Food, Nutrition and Population Health

The UC Berkeley Food, Nutrition and Population Health Program trains future leaders in food and nutrition practice, policy and research to identify emerging nutrition and food-systems challenges and solutions and evaluate their impact. We aim to address historical and current inequities in nutrition and food systems, with an emphasis on systems-level change. Acknowledging the climate crisis, we look for ways to enhance resiliency in food systems and move towards greater food sovereignty.

The program is structured to provide students with the skills needed to: contribute to the scientific understanding of public health nutrition challenges; create healthy and equitable food systems; identify and advocate for effective food and nutrition policies; plan, implement, and evaluate programs; and conduct implementation research to improve nutrition and health for communities and populations. We seek to train people who want to lead at the local, state, national, and global levels in improving food systems, nutrition and health.

Curriculum

We offer a two-year MPH, 11-month MPH, and a 4+1 MPH. The two-year, full-time MPH graduate students are expected to complete at least 48 units of coursework over four academic semesters and one summer. Students must complete both school-wide required courses as well as FNPH required courses. All two-year MPH students complete a public health practice experience for a minimum of 12 weeks over the summer between their first and second years in the program. Internship sites are chosen from a wide range of public health organizations and research institutions and are selected based on the student’s objectives for professional development and the needs of the organization. Many sites are local, but students may also intern in other parts of the country or the world.

The 11-month MPH program with a concentration in Food, Nutrition and Population Health is offered to professional Registered Dietitians (RDs) who have at least 2 years of work experience as an RD. It is also open to qualified health professionals such as physicians and nurses. The 11-month program focuses specifically on developing skills in nutrition epidemiology and research. It is an intensive, full-time course of study running from July to May. The program requires completion of 7 units of coursework in Summer Session, and at least 16–18 units of coursework in the fall and spring semesters. Total unit requirement is 42 units.

A 4+1 MPH program in Food, Nutrition and Population Health is offered to UC Berkeley Public Health Undergraduate Majors & Alumni only. Please see the 4+1 FNPH program page for more information.

Our in-residence programs are full-time programs only. For a part-time program option, please see the 27-month online MPH program’s Food, Nutrition and Population Health Concentration.