RWJF Health Policy Fellows Cohort

RWJF Health Policy Fellows 2027-28 Cohort Applications are Open

Location:

Washington, DC, District of Columbia United States

Applications for the 2027-28 cohort will open on August 4 and close at 3 PM ET on November 3, 2026.

Your voice could be exactly what’s needed in Washington, DC.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows program offers mid-career health and health care leaders with deep subject-matter expertise a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape health policy at the highest levels of government.

This Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan fellowship includes a 3.5-month policy orientation, followed by a placement as a senior advisor in a legislative or executive branch office or committee.

Successful applicants typically have at least 10 to 15 years of full-time work experience and foresee contributing to health policy for at least 10 years after the fellowship.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) conducts and administers the fellowship, with funding support from RWJF.

The fellowship requires a full-time commitment with a minimum 12-month residence in Washington, DC, which prepares individuals to impact the health of the nation.

The fellowship begins in early September with an intensive three-and-a-half-month orientation arranged by the NAM, during which time the fellows meet with national leaders well-versed in health and health care policy; think tanks and interest groups; key executive branch officials; and members of Congress and their staff. Fellows also participate in seminars on health economics; the congressional budget process; priority issues in federal health policy;

and the process for federal decision-making. The concentrated orientation is designed to prepare the fellows for immediate success in federal legislative and executive branch positions.

The NAM will assist all fellows in setting up placement interviews in a federal government office in Washington, DC. Fellowship placements generally begin in January. During these assignments, fellows are full-time, contributing participants in the policy process with members of Congress, a congressional committee, or in the executive branch. Solely under the supervision of the office in which they are placed, fellows typically will:

• Help develop legislative or regulatory proposals;
• Organize hearings, briefings, and stakeholder meetings;
• Meet with constituents; and
• Brief legislators or senior administration officials on a range of health issues.

Fellowship assignments are supplemented throughout the year by non-partisan seminars and group discussions on contemporary federal policy topics, as well as media/strategic communications training and leadership development activities. Fellows prepare a formal presentation on a health policy issue with which they have been engaged. Fellows also take part in meetings with the NAM and other health policy organizations throughout the year.

Fellows may request approval from the national program office (NPO) at the NAM to extend the Washington, DC stay past the 12-month residential period in August (until December), when the legislative session ends.

After the Washington, DC residential experience, fellows become part of a nationwide alumni network and typically return to Washington, DC, each year to attend an alumni retreat and the NAM Annual Meeting, and to be briefed on issues and trends in health and health care policy.

• Stipend: $175,000 per fellow over a period of 12-24 months (for up to eight fellows).
• Housing/Relocation:
  Fellows will be directly reimbursed for relocation and approved housing expenses through separate funds within limits specified by the NAM and RWJF.

• Exceptional mid-career professionals, with 10+ years of experience, from academic institutions, not-for-profit organizations or government (including military; U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs; U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; and state offices who are not considered government officials under Section 4946 of the Internal Revenue Code);
• Applicants must have earned an advanced degree (masters or doctoral degree);
• In addition, applicants must have deep experience and subject-matter expertise in a health-related discipline. Examples include but are not limited to medicine; nursing; public health; law; dentistry; economics and other social sciences (especially disciplines related to factors that influence population health, such as housing, transportation,…