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Opening Message

Hello everyone! We are getting close to the end of the semester and the holiday season will soon be upon us. The entire OOMPH team hopes that the pause before spring courses can be an opportunity for renewal of energies and your commitment to being public health changemakers.  


Many of you are already doing important work that has a clear impact on the health of others and that impact is spread across a diverse range of communities and needs. As we launch the inaugural cohort of the Rural Health Innovation (RHI) Scholars this spring, I wanted to share a few of the critical issues from the CDC that touch the lives of rural Americans (15% of the US population!):


  • Rural Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than their urban counterparts. 
  • Unintentional injury deaths are ~50% higher in rural areas than in urban areas, partly due to greater risk of death from motor vehicle crashes and opioid overdoses. 
  • 80% of rural areas in the country are medically underserved areas, while rural Americans tend to be older, sicker and poorer than their urban counterparts. 
  • Almost 200 rural hospitals have closed in the past two decades, and hundreds more are on the brink of financial collapse.


Our new RHI Scholars come from all parts of rural America and are passionate about seeking and implementing innovative ways to improve health status in their communities. During their time in OOMPH they will be looking at different solutions that could range from federal reimbursement policies, telehealth interventions, new staffing models and the rise of retailers like Walmart and Dollar Tree expanding their health care offerings into these areas. We will all be able to learn from their unique lived experience!

Looking forward to their arrival and the collaboration!


Kim MacPherson

Faculty Director, HPM

Welcoming Our Spring 2024 Cohort

Welcome to our newest cohort of BPH Online MPH’ers - the Spring 2024 cohort! You are a cohort that is 85+ strong, representing a majority of states in the US and a handful of other countries.  I am especially excited to kick off our Rural Health Innovation program by welcoming 50 Rural Health Innovation (RHI) Scholars into this spring cohort. Whether you are an RHI Scholar or not, we’re excited to watch you as you transfer your MPH learnings into improving public health in your communities and the world. Wherever you will log in from, you will be part of a community anchored in our Mission: Healthy People, Locally and Globally and guided by our values. I encourage you to embrace this exciting and intellectually rigorous (and fun!) educational journey ahead of you and know that you have the support of BPH Online’s faculty and staff who care deeply about your success. 

I look forward to meeting many of you on zoom at the New Student Orientation on Monday, Dec. 11 (5pm PT).


Go Bears!

Cathy Garza

Executive Director, Berkeley Public Health Online


Help us welcome the incoming Spring 2024 cohort!

Monthly Observance - Native American & Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month

Happy Native American & Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month! We would like to take a moment to Honor Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American in the United States to receive a medical degree for Native American Heritage Month | The View. 


Land Acknowledgement: We recognize that UC Berkeley sits on the territory of xučyun (Huichin), the original landscape of the Chochenyo speaking Ohlone people, the successors of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. 


UC Berkeley is honoring this month by hosting various events around campus. For more information, please visit UC Berkeley Division of Equity & Belonging for news, resources to practice allyship, and resources for faculty, staff and students. We are still here. 

Important Announcements

Important Dates and Deadlines: 



  • November 14 - Phase II for Spring enrollment begins for continuing students
  • November 18 - Fourth installment of fee payment due
  • November 23 - Academic & administrative holiday
  • November 24 - Academic & administrative holiday

Grayout Week:

The Student Services & Advising team is introducing Grayout week starting Monday, December 18 - December 22, 2023. This week our advising staff will be taking a pause on student appointments and emails to focus on meeting the Graduate Division deadlines for degree completion for our fall graduates, and work on short term/long term projects for the upcoming spring semester. We are encouraging students to send notifications, documentation and/or schedule their appointments to meet with the Program Managers and/or Faculty advisors before the week of December 18, 2023. Starting on December 18, 2023 OOMPH students will be advised to email Judy Smithson, Interim Dean for Students & Director of Student Services & Advisingat jsmithson@berkeley.edu during Grayout week for any urgent matters. Thank you for your understanding. 

Congratulations to our upcoming Fall 2023 graduates!


