Maternal and Child Health - MPH

The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) program at the Milken Institute School of Public Health (SPH) at the George Washington University is committed to improving the health and well-being of women, children, adolescents and families through teaching, research, practice, policy and service. The MCH Master of Public Health (MPH) program is grounded in a life course perspective as an organizing framework that acknowledges distinct periods in human development and presents both risks and opportunites for interventions. Further, the academic program explores MCH from an interdisciplinary perspective that intergrates the biological, demographic, epidemiological, developmental, environmental, behavioral and social characteristics that are unique to the health and well-being of women, children, adolescents and families in the United States and around the world. 

At the George Washington University, we are proud to educate students who are committed to improving public health and engaging in and promoting public service. We emphasize these qualities in the MPH Maternal and Child Health program because they are essential for future health professionals and public health practitioners. In addition, we’re certain that Maternal and Child Health graduates can:

• Assess the health care needs of women, children, and families.
• Plan, design, implement, evaluate, and communicate programs and research targeted toward health promotion and disease prevention among women, children, and families.

Flexible Programming

To help students fit graduate school into their daily life, Milken Institute SPH provides flexible course offerings, which allows Maternal and Child Health students to take up to 15 credits online.

Admission Requirements

There are no specific prerequisites for entering Maternal and Child Health master’s program, other than a prior bachelor’s degree or higher degree. This program is a good fit for anyone with an interest in improving human health. Students who are especially interested in working with diverse populations of women and children and those who wish to study broad categories of health programs are great candidates for this MPH in Maternal and Child Health.

GW Center of Excellence in Maternal & Child Health

With the awarding of a five-year grant in 2020 from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), our Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program is recognized as one of 13 MCH Centers of Excellence. We’re thrilled to now have additional resources to help develop MCH enthusiasts into future professionals who will make a difference and be the difference for population and personal health.

We are building the future by educating the next generation of local, national, and global public health professionals who will work to ensure that women are healthy before, during, and after pregnancy, and address the physical and mental health needs of women, children, and families across their lifespan.

We take great pride in the successes of our alumni, and each year, we look forward to serving a new cohort of MCH students who come to us eager to learn and participate in a field that has only grown more important in light on the coronavirus pandemic. We take our responsibilities seriously, but we don’t let that stop us from having fun as we work and learn together.

For more information about the Center, please visit our website at https://mch.publichealth.gwu.edu/

Students in the GW MPH programs gain practical skills and knowledge through their practice experiences. It is important for MPH Maternal and Child Health graduates to feel confident in their skills and gain real-world experience during their studies. Students in the Maternal and Child Health MPH degree program complete both an Applied Practice Experience (practicum) and a Culminating Experience to practice their knowledge and skills in real-world settings.

Your Practicum

In the Department of Prevention and Community Health, the Applied Practice Experience (practicum) is designed to engage students in a Practice Activity—a planned, supervised, and evaluated experience in a public health organization. The Practice Activity can be related to either primary research or public health practice. It might include activities such as conducting literature reviews, writing proposals, designing ad campaigns, or collecting and analyzing data.

The Practicum is similar to an internship but differs in that the student works with the Practicum adviser to create specific work objectives that align with both MPH and MCH competencies. The Practice Activity for the MPH Maternal and Child Health degree may not be directly related to the student's day-to-day work. This is to ensure that students learn and apply new skills in the context of public health. If the student does conduct the Practice Activity at his/her place of employment, it must be work for which the student is not remunerated.

Culminating Experience

The Culminating Experience (CE) integrates the knowledge and skills students acquire through their academic work and the Practice Activity. The CE, requires students to identify and define a specific public health issue and formulate hypotheses to address that issue. Students work with data obtained through either primary research or from an existing dataset. The process of proposal development, data analysis, interpretation, and extrapolation of the results culminates in a written report or manuscript and an oral presentation.

Our graduates are working in a variety of professional positions, some of which are:

• Research Coordinator
• Project Coordinator
• Public Health Advisor
• Health Policy Analyst
• Program Manager
• Field Health Specialist
• Data Analyst
• Consultant
• Outreach and Community Engagement Manager
• Health Education Coordinator

Our graduates work with these types of organizations:

• American Cancer Society
• American Public Health Association
• Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
• Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health
• Center for Health & Gender Equity
• DC Department of Health
• FDA
• HIV Medicine Association
• Intuitive Parenting
• Marcy’s Center
• Save the Children UK
• Society for Women’s Health Research
• Whitman-Walker Health
• Zero to Three

Students pursuing an MPH in Maternal and Child Health have access to a world-class faculty with relevant expertise and diverse experience in research, governmental, clinical, and educational settings. The many areas of interest and research experience for professors and lecturers in Maternal and Child Health Master of Public Health program include program planning, program design and evaluation, research methods, design theory, and policy advocacy.

Here is a list of our current faculty in the MCH program:

• Amita Vyas, Ph.D., MHS (Program Director and Director of the GW Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health)
• Karen McDonnell, PhD
• Melissa Napolitano, PhD
• Monica Ruiz, PhD
• Michael Long, SD
• Nitasha Nagaraj, DrPH, MPH
• Jerry Franz, BA