APHA Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fellowship

The APHA Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fellowship provides an immersive year-long work experience for early-career professionals who have a conferred MPH, DrPH or PhD in public health from one of our partner universities. Fellows receive a $120,000 stipend and other benefits. 

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Latest Updates

• The competition for the 2025-26 fellowship is open! The deadline to apply is Feb. 6 2025 (NOON EST)
• The 2024-25 program started in September 2024. Congrats to our incoming fellows!

About the Program

We aim to create  pipeline for diverse leadership in public health by supporting the careers of underrepresented young professionals who are committed to pursuing health equity. The fellowship is funded by a grant from the Kaiser Permanente National Community Benefit Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation.

Fellowship Award and Benefits

Fellows receive a $120,000 stipend for the fellowship, which runs from September 2025 through September 2026. After a one-week virtual orientation, fellows begin their work at the placement site.

Note: Fellows are considered independent contractors, so they are responsible for their own health insurance and taxes.

Other benefits include:

• Complimentary APHA membership for one year (with access to APHA's Early-Career Professionals group)
• Exclusive monthly virtual professional development sessions. Past topics have included Building Your Brand as a Public Health Leader and Professional Growth through Public Speaking.
• Stipend to offset costs related to attending the APHA Annual Meeting (registration, flight and hotel stay)
• Career Coaching

Where fellows work

Fellows are placed with Kaiser Permanente partners serving our communities or within Kaiser itself.

2025-26 Placement Sites: (Additional sites may be forthcoming.)

Kaiser Permanente Community Health Evaluation, Learning, Measurement, and Reporting (ELMR)
Kaiser Permanente Community Health Policy Analysis and Research
Kaiser Permanente Community Support Hub
Kaiser Permanente Food is Medicine Center for Excellence
Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy
Kaiser Permanente Medi-Cal External Engagement and Initiatives
Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Health 

Note: Fellows may be requested to relocate to their placement site. Relocation costs are the responsibility of the Fellow.

What fellows do

As a fellow, you will support and lead projects, programs and partnerships to address upstream determinants of health across Kaiser Permanente-served communities.

Focus areas may include housing and homelessness, food security, economic opportunity, education, racism and related trauma, environmental health and sustainability, and access to healthcare services.

Eligibility

All applicants are required to:

• Hold a master’s (MPH) or doctorate degree (DrPH, PhD) in public health from one of our partner universities:
  • Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
  • Georgia State University
  • Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Morgan State University
  • Portland State University (OHSU-PSU)
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • University of California, Irvine
  • University of Colorado Anschutz
  • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
  • University of Washington
• Identify as early-career professionals in the community health field.
• Be U.S. citizens or hold a permanent residence visa (Green Card) in the U.S.

For the 2025-26 fellowship, your MPH or DrPH/PhD must be conferred between May 2024 and August 2025.

Current APHA Kaiser Permanente Community Health Scholars who fall within the conferral date timeline are eligible and urged to apply for the fellowship.

Preference will be given to applicants who:

• Have prior work experience in public health or healthcare, including internships and leadership demonstrations through community involvement or professional associations.
• Identify as first-generation college graduates; persons from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and those who classify under race/ethnicity groups such as Blacks or African Americans, Asians, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, and individuals from other communities of color or underrepresented populations.

Questions? Review our FAQs or email scholarships@apha.org.

Selection Process

Preliminary Review (February): Public and community health experts review all applications and select the semi-finalists.

APHA Kaiser Permanente Selection Committee (March): Semi-finalists are invited to participate in a one-hour virtual Zoom interview with high-level APHA and Kaiser Permanente staff, who then select the finalists.

Fellowship Site Interviews and Selection Committee Approval (April): Finalists are invited to interview with fellowship sites virtually on Zoom.

Final Decision (May): Fellowship recipients are notified!

2025-26 Timeline

Contact

Please email scholarships@apha.org if you have questions about this opportunity. Please also review our Frequently Asked Questions.