Online MPH Admissions and Financial Information

Application Requirements

• Online Application

  All applicants to Berkeley Public Health Online MPH should complete the online Slate Application.

  Please note that the Online MPH program does not utilize the SOPHAS application.

• Transcripts for all college-level coursework

  Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution.

  Submitting Unofficial Transcripts

  Applicants must upload unofficial electronic transcripts for all college-level coursework, including your bachelor’s degree, any advanced degree(s), and any coursework taken at community colleges.

  Any courses taken while studying abroad must be submitted from the participating institution. Abroad courses listed only on the transcript where you received your degree will not be sufficient.

  All Transcripts (including unofficial electronic transcripts) need to show the following:

  • Your name
  • University or college name
  • Degrees conferred
  • Degree conferral date
  • Course names
  • Course grades
  • GPA

  Submitting Official Transcripts

  Official transcripts are not required as part of the admissions process. However, if you would like to submit official transcripts, you may send them electronically directly to online.mph@berkeley.edu by the issuing school.

• GPA

  Advanced GPA

  Domestic applicants should demonstrate a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) for all coursework completed after the first two years of undergraduate study.

  The first two years of coursework can be considered either the first two calendar years of consecutive full-time coursework OR the first 60 units.

  Please use the Advanced GPA Calculator (US and Canadian students only) to determine your Advanced GPA.

  Graduate GPA (if applicable)

  If you have completed prior graduate level coursework, you should also demonstrate a 3.0 GPA for all graduate coursework

  What if my GPA is less than 3.0?

  All applications are reviewed through a holistic review process. If your undergraduate or Advanced GPA does not meet the 3.0 minimum, you may still submit an application. Please provide alternative 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 or GRE scores.

  Given the key role of statistics and data analysis in public health, you may consider including information about your quantitative preparation in relation to course work or professional experience.

  If there are aspects of your academic preparation that you believe could benefit from further explanation or context, please submit a separate statement or consider incorporating this information in your personal history statement.

  Please feel free to email online.mph@berkeley.edu for guidance or schedule a phone appointment here.

• Quantitative Preparation

  Quantitative preparation is a crucial component of ensuring success in the required first-year courses and will be evaluated as part of the holistic admission review. While we don’t expect every student to be a biostatistician, a foundational understanding of key quantitative concepts is necessary for effectively navigating the curriculum.

  In the first-year required coursework, students will encounter a range of quantitative topics including: descriptive statistics; graphical displays of data; introduction to probability; discrete probability distributions, including the binomial distribution; expectations and variance of random variables; normal distribution; sampling distributions of means and proportions and the Central Limit Theorem; confidence intervals and tests for means, differences of means, proportions, differences of proportions; chi-square tests; Introduction to regression and correlation.

  Evaluation of Quantitative Preparation

  Quantitative preparation is evaluated holistically by considering:

  • Prior coursework, with an emphasis on statistics or mathematics courses, completed with a grade of B+ or higher.

  and/or

  • Relevant quantitative work experience.

  If you need to meet this requirement, we recommend taking a statistics course offered through your local community college or Berkeley Extension’s Introduction to Statistics. If you have prior quantitative coursework or work experience but would like to take a refresher course, we recommend Coursera’s Introduction to Statistics.

• Statement of Purpose

  Your statement of purpose (1,000 words) should describe your career goals and how this program will meet your professional aspirations. If you are entering the field, tell us about your public health interests and the skills you wish to acquire during your program of study. Please also describe how you hope or expect to contribute to improving public health in your future professional endeavors.

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

• Personal History Statement

  Your personal history statement (1,000 words) should describe who you are, your family background, the experiences that make you a unique individual and your connection and motivation for working in public health. This essay supplements the statement of purpose and should leave the admissions committee with a better understanding of you as a person.

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

• Resume or CV

  Applications must include a resume or CV.

  Prior work experience, preferably in health sector related activities, is desirable, but not required.

  Resumes should include:

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

  Berkeley Public Health Online MPH recommends at least two years of prior work experience.

  If you do not have 2 years of prior work experience, please provide documentation of an equivalent amount of volunteer or internship experience. Volunteer or internship experiences should be aligned with public health and demonstrate leadership. Volunteer experiences may be formatted in resume style.

• Three Letters of Recommendation

  We require a minimum of three letters of recommendation to be submitted electronically.

  1. At least one reference should focus on your academic potential, ideally from a former professor or someone who can speak to your intellectual or academic capacity.
  2. At least one reference should focus on your professional potential, such as a current or former employer or supervisor.
  3. Your third letter of reference may be either academic or professional.
  4. Recommendation letters must be in English.

  Recommenders may include:

  • Personal impressions of your intellectual ability
  • Promise of productive scholarship
  • Capacity for analytical thinking and research
  • Writing and reasoning skills
  • Potential to succeed in the public health profession
  • Quality of your previous work
  • How you approach and complete projects
  • Comments on your character
  • Obstacles you may have had to overcome to attain your educational and professional goals (economic, social, cultural, educational, etc.)

  Requesting Recommendations

  In the application’s Recommendations section, enter the contact information for each recommender and send the email requests. (If your recommender does not receive the request, contact our Admissions Coordinator.)

  Recommenders will upload letters directly to your application. Please notify your recommenders to look out for the email request with instructions.
  You can submit your application before your letters are uploaded. However, we encourage you to follow up with your recommenders to ensure that they submit their letters before the deadline.

  Note: The Letterbanc service cannot be used for this program.

• Test Scores

  GRE Scores

  GRE scores are optional and not required, however, the GRE may provide additional information about an applicant’s academic preparation. If you plan to submit GRE scores, send official GRE test scores through Educational Testing Service (ETS) to code #4833.

  TOEFL

  If you plan to submit TOEFL scores, send official test scores through Educational Testing Service (ETS) to code #4833.

  IELTS

  If you are submitting IELTS scores, it must be sent electronically from the testing center, no institution code is required.

• Application Fee

  If you are a U.S. citizen or current permanent resident, the application fee is $135; for all others, the fee is $155.

  Fee Waiver

  U.S. citizens or permanent residents who demonstrate financial need or have participated in an eligible program may apply for an application fee waiver. See guidelines for waivers here.