The Public Health Epi Scholars Program

This page is for students and universities interested in the Epi Scholars Program at Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC). It contains information on the program, sample projects and application materials.

The Epi Scholars Program is a national program offering 10 - 12 week summer internships in applied epidemiology research to highly qualified public health masters and doctoral level students. The Epi Scholars Program is funded by the de Beaumont Foundation and provides internships at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health and PHSKC. The NYC DOHMH serves as the lead agency. The program draws students from fifteen universities with schools of public health or epidemiology:

• University of Washington
• Oregon Health and Science University
• University of California - Los Angeles
• University of California - Berkeley
• Stanford University
• University of Southern California
• San Diego State University
• Columbia University
• George Washington University
• University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• Tulane University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Emory University
• Yale University
• University North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Students in the Epi Scholars Program take on substantive applied epidemiology projects and are mentored by experienced public health epidemiologists. Students focus on health disparities research in public health practice settings, complete a quantitative data analysis and write a report of the findings. Students also complete a series of supplementary workshops on applied epidemiology topics. At the end of the internship students present their findings at a PHSKC meeting attended by all of the PHSKC Epi Scholars and their mentors.

Scholars will be paid a competitive hourly wage to defray living expenses.

• Epi Scholar past projects
• Epi Scholar workshops

In order to be eligible, students must be enrolled in an MPH or PhD program currently and in the Fall of 2013.

Applicants should have:

• Graduate level epidemiology and biostatistics coursework and experience analyzing data
• Excellent record of academic achievement
• Commitment and/or demonstrated interest in applied public health research
• Potential for future leadership in the public health sector

Application materials may be found at the national Epi Scholars website.

• 12/7/2012: PDF of student application will be posted online so that students can start preparing their application
• 1/15/2013: Student application on website opens
• 2/15/2013: Student application is due
• 4/5/2013: Students are notified about acceptance

Public Health — Seattle & King County (Public Health) works to protect and improve the health and well-being of all people in King County as measured by increasing the number of healthy years that people live and eliminating health disparities.

Public Health is the one of the largest metropolitan health departments in the United States with 1500 employees, 40 sites, and a budget of $318 million. The department serves a resident population of 1.9 million people in an environment of great complexity and scale, with 19 acute care hospitals and over 7000 medical professionals.

Department functions are carried out through core prevention programs, environmental health programs, community-oriented personal health care services, emergency medical services, correctional facility health services, Public Health preparedness programs, and community-based public health assessment and practices.

• Learn more about PHSKC

Located on Puget Sound in Washington State, and covering 2,134 square miles, King County is nearly twice as large as the average county in the United States. With more than 1.9 million people, it also ranks as the 14th most populous county in the nation. Over 100 languages are spoken here, and King County is an international destination welcoming 30 million visitors annually. The Seattle area's diversity, innovation and continuing growth make it a highly desirable place to live and work.

Seattle is also home to some of the leading public health institutions in the world, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Seattle and Washington State offer spectacular natural surroundings and recreation opportunities, world-class education systems, thriving urban centers, vibrant neighborhoods, and a lively arts and culture scene. For more information on the Seattle-King County area, please visit the following websites:

• University of Washington School of Public Health
• Northwest Center for Public Health Practice
• Seattle Chamber of Commerce
• City of Seattle website