On-campus Graduate Application Instructions for SOPHAS Programs

See detailed information below on each of these items:

• SOPHAS Application + $145 fee or fee waiver
• Supplemental UC Berkeley Graduate Application + $100 fee or fee waiver (except concurrent degree applicants who must provide a full application and fee for the other program)
• CV or Resume
• Statement of Purpose
• Personal History Statement
• Three Letters of Recommendation from a combination of professional and academic recommenders
• Transcripts from each institution you have attended
• Official GRE test score, if applicable
• Submit by December 1 at 8:59pm PST

• SOPHAS Application + $145 fee or fee waiver
• Supplemental UC Berkeley Graduate Application + $100 fee or fee waiver (except concurrent degree applicants who must provide a full application and fee for the other program)
• CV or Resume
• Statement of Purpose
• Personal History Statement
• Three Letters of Recommendation from a combination of professional and academic recommenders
• WES ICAP ($208) course-by-course evaluation of international transcripts sent to SOPHAS
• Transcripts and/or degree certificates from each institution you have attended uploaded to Berkeley Graduate Application
• Official GRE test score, if applicable
• Official TOEFL or IELTS test score, if applicable
• Submit by December 1 at 8:59pm PST

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional instructions about the required materials for international applicants.

Submit an online application to SOPHAS with the following items:

• CV or Resume,
• Statement of Purpose,
• Personal History Statement,
• Three Letters of Recommendation (letters of recommendation must be submitted electronically),
• One set of official transcripts from each institution you have attended,
• Official GRE test score sent to SOPHAS only, if applicable (code 4227),
• Official TOEFL test score sent to SOPHAS, if applicable (code 5688),
• Include your Berkeley Graduate Reference number in the SOPHAS application,
• SOPHAS application fee or fee waiver.

If you are applying to more than one school in SOPHAS and they have different deadlines, enter only the school(s) with the earliest deadline, and then complete and submit the application. To apply to additional schools, you may add another school designation to your existing application and fill out the program materials section for that specific program. If you have questions, please contact the SOPHAS customer support department directly.

If you have completed the application but are waiting on any supplemental materials, (e.g. letters of recommendation, GRE scores, transcripts, etc.), you can still submit your application and should do so by the application deadline. It is acceptable for supplemental materials to be submitted a few days after the deadline. While there is a small grace period for supplemental materials to be submitted, you need to submit your application by the application deadline—otherwise your application will be considered late and ineligible for review.

Access the SOPHAS Application at sophas.org.

Once you submit your SOPHAS application, you will receive an email with instructions to create a login for the mandatory supplemental UC Berkeley Graduate Application portal. The supplemental application portal costs $100 and there are fee waivers available for individuals who meet the eligibility criteria. Completion of this step is required in order for your application to be complete and reviewed. 

• Additional materials do not need to be submitted to this portal.
• Please use the same email address that you used in SOPHAS to create your UC Berkeley Graduate Application login to avoid delays in processing.
• Fee waiver information

The cost for a SOPHAS application is $145 for the first school or program to which you apply. Any additional schools or programs to which you choose to apply will cost $55 per designation, even if you submit those schools or programs later in the application cycle.

The cost for the supplemental UC Berkeley Graduate Application is $100 for all SOPHAS applicants. Payments should be submitted by credit card only.

If you would like to request a fee waiver, you must reach out to SOPHAS and the UC Berkeley Graduate Division. Please see the following links for more information.

• SOPHAS Fee Waiver Information
• Berkeley Graduate Application Fee Waiver Information

Both the SOPHAS and UC Berkeley Graduate application must be submitted by the deadline to be considered for admission and awards (no separate application process is necessary for award consideration). Late applications will not be accepted. More information on dates and deadlines is available here.

To avoid delays in processing, use the same email address for your SOPHAS and UC Berkeley applications if possible and make sure you apply to the same program in both systems.

You must submit electronic transcripts to both SOPHAS and to UC Berkeley.

International Students: Please see more information about international student transcripts in the “Additional Application Instructions for International Students” section below.

Submit OFFICIAL transcripts to SOPHAS

• Official U.S. transcripts of all the schools you attended for post-secondary education must be sent to SOPHAS.
• SOPHAS only accepts electronic transcripts from Credentials Solutions, Parchment, and National Student Clearinghouse.
• If your school does not offer any of these services, your transcript must be sent by mail. The mailing address can be found on the SOPHAS website; please see the SOPHAS website for a detailed set of instructions.

