Post-Bachelor Fellowship
The Post-Bachelor Fellowship (PBF) is a structured health research program where individuals can apply their knowledge and passion to help advance the field of health metrics and accelerate global health progress. This fellowship provides a unique opportunity for recent college graduates with strong quantitative skills to train with faculty and senior researchers on a variety of public health projects.
The PBF program combines academic research, education, and professional work with progressive on-the-job training and mentoring from a renowned group of professors and researchers. Through research, training workshops, coursework, and field experience in developing countries, the program aims to produce the next generation of scholars and leaders in global health measurement and evaluation.
The purpose of the fellowship is to:
- Cultivate talented young professionals to become future leaders in the field of global health through an improved understanding of the connection between high-quality information and improving health around the globe.
- Advance aptitude in developing and applying sophisticated analytical methods for health research.
- Develop understanding of the current global health landscape and its challenges.
- Prepare fellows for future positions in a wide variety of careers that include: academia, national health agencies, international organizations, foundations, and businesses.
- Provide a mentoring and learning environment for recent college graduates.
IHME fellows work to support the Institute’s core research to answer these three critical questions: What are the major health problems? How well is society addressing these problems? How do we best dedicate resources to get the maximum impact in improving population health in the future? To achieve that end, fellows will work in one or two of the following research areas:
- Measuring Health: Generating systematic estimates of demographics such as population and health outcomes, including mortality, causes of death, risk factors, functional health status, and the burden of disease. As part of this work, researchers are improving verbal autopsy methods to gather more accurate data on mortality and causes of death in low-resource settings.
- Tracking Performance: Measuring effective intervention coverage. Analyzing public and private funding for health and how it affects country health spending. Monitoring costs and social determinants in local and international health systems. Conducting impact evaluations of policies, interventions, and programs. Assessing health system performance globally and in US counties.
- Maximizing Impact: Estimating the costs-effectiveness of health service delivery platforms and interventions. Identifying health care delivery constraints and analyzing equity and fairness in decision-making. Providing guidance about optimal resource allocation.
- Innovative Measurement Systems: Developing survey instruments and creating analytical tools to harness the value of data from national and international health information systems and from locally available sources. Improving integrated public health surveillance systems and devising new computational algorithms for analyzing health data.
The PBF program requires a minimum two-year commitment, commencing with training and orientation in early September. Fellows are eligible to apply for a fully funded Master of Public Health in Global Health during the first year of the fellowship. Fellows receive a salary of $35,000 and are eligible for an insurance benefits package that includes a choice of several medical and dental insurance plans, life insurance, and long-term disability. There is no retirement package included with this appointment.
IHME fellows training camp
At the beginning of the Post-Bachelor Fellowship program, fellows participate in an intensive three-week training camp taught by IHME faculty and staff, designed to familiarize the fellows with Institute research projects, statistical packages and methods, and current global health challenges. Training camp is also intended to familiarize fellows with the Institute, how it operates, and how it is organized. IHME Fellows Training Camp has been formalized into a two-credit course offered by the Department of Global Health, “Methods, Tools, and Data in Global Health Metrics and Evaluation.”
All new PBFs enroll in the course. The course fulfills the research methods requirement for students entering the Health Metrics and Evaluation track of the Master of Public Health degree.
PBF seminar
Each week, PBFs meet to discuss and evaluate an article concerning a current global health issue. Discussion topics include the quantitative methods employed, the research design, and the broader implications of the article. The articles selected are approved by the Director of Education and Training and presented by a different fellow each week. The PBF seminar is a one-credit course and functions as the HME track seminar.
IHME seminars
IHME seminars feature senior researchers who present finished research work on health issues pertinent to global health. The IHME seminar can also be taken as a one-credit course offered by the Department of Global Health. Through the seminars, PBFs are exposed to a plethora of innovative research projects and the diversity of challenges in global health.
