low- or middle-income contexts affect different stakeholder groups; • Critical analysis of issues in public health nutrition relating to the context of a low- or middle-income country; • Understanding of the biological and social roles of nutrition in health through the life cycle, particularly as they relate to issues of poor nutrition in a global context;

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week. Eight hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Fernald

Global Nutrition: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 124 Health Care and Public Health Management 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024 Examines the management of health care and public health organizations and covers organizational design, human resources, leadership, and change management competencies. Introduces management tools and techniques for monitoring and managing change within organizations. Emphasizes how leaders use data to solve problems. Case studies emphasize how to manage human relations and demands from the external environment. Health Care and Public Health Management: Read More [+]

Student Learning Outcomes: a) Describe key priorities and challenges for health care and public health organizational leaders. b) Analyze health care and public health operational, financial, and quality of care data to inform organizational decision-making. c) Assess the tradeoffs of diverse organizational structures and designs, including divisional, functional, and matrix designs. d) Apply the enabling conditions for effective teams to design and facilitate high performing teams. e) Describe different leadership theories and how they apply to leading health care and public health organizations. f) Formulate strategies for the effective recruitment, engagement, and integration of effective governing and advisory boards. g) Analyze the key steps involved in organizational change management. h) Apply performance improvement and operational efficiency methods to health care and public health organizational performance problems.

Prerequisites: Junior or senior status

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week.

Instructor: Rodriguez

Health Care and Public Health Management: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 126 Health Economics and Public Policy 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021 This course focuses on a selected set of the major health policy issues and uses economics to uncover and better understand the issues. The course examines the scope for government intervention in health markets. Health Economics and Public Policy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Public Health major or consent of instructor

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture/discussion per week for eight weeks. Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.

Instructor: Fulton

Health Economics and Public Policy: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 129 The Aging Human Brain 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2019 The course will survey the field of the human brain, with introductory lectures on the concepts of aging, and brief surveys of normal neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, and neuropsychology as well as methods such as imaging, epidemiology, and pathology. The neurobiological changes associated with aging will be covered from the same perspectives: neuropsychology, anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology. Major neurological diseases of aging including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease will be covered, as will compensatory mechanisms, neuroendocrine changes with aging, depression and aging, epidemiology of aging, and risk factors for decline. The Aging Human Brain: Read More [+]

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required, with common exam group.

Instructor: Jagust

The Aging Human Brain: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 130 Advanced Health Policy 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course will give you the opportunity to build upon your understanding of the organization, financing and current policy issues of the US health care delivery system obtained in PH 150D. In this course you will become engaged health policy analysts, applying policy making tools (e.g., policy memos/briefs, legislative analysis, regulatory comments, media advocacy, public testimony) to actual health issues and problems. Through individual and group work, you will draw upon both verbal and written communication skills to effectuate health policy change. Advanced Health Policy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: PH 150D: Introduction to Health Policy and Management

Instructor: Flagg

Advanced Health Policy: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 132 Artificial Intelligence for Health and Healthcare 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021 Over the coming decades, data and algorithms will transform medicine and our health care system. Whether you plan to be a physician, scientist, AI developer, or policy-maker, this course will help you understand: (1) the tremendous upside of artificial intelligence for health, and (2) how well-intentioned efforts to apply these tools can do harm. The course will be quantitative (e.g., technical readings; problem sets requiring statistical software), and is designed for students with at least intermediate coursework in statistics, economics, computer science,etc. Artificial Intelligence for Health and Healthcare: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: Finally, students will learn to identify new unsolved problems where data and algorithms could improve health and medicine, and start to think about developing solutions. Students will also come away with a list of several ‘red flags’ -- unique challenges of health data that make it difficult to apply algorithms that have been successful in other fields. This will help them become better and more critical consumers of literature and news in this area. Students will learn about several problems in health care where artificial intelligence is helping doctors and policy makers.

Prerequisites: An intermediate coursework in statistics (e.g., C100), economics(e.g., 100A/B), computer science(e.g., CS88), etc. is recommended

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week.

