2006
Undegraduate Program Honored
Undergraduate Public Health Major Receives Educational Initiatives Award
The Public Health Undergraduate Major was selected to receive the Berkeley campus's Educational Initiatives Award, which is presented annually to a department or unit on the Berkeley campus in recognition of distinctive contributions to undergraduate education. The award was presented at a public ceremony at UC Berkeley on Wednesday, April 26.
Designed to complement the campus's Distinguished Teaching Award for individual faculty, the Educational Initiatives Award is presented to a department, unit or group of faculty that has created an outstanding program or initiative that has had a sustained impact upon undergraduate education and can serve as a workable model for others on campus.
The Public Health Undergraduate Program, which admitted its first student in fall 2003, represents a major national innovation in the field: it is one of only a few undergraduate public health majors in the country, although a number of schools have implemented minors or areas of concentration. The major, with over 220 students, consists of six rigorous core courses (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Health Policy and Management, Community Health and Human Behavior and Public Health Microbiology). In addition to the core courses, the major includes an honors program, two student groups, a peer mentor program, an internship program and a summer training program. Student response has been overwhelming; there are 300 students on the waiting list for the major. "The Public Health Undergraduate Program was the highlight of my college career, and it has also made a profound change in my life," said one of the first graduates from the program.
Dean Stephen Shortell commented, "This program has enabled us to recruit bright, enthusiastic Berkeley undergraduates to the broad field of public health. Our faculty deserve the credit for extending our educational mission while continuing our excellence in research and graduate-level instruction."