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club seminars are intended for IHME internal research staff to present developing work and receive feedback from the IHME community. They provide a formal platform for PBFs to present ongoing research and foster a system of feedback and constructive criticism.
Training workshops
To support the Fellows’ development of research skills related to health metrics and evaluation, IHME sponsors training workshops once per quarter. Training workshops are instructional lectures focused on specific quantitative methods and statistical software taught by internal and external presenters.
Course work
Post-Bachelor Fellows are encouraged to take classes at the University of Washington relevant to their education and training as global health researchers.
Research abroad
An important component of the PBF program is a research abroad experience. Second-year fellows spend six weeks living and working in a location where data are being collected and analyzed. This experience is closely aligned with a key goal of the fellowship, which is to contribute to the fellows’ robust understanding of global health measurement by introducing them to actual data collection and its challenges. For PBFs enrolled in the HME track, the research abroad component of the PBF program fulfills the practicum requirement for the degree program, and students receive six credits towards their degree.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2013 cohort. Applications are due January 15, 2013.
Basic requirements:
- Bachelor's degree with no previous graduate training.
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills.
- High academic potential and a strong interest in pursuing academic or professional careers related to global health.
- No background in global health or a related field is required.
- United States citizenship or residency.
Application requirements:
- Resume (two-page limit).
- Brief personal statement (500-word maximum) on how your skills, experience, and long-term career goals contribute to your candidacy.
- One letter of reference from a professor or professional familiar with your coursework or research.
- Official copy of academic transcript.
To apply:
You can apply to the Post-Bachelor Fellowship using our online application.
Application Review:
All submitted application materials are be reviewed by a team of faculty, senior researchers, and members of the Education and Training Office at IHME. Notifications are made in February to those selected to interview for the program. These candidates interview at IHME in March. Fellowships are awarded by March 31.
Applications will only be considered once all materials have been received.
For questions about the PBF program, please contact us at: pbfs@healthmetricsandevaluation.org
- Are you looking for applicants with specific majors?
- What qualifications are you looking for?
- Who is eligible to apply for this program?
- Do you accept unofficial transcripts?
- Who should write my letter of recommendation?
- Can I submit more than one letter of recommendation?
- Do you accept letters of recommendation electronically?
- When is the deadline to apply?
- Do you accept late applications?
- How does the selection process work?
- How many Post-Bachelor Fellows are hired for each cohort?
- When do Fellows start at IHME?
- Is it possible to defer my application a year?
- Is it possible to shorten the length of the Post-Bachelor Fellowship?
- What type of salary and benefits are Post-Bachelor Fellows provided?
- How does the MPH component of the PBF program work?
- Are PBFs automatically admitted to the Master of Public Health degree program?
- Do all PBFs pursue the MPH?
- What type of projects do PBFs work on, and how are they assigned?
- What type of work are PBFs assigned?
Are you looking for applicants with specific majors?
We welcome all majors and backgrounds to the Post-Bachelor Fellowship. Current PBFs hold degrees in a range of subjects including math, English, anthropology, psychology, and statistics.
Overall, we look for individuals who like to work with numbers, have strong quantitative abilities, and sharp analytical minds. We recruit bright, talented, and ambitious students interested in applying their skills and passions to tackle the world’s most critical health issues.
The Post-Bachelor Fellowship program is limited to recent college graduates who are eligible to work in the US for a minimum of two years (most often, US citizens or residents). Individuals with graduate training are not eligible to apply.
If you are not a US citizen or resident and hold a medical degree or PhD, you are eligible to apply for our Post-Graduate Fellowship program. To learn more about this program and how to apply, please visit our Post-Graduate Fellowship program page.
We only accept official transcripts sent in sealed envelopes to IHME.
We recommend that you submit a letter of recommendation from a university professor who can speak to your talents as a student and the specific scholarly skills that make you qualified for this program. You are welcome to submit a letter by an employer if you feel this person would provide a strong recommendation that specifically refers to your quantitative and analytical skills.