Instructor: Obermeyer

Artificial Intelligence for Health and Healthcare: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 141 Introduction to Biostatistics 5 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session An intensive introductory course in statistical methods used in applied research. Emphasis on principles of statistical reasoning, underlying assumptions, and careful interpretation of results. Topics covered: descriptive statistics, graphical displays of data, introduction to probability, expectations and variance of ramdom variables, confidence intervals and tests for means, differences of means, proportions, differences of proportions, chi-square tests for categorical variables, regression and multiple regression, an introduction to analysis of variance. Statistical software will be used to supplement hand calculation. Students who successfully complete Public Health 141 are prepared to continue their biostatistics course work in 200-level courses. With the approval of their degree program, MPH students may use Public Health 141 to fulfill the biostatistics course requirement (contact program manager for approval). Public Health 141 also fulfills the biostatistics course requirement for the Public Health Undergraduate Major. Introduction to Biostatistics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: High school algebra

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture, 1 hour of discussion, and 2 hours of laboratory per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 12.5 hours of lecture and 7.5 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture, one hour of discussion, and two hours of laboratory per week.

Introduction to Biostatistics: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 142 Introduction to Probability and Statistics in Biology and Public Health 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 Descriptive statistics, probability, probability distributions, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, chi-square, correlation and regression with biomedical applications. Introduction to Probability and Statistics in Biology and Public Health: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH 142 after completing BEHS 130A, PB HLTH 142A, or PB HLTH W142 .

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 4 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and four hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Kang Dufour

Introduction to Probability and Statistics in Biology and Public Health: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH W142 Introduction to Probability and Statistics in Biology and Public Health 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Descriptive statistics, probability, probability distributions, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, chi-square, correlation, and regression with biomedical applications. Introduction to Probability and Statistics in Biology and Public Health: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 7 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week. Eight hours of lecture per week for seven weeks.

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Instructor: Kang-Dufour

PB HLTH 144A Introduction to SAS Programming 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014 This course is intended to serve as an introduction to the SAS programming language for Windows in an applied, workshop environment. Emphasis is on data management and programming in a public health research setting. Topics include SAS language to compute, recode, label, and format variables as well as sort, subset, concatenate, and merge data sets. SAS statistical procedures will be used to compute univariate and bivariate summary statistics and tests, simple linear models,graphical plots, and statistical output data sets. Introduction to SAS Programming: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 142 or consent of instructor

Credit Restrictions: This course (or equivalent) is required for students who plan to enroll in 251, Practicum in Epidemiological Methods. Enrollment is limited to School of Public Health students. If space permits, others may enroll with consent of instructor.

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 3 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture, three hours of laboratory, and two hours of work outside of class per week for eight weeks.

Instructor: Lein

Introduction to SAS Programming: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 144B Intermediate SAS Programming 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014 Topics include data step flow control, looping and automated processing, implicit and explicit arrays, data simulation strategies, data set reconfiguration, use of SAS Macro variables, and writing simple SAS Macro programs. Intermediate SAS Programming: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 144A

Credit Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to School of Public Health students. If space permits, others may enroll with consent of instructor.

Intermediate SAS Programming: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 145 Statistical Analysis of Continuous Outcome Data 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2013 Regression models for continuous outcome data: least squares estimates and their properties, interpreting coefficients, prediction, comparing models, checking model assumptions, transformations, outliers, and influential points. Categorical explanatory variables: interaction and analysis of covariance, correlation and partial correlation. Appropriate graphical methods and statistical computing. Analysis of variance for one- and two-factor models: F tests, assumption checking, multiple comparisons. Random effects models and variance components. Introduction to repeated measures models. Statistical Analysis of Continuous Outcome Data: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 142 or equivalent

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory/discussion per week.

