Program Overview

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Logistics

  • 30-35 scholars

    • Timeline: 8-weeks intensive summer program from June-August 2025

    • Public Health Training: On Mondays and Fridays, scholars participate in training on campus at UCLA to contextualize and complement their internship experience

    • Internship: Scholars are matched with partnering organizations and work full-time from Tuesday-Thursday

    • Housing: Scholars are housed at the UCLA campus at no cost.

    • Public Transportation: Scholars are provided with a Metro TAP Card to subsidize public transportation costs.

    • Travel Support: Scholars that do not live within a 300-mile radius of UCLA will have their transportation to and from Los Angeles arranged by the program team.

    • Travel Reimbursement: Checked luggage, local mileage, and transportation to and from the airport cannot be reimbursed.

  • Scholars receive a $4,000 stipend distributed in two installments.

    Additionally, the program provides scholars with:

    • Housing and partial meal plan (breakfast/dinner) 

    • Public transit (Metro Tap Card)

    • Transportation to LA for scholars who live more than 300-mile from UCLA

    • Flights, dorms, and some meals for the CDC Trip

    It is the scholar’s discretion how the stipend is allocated for personal use. Scholars should plan to set aside a portion of this stipend for essential summer programming costs like meals that are not covered and transportation.

    Scholars are considered UCLA students and are not employed by UCLA or their internship host site. As such, scholars do not receive per diem, health insurance, or other benefits associated with full-time employment.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must meet ONE of the following criteria by June 2025:

    • Community college graduates or transfers to four-year institutions OR

    • Current students in a four-year institution with at least two years of undergraduate education completed by the start of the program OR

    • Recent graduates (Fall or Winter 2024 or Spring 2025) who have not enrolled in a graduate program by the start of the program

    There is no GPA requirement.

  • The funding for this program requires participants to meet all of the following criteria:

    • U.S. citizen, national, or resident (DACA recipients eligible)

    • Authorized to work in the U.S.

    • Attend U.S. or U.S. territory institution

    • Applicants can NOT have participated in another CDC Lewis Scholars Program (formerly known as CDC CUPS).

Participation Requirements

    • Applicants must agree to being available to fully participate in the UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program full-time from June 22 - August 16, 2025. This includes not being enrolled in any other programs, summer school, OR holding another job/position during this time.

    • Applicants must attend evening and occasional weekend events (virtually or in-person).

    • Scholars must agree to actively participating in the development of a group health equity research poster and presenting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia (expenses would be covered by the program).

    • The showcase is tentatively planned for the last of week of July 2025.

    • Scholars must have acceptable identification to travel via plane from Los Angeles to Atlanta.

For additional questions please see our Frequently Asked Questions tab.

Dr. Michael Prelip

Principal Investigator

“The UCLA Public Health Scholars is an incredible and unique opportunity to explore a career in public health through hands-on experience and co-learning with public health leaders and scholars in one of the most diverse cities in the United States.”