Submit UNOFFICIAL transcripts to UC Berkeley

For application review purposes only, include copies of transcripts for all of the post-secondary institutions you attended, including study abroad institutions in the Berkeley Graduate Application. During the online application process, you will be prompted to upload scanned documents. Uploaded transcripts should be recent and include the following:

• your name
• the institution name
• dates of attendance
• conferral date if applicable
• grades/marks received and credits
• If you studied abroad, your study abroad grades must also be listed in the transcript, otherwise you will need to submit a transcript directly from the study abroad institution
• Note: Official transcripts will be requested if you are admitted and then decide to attend UC Berkeley

Please do not send any paper transcripts to Berkeley Public Health—any unsolicited materials will be destroyed.

• The GRE is optional for the majority of our programs.
• See our GRE Requirement Chart to see a summary of each program’s requirement.
• For programs that require the GRE, the current GRE Exemption Policy (see section below) for these applicants will still hold. Applications to these programs will not be considered complete and will not be reviewed by Berkeley Public Health’s Admissions Committee without the required test scores.

GRE Exemption Policy:

• Applicants who have completed a MD, PhD or equivalent doctoral-level degree at the time of application from an accredited institution are not required to submit GRE scores.
• Students currently enrolled in medical, dental, optometry, business, or law school can submit their MCAT, DAT, OAT, GMAT, or LSAT scores, respectively, in lieu of the GRE. Other professional school exams will not be eligible as alternatives to the GRE exam.
• Applicants who have completed a MBBS degree and have passed the Step 1 and Step 2 of the USMLE are not required to submit GRE scores. In order to be eligible for the GRE waiver, copies of both official USMLE scores will be required to be uploaded with your application.

Minimum GRE Scores:

• 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. Many program pages include the average GRE scores of admitted students for that specific program.

How to submit scores:

• While you can take your exam as late as the date of the deadline, we recommend that you plan to take your exam no later than October to allow time for scores to arrive in time for consideration for fall admission.
• At-home test scores are acceptable.
• All applicants who submit GRE test scores must send official scores through ETS directly to SOPHAS only. To send an official GRE score report to SOPHAS, please use code 4227. 
• Scores must be from within 5 years of the test date for them to be considered valid. In order to apply, you must retake the test if your scores are more than five years old.
• When completing the UC Berkeley supplemental graduate application, do not indicate that you intend to submit GRE scores even if you will, as those should be sent to SOPHAS only.
  • Note: Since an official GRE score report should only be submitted to SOPHAS, it will not show as received on your UC Berkeley application. You only need to confirm receipt of your GRE scores on your SOPHAS application.

The SOPHAS Application will contain a text box for you to write a short answer response to a question on your quantitative and analytical abilities. The question has a word limit of 250 words.

Please indicate your achievements in obtaining verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing skills that prepare you for the specific program to which you are applying. This can be completed coursework, such as undergraduate or post-baccalaureate math/stats or epidemiology/biostatistics courses, quantitative research, programming, data analysis, or evaluation experience, verbal/writing strengths such as professional publications and/or presentations, etc.

Note: you may also submit a writing sample, publication, or other documents that demonstrate the above skills in the “Documents” section of the application.

Berkeley Public Health’s Admissions Committee requires a minimum of three letters of recommendation be submitted electronically to SOPHAS with your SOPHAS application. We recommend that you request that your letter writers use an official letterhead.

Typically, we recommend you have at least one letter of recommendation from an academic and two from individuals who can evaluate your professional experience. However, please thoroughly look at the requirements and qualifications of the program you are applying to for more guidance. Overall, it will be in your best interest to have three individuals who can attest to your academic and/or professional ability to succeed in a public health career.

For academic references, we recommend you ask professors who you think will write the strongest recommendations. A strong quality letter attesting to your ability to succeed in the program will weigh more than a generic letter from a high-ranking professor.

Berkeley Public Health does not accept hard-copy letters sent to our offices.

Applications should include a resume or CV. Prior work experience, preferably in health sector related activities, is required for some programs. Resumes should include:

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

Statement of Purpose

Word limit: 1,000 words

Your Statement of Purpose should explain why you are pursuing graduate training in public health. Your essay should also explain your eventual career goals and why you need a degree in your specific program. You can choose to explain why you are pursuing this degree now and why at Berkeley Public Health. If you are applying to a doctoral program, include your proposed research topics. Please be sure to check your program’s page, as some programs have specific questions to answer. If there are no specific program guidelines, please follow the above-mentioned general guidelines.

