By Alec Rosenberg
By 2020, the public health profession faces a worker shortage of 250,000 nationwide, including 30,000 in California.
Together, UC's public health schools enroll more than 1,200 graduate students each year (two-thirds master's, one-third doctoral students), with UC Berkeley enrolling another 350 undergraduates in a public health major. While the state's economic crisis has halted plans to more than double enrollment, a $5 million endowment from Kaiser Permanente is helping UC Berkeley add 15-20 students a year.
UC students account for more than 65 percent of master's and 80 percent of doctoral candidates in California's public health schools. UC runs the nation's largest health sciences training program, with 16 health professional schools and more than 14,000 students.