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Graduate Certificates and Specialty Areas

Our specialty areas bring together faculty and students from across many disciplines. These academic areas of study offer students the opportunity to focus on various substantive topics, reflecting the changing public health problems that need to be addressed by public health practitioners and researchers.

Students in a two-year master’s or a doctoral program may elect to complete an additional specialty area as a minor. Students in a one-year master’s program may also add a specialty area, however we recommend talking to the relevant program coordinator for eligibility requirements.

Certificate in Food Systems

Current students in any master’s or doctoral degree program at UC Berkeley may elect to complete the Graduate Certificate in Food Systems. The certificate responds to an escalating need to empower new leaders with the capacity to create innovative solutions to pressing food and agriculture challenges. Building on UC Berkeley’s strength as a multi-disciplinary pioneer in food systems studies, the Certificate in Food Systems prepares master’s and doctoral students to think critically about the multi-level, multi-system factors that affect food production, distribution and consumption locally, nationally and globally.

This interdisciplinary program is a collaboration between Berkeley Public Health, the College of Natural Resources and the Goldman School of Public Policy. This program complements a student’s primary fields of study by addressing the ecological, social, health, political, policy, legal and economic dimensions of food and agriculture, as well as providing graduates with the necessary theoretical framework and practical skills that can be applied across diverse and emerging food-system challenges.

Specialty Area in Global Health

This page provides information about Global Health as a graduate specialty. If you are looking for information about the Undergraduate Global Public Health minor or certificate programs, go to the Summer Minor or Certificate program page.

The objectives of the Global Health Specialty Area (GHSA) are to support and cultivate student’s interests in global health, and to help develop competencies and skills in global public health that can be applied to students’ careers. The GHSA provides an opportunity for students to explore multidisciplinary issues in global health through coursework and global health engagement.

  • Community: Connect with graduate-level students with various global health interests and backgrounds
  • Networking: Join (virtual) Happy Hours, Meet & Greets, panel and discussion events that are organized to help connect with students, faculty, and staff interested in global public health and explore global health disciplines.
  • Mentorship: Chat with public health scientists, researchers, and professors across the Bay Area, including UCSF, UC Davis, and Stanford faculty
  • Education/training: Take a set of required hours to boost your global health specific knowledge

The Specialty Area in Global Health is supported by the Center for Global Public Health staff and affiliated faculty.

Graduate Certificate in Health Management

Given the complexities involved in health system reform, advancing equity, and being good stewards of scarce resources, there has been an increased demand for professionals who have skills in applied managerial decision-making in the healthcare sector.

Effectively managing a diverse array of organizations that operate in this sector requires specialized knowledge and expertise in several key disciplines, including an understanding of organizational and financial structures within organizations, as well as experience with strategic planning and implementation.

The new Graduate Certificate in Health Management from the Health Policy and Management Division at the School of Public Health supports graduate students at UC Berkeley in developing these critical competencies through a comprehensive trio of toolkit courses that focus on skill-building, frameworks, and applied learning. These courses complement a wide range of existing degree programs and will appear on official graduate transcripts.

For more information please direct questions about the certificate or its courses to Bradley Jong, HPM Program Manager, hpm_mph@berkeley.edu.

Graduate Certificate in Racism, Health, and Social Justice

The School of Public Health, The Department of City and Regional Planning, and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management are offering the Graduate Certificate in Racism, Health, and Social Justice. The certificate’s purpose is to provide theoretical, methodological, and applied training at the intersection of public health inequities, racial justice, and social justice to Masters and Doctoral students seeking an interdisciplinary learning experience. Understanding the root causes of health, racial injustice, and social inequities matters profoundly for designing interventions and solutions for pressing health and social problems.

This graduate certificate will provide interdisciplinary training across the spectrum of the social, economic, and political determinants that drive health inequalities and must be confronted to create a more equitable and just society. It is designed to complement students’ home disciplines. Recipients of this certificate will leave with deep subject matter expertise, well-articulated critical perspectives, and advanced skills to help transform our world into one that achieves social and racial justice, including health equity.

The graduate certificate will offer 2 anchor courses in the School of Public Health, both of which focus on health inequities, racism, and struggles for justice. This certificate will offer elective courses that delve into the relevant multi-level and multi-system factors shaping injustices from economic instability (Goldman School of Public Policy; Berkeley Law) and the neighborhood and physical environment (Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management; Department of City and Regional Planning) to education (School of Education), food (School of Public Health), community safety and the broader social context (Department of Sociology; School of Social Welfare) and health and social policies (School of Public Health).

See full list of anchor courses and elective options here.

For more information on the certificate, reach out to hsbprogram@berkeley.edu.

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