Instructor: Lahiff

Formerly known as: 142B

Statistical Analysis of Continuous Outcome Data: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 147 Global Perspective on Vision 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019 There are four facets to the course. 1) Core knowledge of the epidemiology of the major causes of vision loss globally 2) The role of ophthalmology and surgical interventions in global health 3) novel teaching methods in group dynamics, public speaking, video making, physician shadowing, surgery observation and leadership opportunities 4) Hands on public health work with an intervention, such as vision screening for the homeless. A multidisciplinary approach will be employed to study what interventions are taking place to alleviate the burden of ophthalmic disease. Global Perspective on Vision: Read More [+]

Instructor: Lee

Formerly known as: Public Health 247

Global Perspective on Vision: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 150A Introduction to Epidemiology and Human Disease 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course introduces epidemiological methods with the goal of teaching students to read critically and interpret published epidemiologic studies in humans. The course also exposes students to the epidemiology of diseases and conditions of current public health importance in the United States and internationally. Introduction to Epidemiology and Human Disease: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: A course in statistics (probability, correlation and regression) preferably PBHLTH 142

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 1 hour of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture and one hour of laboratory per week.

Instructors: Barcellos, Mujahid, Lewnard

Formerly known as: 150

Introduction to Epidemiology and Human Disease: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 150B Human Health and the Environment in a Changing World 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The course will present the major human and natural activities that lead to release of hazardous materials into the environment as well as the causal links between chemical, physical, and biological hazards in the environment and their impact on human health. The basic principles of toxicology will be presented including dose-response relationships, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of chemicals. The overall role of environmental risks in the pattern of human disease, both nationally and internationally, will be covered. The engineering and policy strategies, including risk assessment, used to evaluate and control these risks will be introduced. Human Health and the Environment in a Changing World: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 142 and 150A recommended. May be taken concurrently

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH 150B after completing BEHS 160, PB HLTH 150, or PB HLTH N150B . A deficient grade in PB HLTH 150B may be removed by taking PB HLTH 150, or PB HLTH N150B .

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Instructors: Bradman, Cardenas

Formerly known as: second half of 150

Human Health and the Environment in a Changing World: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 150D Introduction to Health Policy and Management 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 This course is intended to introduce students to health policy making and health care organizations in the United States. Students will be introduced to concepts from public policy, economics, organizational behavior, and political science. Students will also be introduced to current issues in U.S. health policy and the present organization of the U.S. health care system. Introduction to Health Policy and Management: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: 1. Provide an overview of the structure and financing of the U.S. healthcare system at the end of the first half of the course as measured by the midterm exam. a. Compare the US healthcare system to the systems in other developed countries (as measured on the final exam). 2. Identify the principal functions of health insurance, the structure of public and private health insurance plans, and trends in enrollment and expenditures by the end of the first half of the course as measured by the midterm exam. 3. Describe the involvement and policy goals of different stakeholders in the U.S. healthcare system measured by the midterm exam, article presentations and demonstrated in the course paper. 4. Explain the health care policy making process in the U.S. and the respective roles of government and markets in this process. Understand the legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of health care. To be measured by the final exam. 5. Demonstrate critical thinking and ability to analyze health policies as demonstrated in the final term paper. 6. Explain the socio-economic behavioral, biological, environmental, and other factors that impact human health and contribute to health disparities, as assessed in the final exam. a. Comprehend the impact of structural racism on health and health care 7. Explain the innovation and adaptation cycle in biomedical and health information technologies in the U.S health care system as measured in the final exam. 8. Recognize the structural racism that exists within our healthcare system; consider each person’s role in perpetuating the status quo in order to move towards breaking it down. 9. Apply the concepts learned to understand health/health care crisis (i.e., COVID-19)

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

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PB HLTH 150E Introduction to Community Health and Human Development 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course will consist of a survey of the major social, cultural, and bio-behavioral patterns of health and well-being among individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities. The course also will address the design, implementation, and evaluation of leading social and behavioral interventions and social policies designed to improve community and population health. This course will satisfy one of the core requirements for the undergraduate major in public health. Introduction to Community Health and Human Development: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Third or fourth undergraduate standing or consent of instructor

Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Cultures requirement

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.

