Public health internships span local health departments, federal agencies like the CDC and EPA, hospitals, nonprofit health organizations, research universities, pharmaceutical companies, and consulting firms. Start building experience by sophomore year through research assistant positions or volunteer work at community health organizations. The strongest internships give you hands-on data analysis, program evaluation, or outbreak investigation experience — not just administrative tasks.
Katarina declared public health because she wanted to work on health equity. By junior year, she realized that "wanting to work on health equity" does not translate into a job description. The practicum coordinator handed her a list of placement sites, and she had no idea how to tell which ones would build her career and which ones would have her stuffing envelopes for a semester.
The hidden anxiety for public health students is the gap between the degree's broad scope and the reality of landing specific, career-building experience. The field spans epidemiology, environmental health, health policy, community health, biostatistics, and global health. Without strategic internship choices, you graduate with a generalist degree and no clear professional identity.
If you are evaluating whether a public health degree is worth it, the internship picture reveals which career paths are accessible at the bachelor's level and which require an MPH. Our public health careers guide covers the full range of options.
When to Start Looking
Your timeline depends on your career direction, but starting earlier than you think is necessary gives you a significant advantage.
Freshman year: Volunteer at a community health organization or local health department. The work will be basic — data entry, event support, outreach assistance — but it establishes relationships and demonstrates early commitment to the field.
Sophomore year: Apply for research assistant positions in faculty public health or epidemiology labs. Begin learning SAS, R, or Stata if your coursework has not covered them yet. If your campus has a student-run health promotion program, get involved.
Junior year (September through March): Apply to structured internship programs at the CDC, state health departments, hospitals, and major nonprofits. This is also when you apply for competitive summer programs like the CDC's Public Health Associate Program application timeline (which hires recent graduates). Many programs require your practicum placement during junior or senior year — work with your practicum coordinator early.
Senior year: Complete your practicum or capstone internship. Use the placement to build your professional network and to clarify whether you want to enter the workforce directly or pursue an MPH.
Where to Find Public Health Internships
Local and state health departments are the single largest employer of public health interns. They hire for disease surveillance, community health assessment, health education program delivery, environmental health inspection, and data analysis. The work is real public health — you may track disease cases in surveillance databases, conduct community health surveys, or assist with restaurant inspections. Most positions are paid or offer stipends, though compensation varies by jurisdiction.
The CDC offers several internship and fellowship programs for undergraduates and recent graduates. The CDC's Undergraduate Public Health Scholars (CUPS) program is a 10-week summer program in Atlanta. The Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) is a two-year paid fellowship for recent bachelor's graduates deployed to state and local health departments nationwide. PHAP is highly competitive (acceptance rate around 5-8%) but provides exceptional career-launching experience.
Hospitals and health systems hire public health interns in community benefit departments, population health management, quality improvement, infection prevention, and research. Hospital-based internships expose you to the intersection of clinical care and population health. Compensation is typically paid ($15-$25/hour).
If you are targeting the CDC's Public Health Associate Program (PHAP), start preparing by sophomore year. PHAP looks for candidates with field experience, public health coursework, and demonstrated commitment to underserved communities. A strong practicum at a local health department plus volunteer work with a community health organization gives you the profile they are recruiting. The program deploys you to health departments nationwide for two years, and the professional network you build during PHAP is career-defining.
Nonprofit health organizations like the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and local community health centers hire interns for health education, program evaluation, grant writing, fundraising, and community outreach. The work is mission-driven and often provides broad exposure to multiple public health functions.
Federal agencies beyond the CDC hire public health interns through the Pathways Internship Program. The EPA hires environmental health interns. The FDA hires interns for food safety and drug regulation. HHS hires for health policy analysis. NIH hires for research support. Federal internships are paid and provide direct exposure to national-level public health policy.
Research universities employ public health students as research assistants on epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and health services research. The work involves data collection, survey administration, data management, and basic analysis. These positions build the research skills that MPH programs and employers value.
Pharmaceutical and consulting companies offer competitive summer internships in epidemiology, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), medical affairs, and regulatory affairs. Companies like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Deloitte Health, and McKinsey hire MPH students more frequently than undergraduates, but bachelor's-level internships exist in data management and research support roles.
The CDC's Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) has placed over 2,600 associates since its founding, and PHAP alumni report high rates of continued employment in public health. Approximately 85% of PHAP graduates remain in public health careers, with many going on to earn MPH degrees funded by their employers. The program is one of the most effective pathways from a bachelor's degree to a meaningful public health career without immediately pursuing graduate school1.
Where to search: USAjobs.gov (federal positions), your state health department website, Handshake, APHA (American Public Health Association) career resources, Public Health Foundation job board, Indeed (search "public health intern"), your practicum coordinator, and faculty professional networks.
Paid vs. Unpaid: The Reality
Public health internships are more likely to be paid than internships in many other social science fields, largely because health departments and hospitals have dedicated funding for interns.
Federal internships (CDC, EPA, FDA, NIH) are paid through the Pathways program or specific fellowship funding. State and local health department positions are usually paid ($14-$22/hour) or offer stipends. Hospital positions are typically paid ($15-$25/hour). Pharmaceutical company internships are well-compensated ($20-$35/hour).
Community-based nonprofit internships are the most likely to be unpaid or offer only small stipends. Academic research assistant positions may be for credit or hourly pay ($12-$18/hour).
Do not default to unpaid nonprofit internships when paid health department or hospital positions exist. The skills you build are similar, the resume value is comparable, and the compensation allows you to sustain yourself financially. Unpaid internships in public health often reflect the organization's budget constraints, not the value of your labor. Prioritize paid positions that develop data analysis, epidemiology, or program evaluation skills.
