The first school of public health west of the Mississippi, the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health was founded in 1943 on the Berkeley campus, where it had its origins almost two decades earlier with the creation of the Department of Hygiene in 1919. Find out more about our history.
Mission, Vision, and Values
Building on a campus tradition of pre-eminent interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary scholarship, education and public engagement that challenges conventional thinking, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health develops diverse leaders equipped to help solve the health challenges of the 21st century and beyond. Read more about the School's mission, vision, and values.
Students
The current total graduate student enrollment for Fall 2008 was 527. Of these 188 were doctoral students and 339 were master's candidates. The School jointly administers master of science (M.S.), master of arts (M.A.), and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees; it also awards a doctor of public health (Dr.P.H.) degree, and the master of public health (M.P.H.) degree in areas of concentration including:
In addition, the School has joint, concurrent, or dual degree programs with the Haas School of Business, the Goldman School of Public Policy, the School of Social Welfare, and the College of City and Regional Planning on the Berkeley campus; the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy at UC San Francisco; and the Stanford University School of Medicine.
An undergraduate major in public health is offered through the College of Letters and Science.
Faculty and Research
The School's faculty, consistently noted as among the leading scholars in their respective fields, comprises approximately 150 investigators. Among the distinctions held by the faculty are 9 Institute of Medicine Memberships, 8 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowships, 3 Fulbright Fellowships, and 1 National Academy of Sciences Membership.
Alumni
The School's approximately 12,000 graduates can be found working throughout the world, both in the public and private sectors. Graduates hold major positions in health departments; in hospitals; in national and international organizations; in local, state, and federal government; in voluntary health organizations; in the corporate sector; and in health care and health promotion organizations. Read about some of the School's distinguished alumni.