Instructor: Corburn

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PB HLTH N150B Human Health and the Environment in a Changing World 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session The course will present the major human and natural activities that lead to release of hazardous materials into the environment as well as the causal links between chemical, physical, and biological hazards in the environment and their impact on human health. The basic principles of toxicology, microbial ecology, GIS, exposure assessment and risk assessment among others, are covered. The overall role of environmental risks in the pattern of human disease, both nationally and internationally, are covered. The policy strategies, used to evaluate and control these risks are discussed. Human Health and the Environment in a Changing World: Read More [+]

Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Ability to describe the basic model of environmental health. 2. Ability to demonstrate an understanding of environmental health sciences (EHS) core areas: toxicology, microbial ecology, GIS, exposure assessment, risk assessment and environmental epidemiology at a basic level. 3. Demonstration of oral and written communication skills in the context of environmental health sciences. 4. Ability to describe methods used to mitigate or control adverse health impacts from environmental hazards. 5. Demonstrate proficiency in finding primary literature sources in search engines such PubMed and WebofScience and manage citations using Zotero or equivalent software.

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH N150B after completing PB HLTH 150B , or PB HLTH 150. A deficient grade in PB HLTH N150B may be removed by taking PB HLTH 150B , or PB HLTH 150.

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: Eight hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Smith

PB HLTH 155A Research Skills in Public Health and Medicine 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This applied course includes both didactic lectures (2 hours/week) and computer R labs (1 hour/week). This course will help you understand how to conduct and interpret research in human health and disease, building on your knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics. All students will have a hands-on, guided experience analyzing data using R software during dedicated weekly R lab time. Research Skills in Public Health and Medicine: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: 1. Develop and define a research question. 10. Conduct case-based analysis in areas of public health and medicine. 11. Create a "Table 1" for a paper. 2. Identify primary literature sources and managing literature citations using bibliographic management software (such as EndNote, RefWorks, or Zoltero). 3. Critically interpret information from peer reviewed medical, public health or social science literature. 4. Clean and manage datasets. 5. Appropriately visualize data & select appropriate statistical tests. 6. Execute & interpret basic statistical tests in R (bivariate, non-regression). 7. Execute & interpret regression analyses in R (bivariate & multivariate). 8. Develop a research protocol and consent form for study of human subjects. 9. Select appropriate laboratory, analytic, survey/questionnaire and other methods used in human research.

Student Learning Outcomes: SKILLS: Case-based approaches to problems relevant to human health and disease SKILLS: Creating a data analysis plan SKILLS: Critically reading the literature related to public health-related research SKILLS: Developing a research protocol for human subjects SKILLS: Developing a research question and a testable hypothesis

Prerequisites: Completion of PH 142 and PH 150A (or approval from instructors). Note, it is expected that capstone students will be 4th year graduating seniors, unless otherwise given permission to enroll by the course instructors. It is expected that capstone students will have no more than two Public Health Major core course to complete at time of enrollment

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 1 hour of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture and one hour of laboratory per week.

Instructors: Barcellos, Madsen

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PB HLTH 155B Women's Global Health and Empowerment 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session The course will provide core knowledge and skills from several disciplines on how to improve women's health and well-being globally. It aims to expand students’ understanding of the interconnected factors that influence women’s health and empowerment - including foundations of sexual and reproductive health, economic development, political frameworks and global reproductive rights, demographic and social changes, basic principles of empowerment theory, educational opportunities, and advances in gender equality. The sessions follow a life course framework, and will be taught in a seminar style with plenty of opportunities for group discussions and case studies. Women's Global Health and Empowerment: Read More [+]

Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify and analyze gender inequities in health care needs and access to care. 10. Analyze the contrasting perspectives and changing paradigms among epidemiologists, public health experts, demographers, economists, human rights activists and development specialists related to women’s health and empowerment. 11. Explain the major theories of gender, sexuality and power. 12. Demonstrate foundational knowledge of female anatomy, physiology and health conditions when discussing broader issues of women’s health and empowerment. 2. Explain the ways in which social, economic, and cultural factors can both promote and impede women’s and girls’ health. 3. Examine how girls’ education contributes to individual, community, and national development. 4. Critically examine how gender and women’s empowerment is addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals and other development frameworks. 5. Evaluate case studies of interventions designed to improve women’s health and empowerment in differing cultural and national contexts and recommend improvements. 6. Compare macro level political, institutional, and structural factors that differentially influence men’s and women’s health and empowerment in relation to local, cultural, and regional contexts. 7. Identify the major institutions and non-governmental organizations that influence women’s health and empowerment and suitable approaches for implementing interventions to ensure gender equity. 8. Assess the impact of women’s health on advances in other sectors including child health, education, economic development, and social stability. 9. Analyze case studies applying the relevant historical context of politics, policies, and laws related to women’s health and human rights.

