UC Berkeley Center for Global Public Health Research Fellowships 2024

The UC Berkeley Center for Global Public Health at the School of Public Health established its annual graduate student research fellowships in 2008 to provide experiential learning for UC Berkeley students who are interested in pursuing a career in global public health. Since then, the CGPH has sent over 100 graduate student fellows to 32 countries around the world. Through these experiences, our fellows have been given the invaluable experience to apply classroom knowledge into real-life global health settings. They have gained diverse tools and skills in overlapping public health areas: infectious disease epidemiology, maternal and child health, health policy and systems, the environmental health sciences/WASH, and global health reporting.

This year, we will award approximately 5 research fellowships in the amount of $2,000-$5,000 to qualified students who are selected, via a competitive evaluation process, to support 8-12 weeks of international travel and research activities in summer. The student's project must be based in a low- to middle-income country (LMIC). These sites are often established field study sites of research faculty from UC Berkeley. UC Berkeley students who are working under affiliated faculty from UC San Francisco (UCSF), Stanford, and UC Davis will also be considered. Students must have a direct faculty supervisor from one of these universities who will help oversee their work and provide a letter of support to CGPH. The student should also have an on-site field supervisor for the proposed research.

The CGPH welcomes proposed research projects in all public health disciplines. 

Call for proposals: Proposals for research fellowships are due March 6, 2024 at 11:59 PM. Fellows will be notified prior to the end of March.

Eligibility: Students must currently be enrolled in a graduate degree program at UC Berkeley. Students enrolled in UCB-UCSF joint programs (i.e., the JMP or MTM program) are also eligible.

Application Requirements: Applicants should develop a research proposal with the help of their mentors (on-site and at one of the eligible universities). To apply, please email the first three application materials listed below as a single PDF to cgph@berkeley.edu titled “FIRST LAST CGPH Fellows Application 2024.pdf” prior to the deadline.

Applications should include:

1. A two-page research proposal that contains (at a minimum):

• Project title
• Research Aims
  • Relevant background information
  • A description of the public health problem your proposal seeks to address/explore
• Specific aims and/or hypotheses
• Methods
  • On-site collaborators (including a description of how you will train/work with local students, researchers, and affiliates to ensure the equitable and ethical conduct of research and dissemination of results)
  • Methodology (study design, sample size, IRB approval (local and international), etc.)
  • A discussion of the strengths and limitations of the chosen methodology
  • A projection of potential obstacles and description(s) of solutions/alternative strategies or resources that can be used to overcome
• Anticipated results/conclusions/public health significance
• Personal motivation
  • How are you prepared for this experience (e.g. language training)?
  • How will this opportunity help advance your long-term (career) public health goals?
• Timeline and flexibility
  • Please indicate how aspects of the research plan/activities could be modified to work remotely or shifted if COVID restrictions arise.

2. Budget--including airfare, living expenses, immunizations, incidentals, etc. You are required to indicate if any of these costs will be defrayed by other funding sources.

3. Curriculum vitae

4. Please have letters of support from faculty mentor (required) and/or external site advisor (if applicable) sent to cgph@berkeley.edu before the deadline. 

Student commitments required for the award:

• Attend the pre-departure workshops (TBD: April/May 2024)
• Develop a Field Safety Plan that is finalized prior to dispersal of funds, signed by student and mentor(s)
• Register with UC Travel, the US Dept of State Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), and Worldcue
• Prior to travel: UCB CPHS approval (IRB) for human subjects research (if exempt, send us a letter indicating the exemption), as well as local IRB approval letters
• Mid-summer update to CGPH (can be via skype, email, or a brief written report)
• 2-3 page final report/summary on the experience in the form of a short report/brief
• A minimum of two summer research updates/blog posts to be displayed on the CGPH website, and photos
• Presentation at the Fall 2024 Summer Fellowship Symposium 

Evaluation:

Proposals will be evaluated by a faculty committee based on:

• Public health relevance and effectiveness of proposed methodology
• Feasibility of the project and budget according to timeline (8-12 weeks)
• Strength of student's background, including preparedness for working abroad