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Undergraduate BA, Certificate, and Minor Programs

Undergraduate Admissions Requirements and Instructions

Major Maps

Interested in Public Health as a major? Check out the Public Health Major Map! You can explore more major maps by going to the UC Berkeley My Major Map Website.

The Public Health Major Application link is located at the bottom of this page. There are different application requirements depending on your admission year. To ensure you are submitting an eligible application that can be reviewed, please read the admissions requirements and instructions in full.

Public health seeks to improve human health through the development and application of knowledge that prevents disease, protects the public from harm, and promotes health throughout the state, the nation, and the world.

Under the Public Health major, undergraduates will develop and apply knowledge from multiple disciplines for the promotion and protection of the health of the human population, giving due consideration to principles of human rights and cultural perspectives that abound in our multicultural country and world.

The undergraduate major in Public Health is a Bachelor of Arts degree offered through the College of Letters and Science.

Undergraduate Admissions Requirements

Public Health is a High Demand Major with limited capacity. Students without a reserved seat in the Public Health major will have to apply to the Public Health major by the end of their 5th term. After completing the prerequisite coursework, they can submit an application for the major. The application procedure includes a review of an applicant’s academic preparation, essays, and a resume.

While we do our best to accept all qualified students, there is no guarantee that any one particular student will be admitted into the major. Interested students may apply to the public health major once and all admissions decisions are final. When completing the prerequisites required for the Public Health major, students should take the necessary steps to prepare for an alternative major in order to ensure a timely graduation.

  • First-Year Students Admitted Prior to Fall 2023

    Non-transfer students must apply to the public health major by the end of their 5th semester in attendance at UC Berkeley. It is strongly recommended that students apply by the end of their 4th semester so they have ample time to plan for senior-year opportunities and can graduate on time. Applications are open at the end of the Fall and Spring semester.

    A letter grade of C- or better is required for all the prerequisite courses. Most successful applicants have a above a 2.75 prerequisite GPA. Applicants with below a 2.75 prerequisite GPA will be required to address it in their Personal History Statement.

  • First-Year Students Admitted After Fall 2023

    View the L&S High-Demand Majors for First-Year Students page for additional information.

    For Students with a Reserved Seat in a High-Demand Major – Applied HD Public Health

    For first-year students admitted into UC Berkeley in Fall 2023 and onward who selected Public Health as a major, you will need to meet the following criteria and apply by the end of your 5th semester at the latest. Do not declare another major prior to declaring Public Health as this will remove “Applied HD Public Health” from your CalCentral.

    1. earn a 2.0 GPA in major prerequisite courses with at least a letter grade of a C- or higher in each course; note that a C− in all the courses would be a 1.70 GPA and a C in all the courses is a 2.0 GPA
    2. earn a 2.0 GPA for the semester in which you are declaring the major
    3. earn a 2.0 cumulative GPA
    4. submit a Declaration Form before the end of your 5th semester during the declaration window of December 17-31 or May 17-31; advisors will email this form a the end of each semester

    For Students Applying through the Comprehensive Review

    For first-year students admitted into UC Berkeley in Fall 2023 and onward who did not select Public Health as a major when applying to UC Berkeley, you will need to meet the following criteria and apply by the end of your 5th semester at the latest. Applications are open at the end of the Fall and Spring semester.

    To meet academic standards for L&S HD majors, you need to earn at least a C- or higher in each course that is required for major declaration, and a 2.0 in all of the following areas: (1) GPA in major prerequisite courses, (2) GPA in the semester that you declare the major, and (3) cumulative UC GPA.

    1. earn a 2.0 GPA in major prerequisite courses with at least a letter grade of a C- or higher in each course; note that a C− in all the courses would be a 1.70 GPA and a C in all the courses is a 2.0 GPA
    2. earn a 2.0 GPA for the semester in which you are applying the major
    3. earn a 2.0 cumulative GPA
    4. submit an application before the end of your 5th semester
  • Transfer Students

    Transfer students must apply to the major by the end of their 1st semester at UC Berkeley. Your 1st semester is considered your 5th term at UC Berkeley. Public Health has a 5th term semester cap, not including summer terms. Applications are open at the end of the Fall and Spring semester.