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Instructors: Hemmerling, Decker

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PB HLTH 155C War and Public Health 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2021 First 6 Week Session Course covers global Public Health effects of war in context of war's destruction of the health care infrastructure within the Social Ecological framework. Topics include war’s impact on infectious disease & as barrier to control of vaccine-preventable diseases; maternal child health; health of those displaced; psychosocial toll & environmental health consequences. Curriculum focuses on ongoing global conflicts & ramifications of U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, includes modules focusing on public health prevention approach to war & research methods for studying health outcomes in conflict zones. Students work in teams & apply the course material to a specific war that they will follow. Panel discussions to feature veterans & refugees. War and Public Health: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: The course will provide students with a foundation on which they can build their own line of future inquiry exploring how war impacts public health. The objectives of this course include providing students a new paradigm through which they can identify the sustained impact of armed conflict on communities, families and individuals, and understand that those effects linger long after the dead are buried or buildings are reconstructed.

Student Learning Outcomes: Finally, they will be able to evaluate how public health’s prevention approach can be applied to armed conflict. In addition, students should be able to place the public health effects of war within the Social Ecological framework. Moreover, upon completion of the course, students should be able to explain the effects of war on environmental health, nutrition and psychological health. Students should also be able to explain how war can prevent control of infectious diseases, has contributed to outbreaks or re-emergence of diseases that were previously eliminated, and has prevented the eradication of vaccine preventable diseases. Students who take the course will apply critical thought to media reports about community violence or adverse health and place them in the framework of the public health consequences of war. The learning outcomes of the course include the ability to explain how war’s destruction of the health care infrastructure impedes Public Health’s mission globally — particularly in war zones in low-resource countries — and how war has also impacted Public Health in US communities.

Grading/Final exam status: Final exam required.

Instructor: Lubens

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PB HLTH 155D Preparation for Public Health Practice and Leadership Seminar 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This capstone course will enhance student preparation to be effective public health practitioners and leaders through application of core knowledge, strengthening essential professional skills and development of post-graduation career and graduate education plans. Students will tackle real-world public health cases and emerging local challenges to enhance essential problem solving and innovation skills. Students will also enhance key communication , team and project skills. Through these activities, students will strengthen their ability to lead themselves, work effectively with others and lead health improvement. Preparation for Public Health Practice and Leadership Seminar: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: Through lecture, readings, and course activities, students will develop the capacity to: ● Apply public health knowledge acquired in core courses to case-based scenarios. ● Analyze the impact of a public health problem on a community/population level. ● Develop and apply innovative approaches to addressing public health issues and present recommendations. ● Develop interpersonal skill building, conflict resolution, and practical problem-solving skills. ● Enhance oral and written communication and other key skills necessary for effectiveness as a professional and in demand by employers including: project management, human centered design and process improvement. ● Increase knowledge of public health career and graduate education options and how to choose a path. ● Prepare career-related materials. Strengthen interviewing and networking skills. ● Strengthen effectiveness at working in teams to address public health challenges.

Prerequisites: Completion/concurrent enrollment of Public Health Major core courses: PH142, PH150A, PH150B, and P150D. Note, it is expected that capstone students will be 4th year graduating seniors, unless otherwise given permission to enroll by the Course Instructor. It is expected that capstone students will have no more than two Public Health Major core course to complete at time of enrollment