Required practicum placements are a mix. Some practicum sites pay interns; others provide academic credit without compensation. If your program requires an unpaid practicum, try to complete it at a site that provides exceptionally strong professional development or networking opportunities to offset the financial cost.
What Employers Actually Want From Public Health Interns
Data skills. Can you work with spreadsheets, enter data accurately, use basic statistical software, and generate summary reports? This is the minimum competency that separates productive interns from those who need constant supervision.
Epidemiological thinking. Can you describe a disease surveillance system, explain what an incidence rate is, or identify potential bias in a study design? Even at the intern level, demonstrating that you understand public health concepts rather than just terminology signals professional readiness.
Communication ability. Can you write a clear summary of findings for a non-technical audience? Can you present data in a meeting? Public health work involves constant communication with policymakers, community members, and organizational leaders.
Reliability and initiative. This sounds generic, but in government and nonprofit settings where teams are small and understaffed, an intern who shows up consistently, completes tasks without being reminded, and identifies additional ways to contribute gets noticed and hired.
How to Stand Out in Your Application
Learn a statistical programming language before you apply. R is free and widely used in academic public health. SAS is standard at the CDC and in pharmaceutical companies. If you arrive at an internship already knowing how to load data, run basic analyses, and generate output, you will be given more meaningful work from day one.
Get your CHES certification. The Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam is available to students in CEPH-accredited programs. Having the certification before your practicum demonstrates professional commitment and gives you a credential that some employers require.
For competitive internships like the CDC's CUPS or PHAP, your personal statement matters more than your GPA. These programs want to know why you care about public health, what specific experiences shaped your commitment, and how you plan to use the opportunity. Generic statements about "wanting to help communities" do not stand out. Specific stories about your experience with health inequity — whether personal, through volunteer work, or through coursework — are what selection committees remember.
Build a portfolio of public health work products. Save de-identified examples of health education materials you created, data analyses you conducted, program evaluation summaries you wrote, and presentations you delivered. A portfolio demonstrates your capabilities more concretely than a resume listing course titles.
Network through professional associations. Student membership in APHA (American Public Health Association) and your state public health association provides access to job boards, mentoring programs, and conferences. Attending a state public health conference as a student and introducing yourself to working professionals is one of the most effective ways to learn about internship opportunities that are not posted publicly.
What Nobody Tells You About Public Health Internships
The CDC PHAP is the single best career accelerator for BSPH graduates. Two years of paid, deployed public health work at a state or local health department gives you more professional credibility than almost any other post-bachelor's option. PHAP alumni are heavily recruited by MPH programs and by health departments nationwide. If you can get in, take it.
Health department internships vary wildly in quality. Some health departments give interns real epidemiological assignments — investigating outbreaks, analyzing surveillance data, writing reports. Others assign interns to administrative tasks or health fair logistics. Ask specific questions during the interview about what projects interns have completed in the past. If the answer is vague, the experience may not be substantive.
Pharmaceutical company internships are the highest-paying and least visible option. Most public health programs do not actively promote private-sector placements because the academic culture leans toward government and nonprofit work. But pharma companies hire interns for health economics, outcomes research, epidemiology, and medical writing at $20-$35/hour. These positions build skills that are highly valued in the job market.
Global health internships sound glamorous but often require self-funding. International placements at NGOs in low-income countries are frequently unpaid and require you to cover your own travel, housing, and living expenses. If you can afford it and the experience is substantive, it can be valuable. But do not go into debt for an unpaid overseas placement when a paid local health department internship builds the same foundational skills.
Your practicum supervisor becomes your most important professional reference. Choose your practicum site partly based on the supervisor you will work with. A supervisor who is engaged, connected in the field, and willing to mentor you provides career value that extends far beyond the practicum itself.
FAQ
Are public health internships paid?
Many are. Federal internships (CDC, EPA, FDA), hospital positions, and pharmaceutical company internships are typically paid. State and local health department positions are usually paid or offer stipends. Nonprofit internships are more likely to be unpaid. Overall, public health has a better paid-internship rate than most social science fields.
When should I start looking for public health internships?
Begin with volunteer or research assistant positions by sophomore year. Apply for structured summer internship programs during fall of your junior year. Most federal programs have application deadlines in October through January for summer placements. Work with your practicum coordinator early to secure the best placement sites.
What is the CDC Public Health Associate Program?
PHAP is a competitive two-year paid fellowship for recent bachelor's graduates. Associates are deployed to state and local health departments across the country to work on disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, community health assessment, and program evaluation. It is one of the best entry points into a public health career and provides exceptional professional development.
Can I get a public health internship without an MPH?
Yes. Bachelor's-level internships exist at health departments, hospitals, nonprofits, and research universities. These positions focus on data support, community outreach, health education, and program coordination. Pharmaceutical company and consulting firm internships are more likely to require or prefer MPH students.
What skills should I develop before applying?
Statistical software proficiency (R, SAS, or Stata), basic data management in Excel, writing skills for health communications, and familiarity with public health concepts from your coursework. For competitive positions, having completed biostatistics and epidemiology courses and being able to discuss those concepts in an interview gives you a significant advantage.
- Public Health Degree Guide — Overview
- Is It Worth It?
- Career Paths
- Salary Data
- Requirements
- How Hard Is It?
- Best Colleges
Footnotes
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Public Health Associate Program (PHAP). CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/phap/index.html ↩
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Health Education Specialists and Community Health Workers. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm ↩
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National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2024). Internship & Co-op Report. NACE. https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/internships/ ↩