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Bay Area Community Health Fellows Program:

Information for Students

Turn Public Health Knowledge into Real-World Community-Based Action

As a UC Berkeley MPH student, your education extends beyond the classroom. The Bay Area Community Health Fellows Program gives students hand-on opportunities to work with frontline community organizations and local government agencies in San Francisco, Alameda County, and the City of Richmond.

Fellows will complete paid practicums with partners who are tackling four of the most urgent community health challenges facing our region today: homelessness, addiction and recovery, mental health, and community violence.

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What You Will Gain

Hands-on field experience: Lead a high-impact practicum project that addresses urgent community needs across our priority focus areas and geographic regions.

Mentorship and leadership development: Learn directly from experienced community leaders, advocates, and public health practitioners.

Financial support: Participate in a paid practicum fulfilling your MPH real-world practice requirements.

Local professional network: Build lasting connections and career networks with regional health leaders, community partners, and fellow cohort members.

Who Should Apply?

We invite applications from first-year residential UC Berkeley MPH students who:

  • Are deeply committed to community health, public service, and community-driven solutions in San Francisco, Alameda County, and Richmond.
  • Want to focus their practicum work on homelessness, addiction and recovery, mental health, or community violence.
  • Seek to apply skills in program design and implementation, communications and engagement, policy analysis, project management, data analysis, evaluation.
  • Want to build meaningful relationships with local Bay Area organizations, leaders and communities.

How to Apply

  1. Learn more about this opportunity: Participate in info sessions and other opportunities this fall, and sign up for one of the two required fall courses: Social Impact Tuesdays or Leadership for Public Health Changemakers
  2. Submit an application: Complete the online application detailing your background and focus area interests. Applications will open on November 2 and are due November 16. Students will be notified in December if they have been admitted into the Community Health Fellows pool.
  3. Explore host projects: All students in the Community Health Fellows pool will review and rank the project opportunities from host organizations aligned with our four focus areas (rankings due in early January, list will be shared in late December).
  4. Interview and match: Participate in partner interviews to finalize fellowship placement (January and February).

Join the interest list today to receive application updates and event invitations, including to upcoming info sessions about the program.

Have more questions? View our student FAQs here.

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