The School of Public Health (SPH) will host commencement for Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024 graduates on Monday, May 13, 2023 at the Greek Theatre (more details to come). If you want to participate in the Fall commencement please note that no SPH faculty or staff will be present. For more information please visit the Fall 2023 University Commencement FAQ

Course Enrollment

First Year Students (Admitted Fall 2023):

In your second semester, in the OOMPH program students must enroll in the required breadth courses for a total of 6 units per term. You will be able to enroll for Spring 2024


Spring Full Term Courses: January 16 - May 5, 2024

Required 1st Year Courses:

  • PHW142: Introduction to Probability and Statistics (4 units)
  • Enrollment # 16925 (Letter Grade)
  • PHW200F: Introduction to Environmental Health Sciences (2 units)
  • Enrollment # 27177 (Letter Grade)

Unit Limit: 6 (Do not exceed this limit)

Continuing Students (Admitted Prior to Fall 2023):

Thank you to those who enrolled in phase I for spring 2024. If you are not enrolled, we encourage you to enroll in early phase II, which begins on November 14th. Early enrollment will allow our staff to make sure our courses are staffed accordingly. If you have any questions and/or concerns about Spring enrollment, please reach out to your  Program Manager.


Here are some tools to assist with your enrollment:

  • To review course offerings and to access course syllabi from a previous term, please go to our Course Catalog
  • For current course offerings, class numbers for enrollment, and key dates please go to our Program Calendar
  • Curriculum Planner: The function of this tool is for current students to enter different start dates/program concentrations to see recommended schedules, and anticipated dates for practicum & comp exam completion, as well as graduation.
  • Tool to track progress in Graduate Division and Department Requirements: Academic Progress Report (APR) in Calcentral>>My Academics>>Degree Progress 


Enrolling in Over 6 Units (Approval Needed)

We would like to send a reminder on the policy around enrolling in more than 6 units. The goal is to make sure you will be academically successful, please review the following eligibility requirements: 


  1. You must complete 3 semesters of breadth courses and 18 units in the program. This includes having resolved Incompletes in required breadth courses (W142, W250, W200E, W200F, W200G). 
  2. You must have a cumulative GPA of  3.3 or greater.
  3. You must receive approval from your faculty advisor. 


If you have questions and/or concerns, please contact your program manager

Student Spotlight

Congratulations to Noemi Alejandra Mauricio, recipient of the 2023 National Hispanic Health Foundation NHHF Student Scholarship!

Congratulations to the following OOMPH students for having their concept notes accepted into the first phase of the Social Impact Innovation Grant Program!


  • Rutendo Ayaji
  • Project: Black Lactation Matters
  • John Kim
  • Project: Multi-day COFA family conference
  • Belinda Odhiambo
  • Project: Improving Access and responsiveness of HIV/AIDS Services among persons living with HIV and disability in Homa bay county, Kenya.
  • John Mboya
  • Project: Improving Access and responsiveness of HIV/AIDS Services among persons living with HIV and disability in Homa bay county, Kenya.


Read more about the students and their projects here.

Events

October Group Advising Sessions


Thank you to those who came out to the Group Advising Sessions, we hosted a total of 85 students. A special congratulations to our raffle winners: Lauren Oommen, Noor Ayyad, Nhu Thuc (Lily) Trinh and Kateryna Louchnikov who each received a $25 gift certificate to the CalStudent Bookstore.


For more information on these sessions, please visit Student Gateway>>Event Archive for presentation materials and recording. 

Academic Support

Native American Student Development


The Native American Student Development Office (NASD) at Berkeley exists to serve and support the diverse and changing needs of Native students in their time at Cal. For more information on resources for students, faculty and staff, please click on this link

Career and Practicum

APPLY NOW: 130+ Hour Practicum Opportunities on PHLEX


  • Access PHLEX for a complete list of additional opportunities including GSI/GSR, practicum, and part/full-time. Please note that several practicum opportunities on PHLEX are curated exclusively for OOMPH students by community partners. 
  • Don’t forget to book an appointment with RISE on PHLEX (navigate to left panel labeled Appointments) to strategize your search, have your application materials reviewed, and/or receive interview support! RISE is here to assist you in presenting your strongest application.


Some current practicum opportunities (visit PHLEX for complete list):