Instructor: Williams

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PB HLTH 155E Seeing People:Understanding Homelessness' Roots, Stigmas & Solutions-A Berkeley Changemaker Course 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The goal is to support you as an informed citizen who understands homelessness, its roots, the multilevel systems & services that exist to address it, & the levers at each level to effect change. We will focus on developing skills to be a changemaker by working together to address homelessness & “housism” in our community. “Housism” is the belief that people experiencing homelessness are intrinsically less worthy/human. We will be informed in our growth by counter-narratives by people experiencing homelessness & by theoretical frameworks, such as the Social Determinants of Health, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, the Ecological Model, & theories of stigma. Students who have experienced homelessness or unstable housing are welcome. Seeing People:Understanding Homelessness' Roots, Stigmas & Solutions-A Berkeley Changemaker Course: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: 1. Explain the causes of homelessness from historical, systems, and social-ecological perspectives. 2. Discuss the roots of homelessness in the United States and in the Bay Area in systemic racism against BIPOC populations, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism. 3. Inspect and unpack your housism and begin to develop and apply an antihousist framework. 4. Categorize the different subpopulations of people experiencing homelessness and the unique forces leading to their vulnerability. 5. Demonstrate the relationship between homelessness, individual wellbeing and public health. 6. Apply changemaker principles to the goal of eliminating housism in the Bay Area.

Instructor: Auerswald

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PB HLTH C155 Sociology of Health and Medicine 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Summer 2018 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2018, Summer 2017 First 6 Week Session This course covers several topics, including distributive justice in health care, the organization and politics of the health system, the correlates of health (by race, sex, class, income), pandemics (e.g., AIDS, Avian Flu and other influenzas, etc.), and the experience of illness and interactions with doctors and the medical system. Sociology of Health and Medicine: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Sociology 1, 3, 3AC or consent of instructor

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Sociology C115 after taking Sociology 155, Sociology C155/Public Health C155. A deficient grade in Sociology 155 may be removed by taking Sociology C115/Public Health C155.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-7.5 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6-6 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and zero to two hours of discussion per week. Six hours of lecture and zero to two hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and zero to two hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Also listed as: SOCIOL C115

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PB HLTH C160 Environmental Health and Development 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session The health effects of environmental alterations caused by development programs and other human activities in both developing and developed areas. Case studies will contextualize methodological information and incorporate a global perspective on environmentally mediated diseases in diverse populations. Topics include water management; population change; toxics; energy development; air pollution; climate change; chemical use, etc. Environmental Health and Development: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for ESPM C167 after completing ESPM 167.

Summer: 6 weeks - 6.5 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Six and one-half hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Morello-Frosch

Also listed as: ESPM C167

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PB HLTH 162A Public Health Microbiology 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 Introduction to properties of microorganisms; their relationships with humans in causing infectious diseases and in maintaining health. With PBHLTH 168, satisfies most requirements for a laboratory course in microbiology. May be taken without PBHLTH 168. Public Health Microbiology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: One year each of college-level biology and chemistry

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Eight hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Liu

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PB HLTH 167 Applied GIS for Public Health 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session Course is to familiarize students with principles, methods, & techniques necessary to apply GIS in public health settings. Weekly readings, discussions, case studies are presented to introduce application of GIS technologies; maps for visualizing clusters, mobile phone-Apps for data collection, & spatial analyses such as proximity analysis or site suitability. Course includes assignments aimed & acquiring experience on the use of GIS for infectious disease control, disease cluster detection, environmental justice, health services data mapping, & spatial risk assessment. Culminating project: Story Map where students use maps they’ve created as well as additional narrative text images & optional videos for community health education or policy Applied GIS for Public Health: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: ﹣ Create a Story Map to convey information related to an important health issue. ﹣ Create a mobile-GIS tool for capturing geo-located health or asset data. ﹣ Know how to define, design, implement and apply spatial data to a health-related issue. ﹣ The ability to develop disease surveillance maps. ﹣ The objective of this course is to provide technical training . ﹣ Understand how maps relate to policies such as redlining and how those relate to current health inequities. ﹣ Understand the rewards and challenges of working with spatial data.

Student Learning Outcomes: Obtain marketable skills (eg. StoryMaps and Dashboards)

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH 167 after completing PB HLTH W267 . A deficient grade in PB HLTH 167 may be removed by taking PB HLTH W267 .

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.

