The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the United States’ leading public health institute, operating under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CDC’s mission is to protect people from public health threats and save lives using scientific data that drives public health monitoring, global health initiatives and health security.
The CDC employs tens of thousands of professionals including engineers, scientists, doctors, nurses, communicators and epidemiologists who work to solve complex health issues, manage chronic diseases, educate the public to improve health outcomes and investigate health outbreaks. Eastern Washington University’s (EWU) online Master of Public Health (MPH) program prepares candidates for federal public health work. This article discusses the various types of roles available within the CDC, career qualifications, application pathways and how graduate-level education connects professionals to CDC employment.
What Does the CDC Do?
Core functions of the CDC include disease surveillance, outbreak response, health promotion and policy guidance. These functions involve detecting and controlling both infectious and chronic disease outbreaks, promoting healthy lifestyles, supporting global health security and enforcing environmental health and safety standards.
While the CDC is based in the United States, it operates a vast public health network spanning more than 60 countries. The agency’s wide reach across domestic and global public health initiatives helps tackle health disparities and chronic diseases on a large scale, strengthening global health security, supporting vaccination programs and combating infectious threats.
CDC careers attract professionals from a range of disciplines including public health policy, laboratory science, epidemiology and communications. It is an important employer for those interested in positively impacting public health outcomes on a national and global scale.
What Types of Careers Are Available at the CDC?
If you’re interested in working for the CDC, job openings span field-and office-based roles at its Atlanta headquarters and in regional offices across the country and around the world. While agency employees work in a wide variety of roles, these are some of the most common:
- Epidemiologist: These scientists investigate the causes, spread and prevention of diseases by collecting and analyzing data to guide public health policies that manage outbreaks and chronic diseases.
- Public health advisor: These essential field- or headquarters-based staff members bridge scientific policy and program implementation by planning, managing and evaluating public health programs via disease surveillance to guide health departments in addressing public health threats.
- Scientist: A CDC health scientist designs and conducts studies, analyzes public health data, provides technical assistance to manage health threats and collaborates on laboratory research and emergency responses to diseases.
- Program analyst: These professionals are operational advisors who support public health programs by managing budgets, cooperative agreements and administrative operations, providing recommendations to leadership, optimizing performance and ensuring compliance.
- Communications specialist: A CDC communications specialist develops and executes science-based communication strategies to help translate complex scientific findings into clear, actionable health information for digital content, media relations and public health campaigns.
Several fellowships and entry-level pipeline programs are available to help professionals transition into roles at the CDC. For example, the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is a two-year post-graduate fellowship program at the CDC designed to prepare early-career candidates for high-level epidemiology roles.
What Qualifications Do CDC Careers Require?
The CDC typically seeks candidates with a strong academic background in public health, science or related technical fields and often requires advanced degrees for professional roles. The organization also requires field experience specific to the position, such as research and lab work, experience working in state or local health agencies and various fellowships or internships related to the role.
Graduate-level training, such as a Ph.D. in various scientific fields or an MPH, demonstrates expertise in research, epidemiology, data analysis and other related areas that align with the analytical, policy and program management demands of the CDC. Most CDC job listings typically include a preference for candidates with advanced degrees and applied fieldwork experience.
How Can an MPH Prepare You for CDC Career Opportunities?
Core MPH competencies such as epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and program evaluation connect professionals to the skill sets most CDC roles require. Each of these disciplines enables graduates to evaluate the efficacy of interventions, manage complex data and develop evidence-based policies that are essential to the CDC’s core mission of supporting and promoting public health and safety.
EWU’s online Master of Public Health program is a flexible option that prepares working professionals, to examine health inequities through a sociological lens and develop strategies to address them. Coursework in the program incorporates an integrated learning experience that matches theory with real-world application, serving as both a credential and a practical foundation for navigating careers at the CDC and across federal public health fields.
Qualify for Impactful Public Health Roles with an Online MPH from EWU
Based on its core mission centered on protecting public health and security, the CDC is one of the nation’s most important employers. The agency offers qualified professionals a wide range of meaningful career paths.
EWU’s online MPH program positions graduates for CDC career opportunities as well as advancement in the public health sector. Whether you’re drawn to epidemiology, policy, communications or program management, the skills developed through EWU’s program translate directly to roles that define federal public health work, setting your career on a trajectory toward meaningful, lasting impact.
Learn more about EWU‘s online Master of Public Health program.
