Bachelor of Public Health at University of California, Berkeley

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The School of 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 School of 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:

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

For more information, please see the School of 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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1. Critical Thinking Skills
   • 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.
2. Quantitative Skills
   • 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.
3. Communication Skills
   • 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.
4. Problem-Solving Skills
   • 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.
5. Specialized Knowledge
   • 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.
6. Lifelong Learning Skills
   • Identify ethical issues of public health.
   • Be able to perform data collection and research.
   • Acknowledge the role of disparities in public health.