    A letter grade of C- or higher is required for all the prerequisite courses. Most successful applicants have a above a 2.75 prerequisite GPA. Applicants with below a 2.75 prerequisite GPA will be required to address their GPA in the Personal History Statement.

    If you have completed the prerequisites prior to your 1st semester on campus, you are eligible to apply to the major in the semester before you matriculate. Meet with an academic advisor to learn more.

Prerequisite Coursework

All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to applying to the major and with letter grades of a C- or better. If you had to retake a course, only the higher grade will be included to count towards the prerequisites. For prerequisites taken during Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021, meet with an academic advisor to discuss the grade policies for these terms.

Students may only apply to the major once and are eligible to apply up until their 5th semester. This does not include summer terms or terms away from UC Berkeley.

  • Biological Science Prerequisites

    Complete at least 7 units of coursework from the following list:

    • BIOLOGY 1A: General Biology (3)
      Per the Molecular and Cell Biology department, students are required to enroll in both Biology 1A and Biology 1AL in the same term. Biology 1AL (2) will not count towards the 7 units of Biological Science Prerequisites.
    • BIOLOGY 1B: General Biology (4)
    • MCELLBI 32: Introduction to Human Physiology (3)
    • MCELLBI 38: Stem Cell Biology, Ethics and Societal Impact (3)
    • MCELLBI 50: Immune System and Disease (3 units prior to Spring 2018; 4 units starting Spring 2018)
    • MCELLBI 55: Plagues and Pandemics (3)
    • MCELLBI C61/W61/PSYCH C61: Brain, Mind and Behavior (3)
    • NUSCTX 10 or 10S: Introduction to Human Nutrition / Managing Life (3)
  • Mathematics Prerequisites

    Complete a full year of MATH (MATH A/B):

    • MATH 1A: Calculus (4)
    • MATH 1B: Calculus (4)
    • MATH 10A: Methods of Mathematics (4)
    • MATH 10B: Methods of Mathematics (4)
    • MATH 16A: Calculus (3)
    • MATH 16B: Calculus (3)
  • Social Sciences Prerequisites

    Three courses in at least two areas:

    Psychology

    • PSYCH 1/W1 or PSYCH 2: General Principles of Psychology

    Sociology

    Note: SOCIOL 3 is no longer offered at UC Berkeley however there still may be courses that will be eligible for SOCIOL 3 transfer credit.

    • SOCIOL 1: Introduction to Sociology or N1H: Introduction to Sociology for Pre-Health Majors or SOCIOL 3 or 3AC: Principles of Sociology (4)
    • SOCIOL 5: Evaluation of Evidence (4)

    Economics

    • ECON 1 or ECON 2 or ECON C3/ENVECON C1 Introduction to Economics (4)

    Anthropology

    • ANTHRO 3 or 3AC: Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology (4)

    Political Science

    • POL SCI 2: Introduction to Comparative Politics (4)
    • POL SCI 4: Introduction to Political Theory (4)
  • Data C8 Major Requirement

    You do not have to complete Data C8 before applying to the public health major but it is strongly encouraged due to limited space in the course. This course must be completed with a letter grade.

    • Data C8: Foundations of Data Science (4)

    Data C8 (also referred to as Data 8) has reserved seating for New First Year and New Transfer Students so it is strongly recommended to complete this requirement earlier for planning purposes.

    The major will accept California Community College credit for this course requirement. See the list of equivalent DATA 8 courses (in the Preparing to Transfer section) that can be taken at a handful of community colleges in California.

    Note: For Fall 2022, if you took Data C8 at UC Berkeley, a P grade will satisfy the Public Health major requirement.

Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level Exam Credit

If you have taken both an AP or IB exam and the equivalent college-level course, we will only take the grade from the college-level course into consideration for admissions purposes. We will not accept both as two separate prerequisites.

  • Advanced Placement (AP) Exam Credit

    AP exam credit may be used to fulfill the Social Sciences and Math prerequisites. AP scores of 3, 4 or 5 are acceptable for the following courses:

    • Psychology for PSYCH 1 or PSYCH 2
    • Economics (both AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics needed) for ECON 1, 2 or 3
    • Government (either AP Comparative Government or AP Government & Politics) for POL SCI 2 or 4
    • Math
      • A minimum score of a 3 on the Math AB or BC exam is equivalent to Math 1A
      • A score of 5 on the Math BC is equivalent to MATH 1A and 1B
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level Exams

    IB Higher Level exams may be used to fulfill Social Sciences and Math prerequisites. We defer to the appropriate department to determine equivalency so please be sure to double check the department websites listed.

    • Psychology
    • Economics
    • Math – Please see Math website for prior to 2021 equivalencies.
      • IB Math Exams from 2021 onwards:
        • IB Math, Analysis and Approaches (Standard Level): No credit for any score.
        • IB Math, Analysis and Approaches (Higher Level): A score of 5, 6 or 7 can be used to satisfy Math 1A or 16A. A score of 7 can be used to satisfy Math 1A and Math 1B.
        • IB Math, Applications and Interpretations (Standard Level): No credit for any score.
        • IB Math, Applications and Interpretations (Higher Level): A score of 5, 6 or 7 can be used to satisfy Math 16A. A score of 6 or 7 can be used to satisfy Math 10A.
      • High School Exam Credits – UC Berkeley Department of Mathematics

Prerequisite Coursework Completed at Another Institution

If you took a prerequisite course at another four-year institution or an out-of-state community college, please contact the appropriate UC Berkeley department to determine the course equivalency. Be prepared to submit your syllabus along with your request (for example, if you took Math 33 at Penn State, contact the UC Berkeley Math department to see if the course is equivalent to one of our prerequisite math courses). If your coursework was taken at a California Community College and is listed on assist.org as an equivalent course, you do not need to submit additional forms.

Admissions Statistics

Public Health applications are dynamic and the admittance rate can vary. We strongly encourage students to prepare for a backup major while applying to Public Health in case there are more applicants than seats available in the major.

Fall 2023 – Spring 2024

100%

Admissions Rate*

3.45

Average Prerequisite GPA of Accepted Students

3.49

Average Overall GPA of Accepted Students

* Students who apply without having met the requirements are not included in the Admissions Rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I am applying to the major this semester, what courses should I plan to enroll in?

    You should enroll in PH elective and breadth classes first. If you have not taken Data C8, we recommend you try to enroll in this course if possible. Then you may either join a waitlist or leave room for the public health core classes you wish to take if you are admitted to the PH major.

    Alternatively, you can enroll in classes for your backup major and have a plan for what to drop and add upon receiving an admissions decision. You may want to Phase 1 the courses you need to prioritize for your alternative major, other requirements, or popular courses you are interested in that fill up quickly since Public Health core courses will have reserved seats for declared majors.

  • Will I be able to enroll in Public Health core courses when I am still applying to the major?

    While applying you may find yourself waitlisted for the Public Health core courses. Seats will be reserved for declared Public Health majors during the Phase I and II enrollment windows for the Fall and Spring semesters.

    The Public Health major application will ask which core courses you are hoping to enroll in. Upon admission into the major, the academic advisors will work with you to enroll in the core classes. Be sure you are waitlisted for an open section since students cannot enroll in lectures without selecting an open section.

    Keep in mind the enrollment unit cap. Waitlisted courses count towards the unit cap. For continuing L&S students, you can enroll in 13.5 units during Phase 1 and 17.5 units during Phase 2. For new first-year and transfer students, you can enroll in 17.5 units during Phase 1 since you do not have a Phase 2.

  • How do I change or switch my discussion section?

