The Milken Institute School of Public Health was established at George Washington University in 1997, though it didn’t start going by its current name until 2014. The school brought together three well established programs in medicine, education and business under a single banner. Since then, it has grown substantially, and today serves more than two thousand students in its undergrad and graduate programs.
The GWU Public Health program offers undergraduate degrees, masters and doctorate degrees, as well as post-baccalaureate and graduate certificate programs. Several of these programs are also offered online, making them accessible to students from across the country and around the world.
The Milken Institute School of Public Health was ranked #14 among US News & World Report’s list of best Public Health programs.
GWU Public Health Programs
The Milken Institute School of Public Health offers bachelors, masters, doctoral and certificate programs in a number of unique public health-related disciplines. Programs might focus on patient and non-patient-facing roles, organizational, research, and policy.
Some programs, particularly campus-based ones, may also incorporate opportunities for field experience in one of Washington DC’s many hospitals, health care providers, and public health research and policy organizations. Prerequisites for such experiences and their availability may vary.
Milken Institute School of Public Health Online Programs
The GW school of public health offers several online masters degree and certificate options, each one designed primarily for students with professional experience and/or ongoing careers in or related to public health. Several such programs are described below.
Online Master of Public Health
The Online Master of Public Health program at George Washington University could be completed in as little as one year, if you attend the accelerated program full time. That said, that’s not the only option. Students may also choose to stretch the program out a little more, attending their online public health courses part time to better accommodate a busy career or family obligations.
The online MPH program requires 45 credits, plus a practicum and culminating experience to contextualize classroom learning in the real world. Students may also pursue a focus area in addition to their general MPH education. Potential focus areas include:
- Global health
- Health Policy
- Environmental and Occupational Health
- Health Communication
- Program Planning and Evaluation
Online Master of Health Administration
GWU’s health care management program was ranked 16 by US News & World Report. It’s designed to help current and aspiring leaders in the healthcare industry hone the skills they need to guide their hospital, facility or organization to success. In the service of this goal, the program combines internet-based classroom learning with experiential learning through immersion in real-life workplace settings.
The program is 50 credits long, offered in eight 10-week learning modules, each of which focuses on a different core set of skills. Leadership and organizational skills addressed in the curriculum include:
- Ethics and leadership in healthcare
- Management and strategy
- Information technology
- Community health
- Finance
- Quality improvement
- Healthcare law and regulation
Online MS Health Informatics
Health Informatics is a combination of Health Information Technology and Information Management. HIT refers to the technology used in healthcare, including software and data storage. Information management, meanwhile, refers to the systems and processes used to access, manage and process that data.
The Online MS in Health Informatics Program is designed to equip students with the skills they may need to analyze healthcare data for hospitals, research organizations, healthcare organizations, and public policy. This data could then be put into action to guide decision making, build strategies, and guide public health initiatives.
