Master’s in Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (MPH)

• PB HLTH 142 – Introduction to Probability and Statistics in Biology (4 units)
• PB HLTH 200J – Health Policy and Management Breadth Course (2 units)
• PB HLTH 200K – Environmental Health Sciences Breadth Course (2 units)
• PB HLTH 200L – Health and Social Behavior Breadth Course (2 units)
• PB HLTH 250A – Epidemiologic Methods I (3 units)
• PB HLTH 291A – Public Health Leadership (1 unit)
• PB HLTH 297 – Public Health Field Study (3 units)

As part of general School of Public Health Breadth requirements, above MPH breadth courses or accepted substitutes must be taken, or an exemption examination passed. More advanced level substitutes are recommended when possible.

• PB HLTH 260A – Principles of Infectious Disease (4 units)
• PB HLTH 264 – Capstone Seminar IDV MPH (2 units)
• PB HLTH 263 – Public Health Immunology (3 units)
• PB HLTH 266C – IDV Division Seminar: Hospital Associated Infections (2 units)
  Substitution by another School of Public Health seminar related to Infectious Diseases may be acceptable as IDV Division Seminar
• PB HLTH 253B – Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases (3 units)

Courses fulfilled by the IDV MPH concentration requirements cannot be counted as electives.

Choose at least two of the following:

• PB HLTH 236 – U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Drug Development, and Public Health (2 units)
• PB HLTH 260E – Molecular Epidemiology (2 units)
• PB HLTH 260F – Infectious Disease Research in Developing Countries (2 units)
• PB HLTH 262 – Molecular Basis of Bacterial Pathogenesis (3 units)
• PB HLTH 265 – Molecular Parasitology (3 units)
• PB HLTH 266B – Zoonotic Diseases (2 units)
• PB HLTH 290.11 – Diagnostics in Infectious Diseases: Development and Regulatory Challenges (2 units)

PH 266C: Hospital Associated Infections is offered as IDV Division Seminar in Fall. Substitution by other School of Public Health seminars related to infectious diseases may be acceptable as IDV Division Seminar, please contact the IDV Division Manager at idadmin@berkeley.edu for questions.

The best start to gather information is to visit the websites listed on the School of Public Health home page  under Divisions. Read about all the School of Public Health programs and degrees offered, curriculum, faculty research interests and decide which is the best fit with your academic and career goals. Attending one of the School of Public Health’s three pre-application advising sessions or our all-day BPH conference in the Fall is also very helpful. Not only you can have your questions about admissions process, financial aid or the Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (IDV) program answered, you will also have a chance to interact with IDV Division Faculty. If you apply to the IDV program, please state clearly in your “Statement of Purpose” your reasons for applying to our program, your academic preparation, relevant public health experience and career goals.

There is considerable overlap in the two programs and, using the time for electives, you can essentially fulfill the course requirements for both programs while enrolled in one. If you are more interested in the in-depth study of the biology of infectious agents, it may be better to apply to the Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (IDV) program. The IDV program provides a solid foundation for people who are interested in the study of infectious diseases epidemiology as well as the laboratory based study of infectious diseases.
However, if you are interested in analytical study design issues, disease surveillance, and biostatistics, you can apply to the Epidemiology/Biostatistics program. Students can still take the epidemiology/biostatistics courses while staying in the IDV program. The important thing to do is to identify faculty advisors early in both IDV and Epidemiology programs to guide you through the courses and help you with ideas for your MPH paper and possible field studies. You can list two areas of concentrations you want to apply in order of preference in your SOPHAS application. But your statement of purpose should be tailored to your first choice of area of concentration.

The MPH is a professional degree administered by the School of Public Health. There are no absolute prerequisites required for MPH admission, although to be competitive for consideration Baccalaureate degree holders should have:

• satisfactory record of scholarship (minimum GPA of 3.0),
• evidence of significant intellectual potential (GRE scores),
• demonstrated competence in English

Biology (1 year general), Microbiology, Immunology, Mathematics (college algebra, calculus), Chemistry, normally required as undergraduate preparation for all candidates. Some upper division biology, microbiology courses are highly recommended. Final selection for admission will depend upon the faculty’s ranking of all applicants on the basis of academic record, intellectual potential, preparation, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, research interests, and overall promise and fitting into what the program offers, as well as availability of admission slots in the program. The MPH in Infectious Diseases is a professional degree administered by the School of Public Health. Each year the Division accepts 17-20 students from 60-75 applicants. No interviews are required for the MPH admission.

Work experience is not required for admission, but relevant work experience related to Infectious Diseases e.g. laboratory or surveillance work would be considered a plus.

GRE is optional and not required. 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.

Please visit the Grad Division website and the Berkeley Public Health fees and financial aid page.