education

NEPHIP & Students

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch is providing funding to support up to 50 environmental health undergraduate and graduate college students currently enrolled in a National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC) accredited institution in internships at state, tribal, local, and territorial public health agencies.

The internship is designed to allow students to gain a firsthand perspective on the day-to-day responsibilities of environmental health professionals, make invaluable connections with those working in the field, and consider careers working in state, tribal, local, or territorial environmental health departments following graduation.

Applications for Spring 2023 Students: Open 

Students interested in Spring 2023 internships should complete the application. The student application deadline is November 14, 2022 and matching is anticipated to be completed by early December for the Spring 2023 session.  

Students interested in Summer 2023 internships can complete our interest form and we will contact you when the application opens.  

Benefits

  • A base stipend of $6,000 for undergraduate and $8,000 for graduate environmental health student interns through funding from CDC for a 400-hour internship through NEHA to cover lodging, food, and incidental expenses.
  • Participation in a series of environmental health professional career mentorship sessions with current environmental health professionals working in state, tribal, local, or territorial health agencies.
  • Professional development learning sessions provided by NEHA staff.
  • Opportunity to attend NEPHIP’s first ever virtual career fair.
  • Opportunities to network and professional development preconference workshop.
  • Sustained support for promoting internship work through publications and media.
  • Improved coordination and evaluation efforts.
  • Support packages provided to participating environmental public health departments to help offset their costs for hosting interns.
  • A one-year NEHA student membership.

Considerations

Project Types

For 2022, projects will again be open to a wide variety of environmental public health issues and identified program needs identified by local environmental public health host sites. Review the Project Guidance for project examples and considerations.   

Matching

NEHA staff will match the selected interns with the environmental health departments based on geolocation preferences, interests, and professional goals that align with opportunities at the health department. NEHA cannot guarantee the preferred placement.

Terms of Agreement

All arrangements for the internship, including start and end dates, work hours or timesheet, sick policy, etc. should be made by the academic program in partnership with the intern and host Health Department mentor to meet academic guidelines and requirements. For the student to receive the stipend, NEHA must receive signed documentation that internship arrangements have been approved by the academic program, student, and host health department. Review the full Intern Terms of Agreement to understand what is expected.

Eligibility

To be considered as an intern for this program, students need to:

  1. Attend an undergraduate or graduate environmental health academic program that is accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC).
  2. Be a current sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate student at the time the application is submitted and have completed at least one full year of academic training with most courses in environmental health focus areas.
  3. Be enrolled as a student during the summer or fall internship.
  4. Have active health insurance.

Applications

To be considered for placement in NEPHIP, students need to provide:

  • The complete application.
  • Their most recent resume.
  • An unofficial transcript. Please black out personal information such as social security number, student identification number, and address prior to submission.
  • The Letter of Recommendation Form from a faculty member of the EH program at the EHAC-accredited academic institution (a letter may be substituted if preferred). 

Learn More

Contact

NEPHIP@neha.org