The UC Berkeley School of Public Health Embraces a New Identity: Food, Nutrition, and Population Health Programs

The UC Berkeley School of Public Health has announced that its Public Health Nutrition residential and online MPH programs will be renamed Food, Nutrition, and Population Health starting on July 1, 2024. This change is the result of a year of strategic planning and reflects the program’s evolution over the years.

The Public Health Nutrition Program at UC Berkeley was established in 1953 by Ruth Lois Huenemann with a specific focus on applied nutrition, child obesity, and social disparities in nutrition and obesity. Over the years, the program has produced more than 800 leaders who work in various government agencies, nonprofit health organizations, and other institutions dealing with health and nutrition policy and programs. Each year, the program enrolls up to 17 students.

In addition to the residential program, UC Berkeley School of Public Health introduced an Online MPH concentration in Public Health Nutrition targeted towards mid-career professionals in public health in 2022. The school also initiated a new public health Dietetic Internship model aimed at developing leaders in public health nutrition who are grounded in cultural humility in 2024.

The decision to change the program’s name was made to better align with its content, course offerings, and faculty research. Dr. Barbaba Laraia, the program’s chair emphasized that while the focus remains on public health nutrition and training students as public health nutritionists, the new name better captures the program’s emphasis on the intersection of nutrition within the global food system and the importance of population health on a global scale.