We strongly suggest that you only submit one letter of recommendation, as we cannot guarantee the review of additional letters, given the high quantity of applications we receive. If you have multiple individuals who are willing to write you a letter of recommendation, we suggest selecting the person who knows you best and has worked with you most closely.
Letters of recommendation are submitted electronically by the writer directly to the online application. When submitting an application to the PBF program through our online application, candidates are required to provide contact information of the individual submitting a letter of reference on their behalf. IHME will contact your recommender via email and provide instructions on how to submit their letter electronically. Only when your application is submitted, will your recommender receive an email request for your letter of reference. To ensure that your recommender is notified of your request before the application deadline, we suggest that you complete the online application, provide your recommender's contact information and “Submit” your application. Your application is editable after you press “Submit” until Jan. 15, 2013 at 11:59PM PST. Your application will be reviewed after the application deadline only and you will be able to freely submit and update your application as necessary until the close of the application window.
The deadline for applications is January 15 each year.
No. To be considered for the Post-Bachelor Fellowship, we must receive your application before the January 15 deadline. Those who submit an application after the deadline can request that their applications be reactivated for the following cohort by contacting: pbfs@healthmetricsandevaluation.org
We will notify you if any of your application materials have not been received. All applications are reviewed by a selection committee composed of IHME faculty and staff. A small number of individuals are invited to IHME to participate in on-site interviews in late February and March. IHME covers travel costs related to the interviews for all candidates invited to this round. Candidates are notified of their status at the end of March.
We hire about 12 people to join each new cohort of Post-Bachelor Fellows. To view the current cohorts, please visit our PBF Profiles page.
The Post-Bachelor Fellowship begins on the first workday of September each year.
No. We do not accept deferrals to this program.
No. The minimum commitment is two years. Applicants who are also considering pursuing an MD must be able to make a minimum two-year commitment to the PBF program.
What type of salary and benefits are Post-Bachelor Fellows provided?
Post-Bachelor Fellows earn an annual salary of $35,000 US dollars and are eligible for medical, dental, and vision insurance. To learn about the different types of insurance packages fellows can choose, please visit the University of Washington's benefits page.
Please note that Post-Bachelor Fellows are not eligible for retirement packages.
PBFs are eligible to apply to the Master of Public Health in Health Metrics and Evaluation (HME), offered through the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. It takes a total of three years to complete the PBF program with the MPH degree. Throughout the three years, PBFs work as full-time employees and take courses as part-time students (approximately four to six credits each quarter). IHME provides complete funding for each PBF enrolled in the MPH Program, excluding a few one-time fees that are paid out-of-pocket.
No. PBFs must submit an application to the University of Washington Graduate School and meet the graduate student qualifications established by the UW Graduate School and the specific requirements of the Health Metrics and Evaluation track. PBFs compete with all other candidates to the HME track for a limited number of spots every year.
To learn how to apply to the UW Graduate School, please visit the UW graduate admissions information page.
To learn about the specific criteria for the Master of Public Health in Health Metrics and Evaluation, please visit the Department of Global Health's HME track page.
No. Each year, there are a number of PBFs who do not choose to pursue the MPH degree. These PBFs spend their two years working on IHME research projects. As UW employees, all PBFs are eligible to take courses at all UW departments. PBFs who are not enrolled in the MPH program tend to enroll in courses related to their work and future academic and professional interests.
PBFs are assigned to one or two of IHME’s ongoing projects. To learn about ongoing research projects, please visit our Research Areas page.
PBFs are assigned to projects based on their skills and interest. First-year PBFs are usually assigned one project and may be assigned additional responsibilities in their second or third years in the program. Assignments are made at the end of the PBF training camp, which occurs during the first three weeks of the program.
Specific work assignments vary across projects. Typically, PBFs work on all aspects of a research project, including literature searches, data analysis, and assisting in the development of new methods.
