Deadline alert: Applications close on 6 November 2026 at 11:59pm US Eastern Time. That’s 5:59am on 7 November in Lagos, 6:59am in Johannesburg and Cairo, and 7:59am in Nairobi. Late applications aren’t accepted. (Updated 29 October 2026 with details from CDC’s official pages.)
Can Africans apply? Only if you can legally work in the United States. Besides US citizens and permanent residents, CDC accepts applicants who hold, or are eligible for, US work authorisation such as OPT STEM (covering the full two years), a J-1 or H-1B visa, or another visa that allows work in the US. This is most realistic for Africans already studying or working in the US. CDC says its ability to accept non-US citizens is subject to federal law and rules, which may change. If you’re applying from Africa without US work rights, see the related opportunities at the end.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recruiting the Class of 2027 of its Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program (PHIFP). It’s a paid, full-time, two-year fellowship where fellows use computer science, data science and information systems to solve public health problems, working on real projects at CDC host sites.
At a Glance
| Organisation | US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) |
| Programme | Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program (PHIFP), Class of 2027 |
| Type | Paid, full-time, two-year fellowship (on site, no remote work) |
| Location | Mostly Atlanta, Georgia (about 85%) or Washington, DC (about 10%) |
| Who can apply | Master’s or doctoral graduates in health, data, computing, statistics or engineering with US work authorisation |
| Start | August 2027 |
| Deadline | 6 November 2026, 11:59pm ET (recommendations due 15 November) |
Benefits
- A paid, full-time position at CDC for two years
- Hands-on training through classroom and on-the-job learning in public health informatics
- Work on advanced data and information-system projects at a CDC host site
- A two-week orientation with PHIFP staff, then mentoring from CDC experts
- Experience and connections at one of the world’s best-known public health agencies
Note: fellows must move to their assigned CDC site, and relocation costs aren’t paid. Remote work isn’t allowed.
Eligibility
Education
- A doctoral degree (PhD, MD, PharmD, DrPH or equivalent) or a master’s degree (MPH, MS, MSc or equivalent) from an accredited institution.
- The degree must be in one of these fields:
- public health, medicine, healthcare or health services research
- computer science, data science, or medical or public health informatics
- statistics or epidemiology
- engineering
- operations research
Experience
- At least one year of documented full-time work or volunteer experience in the same field as your qualifying degree.
- Research or evaluation experience during or after your studies, such as publications, a defended thesis, poster presentations or a research proposal.
Citizenship and work authorisation
You must be one of the following:
- a US citizen
- a US permanent resident
- a non-US citizen eligible for US work authorisation, such as:
- an OPT STEM extension covering the whole two years, for current F-1 students
- a J-1 visa, or J-2 as the spouse of a J-1 holder
- an H-1B visa
- a TN visa, for Canadian and Mexican citizens only
- another visa that allows work in the US
Citizens of countries the US lists as state sponsors of terrorism aren’t eligible. Non-US candidates who advance will be contacted to discuss their visa and work authorisation.
Commitment
- You must commit to a two-year, full-time fellowship and be willing to relocate.
What You Need to Apply
- An updated CV with job titles, roles, locations, dates (MM/YYYY) and hours worked per week
- A personal statement in two parts, each up to 500 words:
- What influenced you to consider a career in public health?
- How will this fellowship help you achieve your goals?
- Three recommendation forms, at least two of them from people who don’t work at CDC, ideally supervisors or professors. They must be written in English and specific to PHIFP.
- Unofficial transcripts for every degree, completed or in progress
- For degrees from outside the US (for example, from a Nigerian, Kenyan or Ghanaian university), a course-by-course credential evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). It must be submitted before the deadline, and evaluations that don’t list individual courses are rejected. This applies even to US citizens.
- Optional: certificates from extra training, such as online courses (MOOCs) or conference workshops
Timeline
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | Applications opened |
| 6 November 2026 | Applications close (11:59pm ET) |
| 15 November 2026 | Recommendation forms due |
| November 2026 – January 2027 | Screening of applications |
| January – February 2027 | Interviews with CDC host sites |
| February – March 2027 | Final selections and notifications |
| March – July 2027 | Onboarding |
| August 2027 | Fellows start at CDC |
How to Apply
- Check that you meet the education, experience and work-authorisation rules on CDC’s eligibility page.
- If your degree is from outside the US, order your NACES credential evaluation now. It can take several days or weeks, and it must arrive before 6 November.
- Enter your recommenders’ names and emails in the application. They’ll get an email from [email protected] with instructions.
- Complete the online application: contact details, experience, education, skills, awards, publications, personal statement and a technical skills self-assessment.
- Upload your transcripts and evaluation, then submit before 6 November 2026, 11:59pm ET. You’ll get a confirmation email.
Start the official PHIFP application · Official eligibility rules · Official application instructions
Questions: [email protected]
Tips
- Don’t leave the credential evaluation until the last week. It’s the step most likely to delay applicants with degrees from outside the US.
- Ask your recommenders today. Their forms are due 15 November, but they can’t start until you’ve added them to your application.
- Show real data work. Mention specific systems, dashboards, databases, code or analyses you’ve built, and the public health problem each one addressed.
- Check your visa status first. If you’re on F-1 status, confirm that your OPT STEM period would cover the full two years of the fellowship.