Formerly known as: Public Health 177

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PB HLTH 168 Public Health Microbiology Laboratory 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This laboratory course was designed to accompany PH162A, Public Health microbiology. The primary emphasis in the laboratory will be on properties of microorganisms, particularly those that cause infectious disease in humans. Examples will be presented of laboratory applications of microbiology and immunology as they relate to the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and control of the environment to prevent transmission of infectious agents. Public Health Microbiology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: One year each of college-level biology and chemistry. Students are encouraged to take PH 162A concurrently or have taken it previously

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH 168 after completing BEHS 103.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2.5 hours of laboratory and 1 hour of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of laboratory and 2 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 5 hours of laboratory and 2 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and two and one-half hours of laboratory per week. Two hours of lecture and five hours of laboratory per week for 8 weeks. Two hours of lecture and eight hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Public Health 162L

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PB HLTH 170C Drinking Water and Health 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020 The course covers monitoring, control and regulatory policy of microbial, chemical and radiological drinking water contaminants. Additional subjects include history and iconography of safe water, communicating risks to water consumers and a bottled water versus tap water taste test as part of the discussion on aesthetic water quality parameters. A field trip to a local water treatment plant in included. Drinking Water and Health: Read More [+]

Student Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be expected to: Recognize the global occurrence of waterborne contaminants and related health impacts. Understand water quality monitoring and control of key water quality constituents. Appreciate the complexities of the regulatory process as it pertains to public drinking water systems in the US and abroad. Read and synthesize published and unpublished sources of information regarding drinking water and health. Prepare a literature review in journal submission format.

Drinking Water and Health: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 177A GIS and Spatial Analysis for Health Equity 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023 The goal of this course is to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to approach public health problems from an equity or health justice perspective. Students will acquire mapping and spatial analysis (spatial epidemiology) skills and apply them in the context of structural inequity, health disparities, and racial justice. Geospatial skills are applied to public health problems that demonstrate differences in health exposures, risks, and adverse outcomes for BIPOC or economically disadvantaged individuals living in the US as well as those in low and medium income countries as compared to high income countries. GIS and Spatial Analysis for Health Equity: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: Communicate information related to an important health issues including their geographic and demographic contexts. ○How: Create a Dashboard of health data ○ How: Use the ESRI StoryMap Builder to incorporate short narratives, maps, infographics, and images into a web-based interactive communication tool. Demonstrate the ability to design, implement, and apply spatial data to determine and display relative prevalence of diseases. ○ How: Create maps and perform kernel density and cluster/hot spot analysis for a specific disease ○ How: Create a dashboard to illustrate the location and incidence of disease cases Illustrate how maps were used to contribute to structural racism by relating historic redlining maps to current health inequities. ○ How: Create a social vulnerability index from demographic and health indicators, and map the index by county ○ How: Compare a current map that illustrates social vulnerabilities to historic redlining maps from the Federal Housing Administration. Illustrate the limitations of political boundaries (census areas, cities, counties), in predicting disease prevalence, and equity issues associated with health risks. ○ How: Use appropriate classification schema to overcome the “Modifiable Areal Unit Problem” Predict concentrations of an environmental contaminant where data are missing ○ How: Use Kriging to interpolate values in an area that has some missing data. Report survey data cartographically. ○ How: Develop and execute a geo-enabled survey on a public health issue ○ How: Create an interactive map of survey results

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH 177A after completing PB HLTH 277A . A deficient grade in PB HLTH 177A may be removed by taking PB HLTH 277A .

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture and 3 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week.

GIS and Spatial Analysis for Health Equity: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 180 The Evolution of Human Sexuality 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 This course is built around an evolutionary perspective of the basis of human mating behavior and explores a variety of topics in human sexualtiy with the goal of helping us to understand ourselves and to understand and accept the behavior of others. The course takes examples from art, sociology, anatomy, anthropology, physiology, contemporary politics, and history to explore the richness of human sexual behavior and reproduction and the interaction between our biology and our culture. The Evolution of Human Sexuality: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Instructor: Potts

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PB HLTH 181 Poverty and Population 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Globally one million more births than deaths occur every 112 hours, 90% in the poorest countries. Between 1960 and 1980, considerable attention was focused on rapid population growth. Afterwards, the attention has faded and investment in family planning evaporated. Family size among some of the poorest women is increasing. This course seeks to provide an understanding of the relationships between population growth, poverty, women's autonomy, and health. It explores the political "fashions" underlying changing paradigms among demographers, and economists, and development specialists. Poverty and Population: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture/discussion per week.