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

Word limit: 1,000 words

Your Personal History Statement gives you an opportunity to add some individuality and depth to the information provided in your Statement of Purpose. Your Personal History Statement can include information about who you are as a person, your family background, cultural background, socioeconomic status, educational advantages and/or experiences growing up. It is intended to give you the opportunity to provide a narrative about your diverse personal experiences. It is important to be concise and impactful by focusing on a specific part of your life experience.

You may also use the personal history statement to describe any impacts the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on you, such as your academics, obtaining employment, or pursuing public health experiences. We understand that there may be downstream effects of the pandemic on your ability to meet criteria for admission that is beyond your control. Use this essay to provide context on your other application materials, and elaborate on anything that may be helpful for the admissions committee to be aware of.

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

All applicants who attended college in a country/region in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency via a TOEFL or IELTS score, regardless of whether or not English was the primary language of instruction at your college. This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, Israel, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and non-English-speaking countries in Africa.

We recommend that you plan to take any required exams no later than October to allow time for scores to arrive in time for consideration for fall admission.

For Summer/Fall 2023, tests taken before June 1, 2021 will not be accepted even if your score was reported to UC Berkeley.

The USMLE and other similar exams are not approved substitutes for the TOEFL.

You may be exempt from this requirement if you:

• Have a basic degree from a recognized institution in a country where the official language is English,
• Have completed a basic or advanced degree at an institution, in the United States or a United States institution abroad, where the language of instruction is English and the institution is accredited by one of the United States’ regional accrediting agencies,
• have completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with a grade B or better at a regionally accredited* institution within the United States.

If you qualify for an exemption, you must upload an unofficial transcript from the recognized U.S. institution to your Berkeley Graduate Application. If you are unsure if your country of education qualifies you for a TOEFL exemption, please contact us at sphadmit@berkeley.edu.

Minimum Scores:

• TOEFL: Paper: 570, Internet (iBT): 90
• IELTS: 7
• Scores below the minimum will require an exception request

How to submit TOEFL:

Official TOEFL test scores administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) must be submitted to UC Berkeley (code 4833). We do not accept MyBest Scores.

How to submit IELTS:

Beginning for the Fall 2022 application cycle, we will no longer be accepting paper Test Report Forms. All IELTS scores must be sent electronically from the testing center, no institution code is required, directly to UC Berkeley.

Our address for identification purposes is: University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Division, Sproul Hall Rm 318, MC 5900, Berkeley, CA 94720.

Please do not mail any score reports to us.

Graduates of recognized academic institutions outside the United States should hold a degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Equivalency is determined by International Evaluators in the Graduate Admissions Office. If you are unsure if your degree is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree, you can email us at sphadmit@berkeley.edu.

Submitting Transcripts to SOPHAS

Official World Education Services (WES) ICAP Evaluations of international transcripts are required to be sent to SOPHAS. SOPHAS will not accept any foreign transcripts or translated foreign transcripts; only an evaluation for U.S. equivalency via WES will be accepted.

We require a WES ICAP course-by-course evaluation which costs $208 (fees subject to change). It should be sent directly to your SOPHAS application, not to Berkeley Public Health.

Please do not send any materials to Berkeley Public Health—any unsolicited materials will be destroyed.

Submitting Transcripts to Berkeley Graduate Application

Please upload copies of unofficial or official foreign transcripts and degrees to the UC Berkeley Graduate application. Academic records should:

• Be issued in the original language and accompanied by English translations if required (usually prepared by your university or Ministry of Education, unless the institution issues original documents in English)
  • English translations are required for all languages except Spanish; degree names and grades should be transliterated, not converted into English words or the U.S. grades of A-F.
  • If your home institution does not issue documents in English, you may submit translations prepared by certified translators for the American Translators Association.
• In general, be issued by the school and include the school’s stamp or embossed seal and the signature of the authorizing official. For more detailed information on acceptable documents, please contact us at sphadmit@berkeley.edu.
• If your academic records do not include official evidence of the award of your degree, you must also submit additional documents that verify the degree conferral, such as a degree certificate.

Official transcripts or academic records for all university-level studies you have completed abroad will be required to be re-submitted directly to UC Berkeley if admitted. Although SOPHAS accepts WES evaluations, UC Berkeley does not accept WES evaluations for matriculation purposes.

We are unable to provide international applicant fee waivers for the UC Berkeley Graduate Application at this time. AB540 students may apply for the fee waiver if they meet the eligibility criteria. Please contact the Graduate Admissions Office for instructions.

SOPHAS offers fee waivers for international applicants from select countries. Please read more about which countries are eligible and access the International-based fee waiver form on this page. You can also request a 50% off WES evaluation coupon in the wavier form.