Center of Excellence in MCAH

About the Center of Excellence in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health

As just one of 13 HRSA-funded Centers of Excellence (CoE) in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH), we draw on over 70 years of demonstrated expertise in training and preparing future leaders in the field of MCAH. We have provided superior graduate training, continuing education, research, and service since our founding in 1953. The program has over 1,250 alumni across the country and world. It is our mission to develop the next generation of leaders equipped to solve the health challenges facing women, birthing people, children, adolescents and families of the 21st century. 

The purpose of our CoE in MCAH is to:

  1. Strengthen and expand the MCAH workforce by training graduate and post-graduate public health students in MCAH

  2. Advance MCAH science, research, practice and policy through a well-trained MCAH public health workforce. 

Fact Sheet for HRSA Centers of Excellence in MCH in Education, Science, and Practice

How does being a Center of Excellence benefit our MCAH students?

Students who are accepted into UC Berkeley’s Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Master of Public Health Program are automatically considered trainees of the CoE in MCAH. By being a trainee of the CoE they are exposed to numerous opportunities especially created to strengthen their leadership in MCAH through knowledge and skill building that is necessary to build public health capacity. This is done through a multi-pronged approach that includes: 

  • Multifaceted and interdisciplinary graduate curriculum

  • Dynamic learning environments that are designed to respond to newly emerging issues in MCAH and address the unique needs of the diverse communities and cultures of the San Francisco Bay Area, State of California, the United States, and the world

  • Supplemental funding to support academics and professional development opportunities (e.g., traineeships, student employment, funding for conference presentations, etc.)

  • MCAH-focused summer practicum placements

  • Collaborative projects with MCAH communities and Title V partners

  • Dedicated faculty and staff to support MCAH trainee career exploration and workforce development

Professor Cassondra Marshall lectures to a group of students

Program Goals & Objectives

As a Center of Excellence in MCAH our three core goals are:

  1. To provide the best education possible to develop graduates who are prepared to lead Title V and other MCAH organizations and promote and protect the health status of diverse MCAH populations.
  2. To prepare public health and health care professionals to be leaders in the field of MCAH with a culturally competent, multidisciplinary, community oriented, ethical, and cost-effective vision of maternal, child and adolescent health, with the skills that can help solve the health challenges of the 21st century.
  3. To work closely with Title V and other MCAH programs at the state, local, national, and global levels to mobilize large scale, synergistic efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities and barriers to health that affect MCAH populations.
As a Center of Excellence in MCAH, our objectives and activities are designed to:
  • Prepare future leaders in the service of MCAH populations across the state, nation and world;
  • Recruit, train and mentor a diverse cadre of MCAH students responsive to changing economic, political and demographic trends;
  • Train students to identify how health equity, social determinants, and risk and protective factors contribute to health outcomes for women, children, adolescents, children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), and families; analyze data that support these observations; and design interventions to improve health outcomes;
  • Develop, foster and sustain cultural and linguistic competence in MCAH across all aspects of our academic curriculum, research, and programmatic activities;
  • Conduct cutting-edge research that addresses priority needs of MCAH populations, nationally and globally, and increases the evidence base for decision makers and practitioners; and
  • Build strong partnerships with other MCAH Training Programs and CoE, Title V stakeholders and MCAH communities to advance and share knowledge and skills, strengthen professional networks, and provide technical assistance and continuing education in MCAH.

Current Degree Program Offerings

Please visit the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Program page on the Berkeley Public Health website for more information.

No online degree programs with a concentration in MCAH are available at this time.

This website is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Grant Number T76MC00002, Centers of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health in Education, Science and Practice. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.