Instructors: Campbell, Potts, Prata

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PB HLTH 182 Sexual Health and Sexuality 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2002 This course takes examples from biology, sociology, anatomy, anthropology, art, physiology, contemporary politics, and history to explore the richness of human sexual behavior and is designed to enable students to engage in critical thinking and problem solving and other means of inquiry in relation to their sexual selves. The course encourages students to make informed sexual decisions and to be aware of the bio-medical, cultural, sociological , psychological, and public health education aspects of their sexuality. Responsible sexual decision making is based not only on accurate information but also on carefully evaluating information and considering one's onw values. Sexual Health and Sexuality: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PB HLTH 182 after completing PB HLTH 180 , or PB HLTH 182 . A deficient grade in PB HLTH 182 may be removed by taking PB HLTH 180 , or PB HLTH 182 .

Instructor: Mills

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PB HLTH 188 Fung Fellowship Seminar 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 This course explores the development of innovations to improve the health of populations, with a primary focus on technologies for children (ages 0 to teen) and older adults. Significant emphasis is placed on health equity in exploring these customer groups. Human-centered design is used as the overarching approach to problem solving, which contributes mindsets and skills, as well as mechanisms for collaboration. This course is part of the Fung Fellowship for Wellness & Technology Innovations. Fung Fellowship Seminar: Read More [+]

Instructor: Sandhu

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PB HLTH H195A Special Study for Honors Candidates in Public Health 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2019, Fall 2017 Required for students intending to complete an honors thesis in their senior year. This course will document your completion of an senior honors thesis in Public Health. You will focus on writing and publishing scientific documents and presenting scientific information in mixed media (written and oral) to diverse audiences (scientists and the general public). Special Study for Honors Candidates in Public Health: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 5.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. Five and one-half hours of Independent study per week for 8 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of Independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Special Study for Honors Candidates in Public Health: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 196 Special Topics in Public Health 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2021 Special topics in various fields of Public Health. Topics covered will vary from semester to semester and will be announced at the beginning of each term. Special Topics in Public Health: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Upper division standing

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-10 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 1-8 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One to four hours of lecture per week. One to eight hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks. One to ten hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Special Topics in Public Health: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 197 Field Study in Public Health 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Supervised experience relevant to specific aspects of public health in off-campus organizations. Regular individual meetings with faculty sponsor and written reports required. Field Study in Public Health: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-10 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-8 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to four hours of independent study per week. One to eight hours of independent study per week for 8 weeks. One to ten hours of independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Field Study in Public Health: Read Less [-]

PB HLTH 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week

Additional Format: One to Four hour of Directed group study per week for 15 weeks. One to Four hour of Directed group study per week for 8 weeks. One to Four hour of Directed group study per week for 6 weeks.

PB HLTH 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2023 8 Week Session, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Enrollment restrictions apply; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog. Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to Four hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. One to Four hour of Independent study per week for 8 weeks. One to Four hour of Independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read Less [-]

Contact Information

Berkeley public health.

2121 Berkeley Way West

Phone: 510-643-0881

[email protected]

School Dean

Michael C. Lu, MD, MS, MPH

Assistant Dean for Students

Quin Hussey, MPH

2121 Berkeley Way West, Suite 2220

[email protected]

Undergraduate Advisor

Lauren Magsanay

2121 Berkeley Way West, Suite 2210

Phone: 510-643-0874

Patricia Cruz

Peer Advisors

Drop in Calendar: tinyurl.com/sphugpeers

[email protected]

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U.S. News & World Report ranks UC Berkeley computer science graduate program No. 1

UC Berkeley’s computer science graduate program was ranked first in the nation for the second year in a row by U.S. News & World Report , according to 2024 rankings  released April 8.

Berkeley’s program in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences shared the top spot with computer science programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University. 

Several other Berkeley graduate programs in business, public health, public affairs and more were listed in the top 20 for their disciplines. These rankings are based on a survey of academics at peer institutions, according to U.S. News .

Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences is shared by the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society and the College of Engineering. Learn more about Berkeley’s computer science graduate program.