    Switching Related Sections (Guide)

    If you are enrolled in the class, then you can switch sections through the Enrollment Center.

    If you are not enrolled in the class, then you will have to drop and re-add the class to select a new section. This will lower your position on the waitlist however CalCentral will prioritize students on the waitlist who are waitlisted for an open section. If you are #21 but the 20 students ahead of you in the waitlist selected a section that is full, they will not be able to enroll into the lecture. If you choose a section that is open and there are seats in the lecture, then you will have a higher chance of enrolling in the class.

    If you find you are unable to drop and re-add the course, be sure you are trying to do so during your allotted enrollment time.

  • I plan to graduate early, what do I need to do?

    If you are graduating early, you will need to plan your courses carefully since some of the core courses are only offered once an academic year. You can review the major requirements through the BA Curriculum.

    There may be senior year opportunities you may not be eligible for if you have not completed PB HLTH 142 and PB HLTH 150A prior to your final year, such as the Honors Thesis and certain 4+1 MPH programs.

    Prioritize enrollment into a senior Capstone and PB HLTH 150E (offered Spring only). Senior Capstones may vary each academic year and may require completion of PB HLTH 142 and 150A.

Undergraduate Application Instructions

Before submitting your application, please review the Undergraduate Admissions Requirements. The application process outlined below only applies to select students.

Before submitting your application, please review the Undergraduate Admissions Requirements. The application process outlined below only applies to select students.

There are two application cycles. Applications are not reviewed on a rolling basis.

  • Fall Application: December 17–31
  • Spring Application: May 17–31

Holistic Review and Applications with Below a 2.75 GPA

Our admissions process consists of a holistic review by multiple committee members. Although academic performance is important, your ability to articulate your passion for public health is equally as important.

The committee evaluates applications based on the following three criteria:

  • A review of your academic preparation through prerequisite coursework and GPA
  • Your personal, professional and volunteer experiences, especially those regarding your decision to pursue public health
  • Your future leadership potential in public health

If a student has a prerequisite GPA below a 2.75, they are required to address the academic difficulties in their personal history statement. Students below this GPA will be pre-screened. After the initial screening, these students will be considered among the remaining applicants.

A holistic review will include looking at academics, leadership, work and volunteer experience, and essays.

For transcripts, the Review Committee takes note of the grades and the type of coursework completed. The two essays provide additional information to compliment the coursework taken. If a student’s GPA is not the best, being able to explain in one of the essays what is going on for that student is essential.

For resumes, strong applicants clearly highlight public health related research, community involvement, or volunteering they have done or continue to do.

A student should think about how to tell your complete story to reviewers through centering the application to answer the why and what in Public Health.

  • Why Public Health?
  • What are you going to do with this degree specifically that will help you with your goals?

In summary, a strong application is cohesive in how it connects the two essays, the resume, and the previous coursework taken. You can join the SPHUG Prospective Student Listserv to hear of any Pre-Application Workshops the Public Health Peer Advisors host each semester.

Application Components

The application will require the following components:

  • Statement of Purpose

    Review the Writing the Statement of Purpose from the UC Berkeley Graduate Division for additional guidance on how to approach these questions. View the Essay Format Example.

    1. What have you done to learn about Public Health in your time in college or UC Berkeley? What are your previous experiences in Public Health? If you do not have any experiences in public health, why? (200 words)
    2. What do you plan to do in Public Health after graduation? How do you see the Public Health major helping you achieve your goals? (200 words)
    3. Describe an experience where you demonstrate leadership qualities. (100 words)

    If you are a double major or simultaneous degree applicant, you are required to answer the following question in your statement. When planning courses, please keep in mind the overlap policies and consider how you would plan around time conflicts for required courses.

    1. Why are you choosing to pursue two majors, and how will they prepare you for a career related to public health? (100 words)
  • Personal History Statement

    Your Personal History Statement gives you the chance to add individuality and depth to the information provided in your Statement of Purpose. Your essay can include information about who you are as a person, your family background, cultural background, socioeconomic status, educational disadvantages and experiences growing up. This is an opportunity to provide a narrative about your diverse life experiences.

