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EIS officers are selected from among highly qualified applicants drawn to public health service and interested in practicing applied epidemiology. EIS officers may be assigned to work in the areas of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, injury prevention, environmental health, or occupational health, either at CDC, or at another federal agency, state, or local health department. We are particularly interested in applicants whose coursework and experience indicate flexibility to a variety of topical areas and geographic placements in the U.S. and who have a record of high academic achievement, teamwork, innovation, and leadership. Successful applicants must demonstrate how EIS is a logical career path and in what ways they will benefit from the applied training through service that defines the EIS program.
Degree, licensing, and experience requirements
Physicians (e.g., MD, DO, MBBS)
- Must have completed your medical degree by the time you submit your application
- Must have an active, unrestricted, U.S. license to practice medicine by the time of application
- If currently completing an ACGME residency or fellowship, you may apply with a training license, but must be able to provide an unrestricted license by the start date of the EIS fellowship.
- Strongly encouraged to have by the time of application:
- An MPH or equivalent degree (e.g., MS, MSc, MHI, MHA, MHSA, MA, MPVM with coursework in epidemiology or quantitative methods), OR
- At least one year of full-time public health work experience. Examples of relevant public health work experience include:
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at a local, state, or federal agency
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at an international governmental or non-governmental organization
- 1 year of post-doctoral work in public health sciences
Veterinarians (e.g., DVM, VMD)
- Must have completed your veterinary degree by July 1st, and
- Must have an active, unrestricted U.S. license to practice veterinary medicine by July 1st
- Strongly encouraged to have by the time of application:
- An MPH or equivalent degree (e.g., MS, MSc, MHI, MHA, MHSA, MA, MPVM with coursework in epidemiology or quantitative methods), OR
- At least one year of full time public health work experience. Examples of relevant public health work experience include:
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at a local, state, or federal agency
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at an international governmental or non-governmental organization
- 1 year of post-doctoral work in public health sciences
Nurses (e.g., BSN, MSN)
- Must have completed a minimum of a BSN by the time you submit your application, and
- Must have an active, unrestricted U.S. license to practice nursing by the time you submit your application
- Strongly encouraged to have by the time of application:
- MPH or equivalent degree (e.g., MS, MSc, MHI, MHA, MHSA, MA, MPVM with coursework in epidemiology or quantitative methods) in addition to your nursing degree, OR
- At least one year of full-time public health work experience. Examples of relevant public health work experience include:
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at a local, state, or federal agency
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at an international governmental or non-governmental organization
- 1 year of post-doctoral work in public health sciences
Allied healthcare professions (e.g., DDS, DMD, PA, PharmD)
- Must have completed your clinical degree by the time you submit your application, and
- Must have an active, unrestricted U.S. license to practice your clinical specialty by the time of application
- Strongly encouraged to have by the time of application:
- MPH or equivalent degree (e.g., MS, MSc, MHI, MHA, MHSA, MA, MPVM with coursework in epidemiology or quantitative methods), OR
- At least one year of full-time public health work experience. Examples of relevant public health work experience include:
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at a local, state, or federal agency
- 1 year of full-time public health-related work at an international governmental or non-governmental organization
- 1 year of post-doctoral work in public health sciences
Doctoral-level scientists (e.g., PhD, DrPH, ScD)
- Must defend your thesis or dissertation before March 31st of fellowship year
- Qualifying degree should be in public health or one of its related disciplines (e.g., epidemiology, biostatistics, health informatics, health policy and services, behavioral health, environmental or occupational health, injury prevention, or nutritional sciences). Additional experience or equivalent degrees may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis via email to EIS@cdc.gov
Because of the program’s domestic focus, a very limited number of non-U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents are selected each year. In addition to the eligibility criteria for the above professions, applicants must also:
- Provide evidence of English-language proficiency by submitting TOEFL scores, unless exempt as outlined in the EIS TOEFL Requirements pdf icon[PDF – 2 pages]
- Be eligible for a J-1 Visaexternal icon under the Research Scholar category
- If you are selected for EIS, CDC will sponsor the J-1 Visa
- Not be a citizen of a country determined by the U.S. Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism (http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htmexternal icon)
- International candidates applying as physicians, veterinarians, nurses, or allied healthcare professionals must have an active, unrestricted U.S. license to practice their clinical specialty at the times listed above. Non-U.S. licenses will not be accepted.
Page last reviewed: April 6, 2020