Information on Elections

The SPH Student Government is an advocate for the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health student body and acts as a liaison between students and the Administration and Faculty. The Student Government shall function as a communication vehicle between these entities to involve and inform students to on-going activities and decision-making at the school.

By serving as a Student Government representative, you will have the opportunity to build strong relationships with students, faculty, and staff by representing the student voice. You will also be able to develop strong leadership skills, provide a valuable service to the student body, gain recognition as a student leader, and have the opportunity to leave your mark in helping improve the School of Public Health.

As a member of the Student Government, you will serve as an advocate of the SPH student body. The Student Government is still new, and so the new government will continue to shape roles and responsibilities. Some members will also serve as representatives on SPH Committees and will thus also represent students' interests in those capacities. At least one of the two representatives is expected to attend scheduled meetings.

Any graduate student enrolled full-time in the School of Public Health who will be enrolled for at least one year from the date of the election is eligible to represent their concentration. Essentially this means that you are eligible if you are a first-year master's level student, a first- or second-year dual-degree student, or a doctoral student with at least one year left before you graduate. If you are a second-year student in a two-year program you would be ineligible because you would graduate before being able to serve your full term.

The Student Government meets 1-2 times monthly, and most representative also attend a committee meeting once monthly. We estimate that 10-12 hours per month would be adequate to fulfill these obligations.

Since many students participate in international or out-of-state internships during summer, their presence in Berkeley is not a requirement for being elected to the Student Government. We anticipate that the minimum level of activity during the summer would revolve around communicating with the administration and preparing for orientation week at the start of the academic year. Most of these tasks should be easily accomplished via email and phone.

During the week of November 1st, your current student government representatives will pull out a call for nominations. Students can nominate any student within their concentration (master's or doctoral level) or nominate themselves to serve in Student Government. As a nominated student, you will have the option of accepting or declining a nomination to serve. If you accept your nomination, you will be asked to submit a brief candidate bio for consideration by November 8th. Each program will have two representatives. On the week of November 15th, all SPH graduate level students will have the opportunity to vote among those students nominated in their program. Students with the two highest vote counts will be selected as representatives.