The Public Health Laboratory Science Internship Program: an APHL-CDC Initiative places college students in public health laboratories to gain valuable early-career experience. Applications are accepted on a quarterly basis.
Contact the Internships team: [email protected]
APHL and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partner to offer paid laboratory internships to train and prepare college students for careers at public health laboratories, via the Career Pathways in Public Health Laboratory Science Program.
If selected as an intern, you will be placed at a host public health laboratory under the supervision of a mentor, usually for a span of 12–16 weeks. You will assist your mentor and other laboratory professionals working on meaningful projects—like detecting genetic disorders in newborn babies, monitoring drinking water, tracking viruses carried by insects and testing soil for environmental toxins—that help protect the health of our communities.
Mentors are highly experienced public health laboratory professionals who will guide you for the duration of your internship period. They will work closely with you to provide oversight and support for the project you will be working on.
Start dates can occur on the 1st or the 15th of each month. This date will be decided with your mentor. Once a start date is chosen, interns will be officially placed in one of the four seasonal cohorts.
The Genomic Data Internship program offers masters' and doctoral-level students the opportunity to expand their bioinformatics skill set while assisting public health laboratories with their genomics programs.
Genomic Data Internship OverviewInterns can be placed in APHL member laboratories across the United States, dependent on the location of available host sites and the intern's residence for the duration of the program. Internships must be completed in-person and there are no relocation funds available. There are placement options for the school year and for summer break.
For internships during the school year, your host laboratory must be commutable from the location of your college/university.
For example, if you are attending Michigan State University and you apply for a Fall Internship, you would most likely be placed at the Michigan Public Health Laboratory in Lansing.
When not actively enrolled in classes, you may have more flexibility in your location options. You may return home for the summer or be able to otherwise relocate.
For example, if you are from Houston, TX and return home for the summer, you could be placed at the Houston Health Department Laboratory.
Additionally, if you have a family member in Jacksonville, FL, you could potentially stay with them for the summer and complete your internship there.
Please review the requirements above and submit your application between April 6 – May 29, 2026 for placement in the Fall 2026 cohort.
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