    Review the Writing the Personal Statement from UC Berkeley Graduate Division for additional guidance.

    The word limit for the Personal History Statement is 400 words.

    Note: If you have a prerequisite GPA of a 2.75 or below, you must explain by stating the following “I have a prerequisite GPA below a 2.75 because…” within your personal history statement’s 400 words. This is not a separate statement. If you have questions please contact the undergraduate advisors at sphug@berkeley.edu.

  • Resume or CV

    The purpose of submitting your CV or resume is to demonstrate your future leadership potential in public health. The review committee would like to see what type of opportunities you have been involved in that are related to your specific public health interest. Opportunities can range from involvement in jobs, internships, research, volunteering, or student organizations.

    The Berkeley Career Engagement Resume page is a good resource for learning how to enhance your resume. There are career workshops and appointments available to students.

  • Prerequisite Information and GPA Calculation Form

    Demonstrate that you have met the application requirements for the major through the Prerequisite Information and GPA Calculation form. Use the form below and review some of the examples as you complete this part of the application.

  • Academic Records

    You will be required to include copies of your unofficial transcripts to show confirmation that you have completed and met the requirements for the prerequisite coursework.

    Please highlight the course and grade for the applicable prerequisite coursework, if possible.

    Accepted types of academic records:

    • Unofficial copy of your UC Berkeley transcript (an unofficial transcript [Academic Summary] from CalCentral or screenshots of your CalCentral would be sufficient)
    • Unofficial transcripts from other institutions (if using towards prerequisites)
    • Unofficial copy of your AP Exams score report (if using AP scores towards prerequisites)

Application Checklist

Submit the following materials in a PDF format. You will be required to upload each of these documents individually and in one combined file.

Review the UC Berkeley Unofficial Transcripts and Merging Application Materials Guide.

  1. Statement of Purpose and Personal History Statement Essays
    1. Save your PDF file as “LastName_FirstName_essays.pdf”
  2. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
    1. Save your PDF file as “LastName_FirstName_resume.cv.pdf”
  3. Prerequisite Information and GPA Calculation Form
    1. Save your PDF file as “LastName_FirstName_GPA.pdf”
  4. Academic Records
    1. Please highlight the course and grade for the applicable prerequisite coursework, if possible.
    2. Save your PDF file as “LastName_FirstName_transcripts.AP.pdf”
  5. Other Required Uploads
    1. Only upload application materials that have been requested. Additional materials that have not been requested will not be considered in the admissions decisions.
    2. Save your PDF file as “LastName_FirstName_other.pdf”
  6. Combined Application Materials PDF
    1. Combine all the files into one PDF in the order of the checklist above.
    2. Save your PDF file as “lastname_firstname_PHApplication.pdf”
Admissions Notification

Admissions Notification

Admissions results are sent via email once all the applications are reviewed. This process may take up to 6 weeks.

Declaration Policy of Public Health Major

Students admitted into the major should complete their declaration no later than 3 months (12 weeks) of the admissions email. If a student is switching majors within L&S or undeclared in L&S, no action is required from the student.

If Change of College, Double Major, or Simultaneous Degree paperwork is needed, then the student must submit all the required paperwork by this deadline. The Public Health advisors will notify you of the required forms after you have been admitted to the major.

  • Students applying in the Fall cycle (December 17–31) should complete the declaration process by mid April.
  • Students applying in the Spring cycle (May 17–31) should complete the declaration process by mid October.

Failure to meet this deadline will result in an automatic drop from the major, no exceptions.

Apply

By submitting an application for admission to the public health major, you certify that the information provided is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. Any student found to have provided false documentation will receive an automatic denial to the major and may be referred to the Center for Student Conduct.

If you have read all of the application instructions in full and you are ready to apply, click the button below. We wish you the best of luck!

Application Form

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