GW Now Offers One-Year Master of Public Health in Epidemiology Program


March 9, 2015

Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (Milken Institute SPH) is now offering a one-year Master of Public Health (MPH) in epidemiology. The one-year program, offered on the school’s Foggy Bottom campus, follows the same curriculum and credit-hour requirements as the two-year MPH in epidemiology but is structured in an intensive, accelerated format.

“The accelerated program is designed for mid-career professionals who already have advanced degrees or considerable public health work experience, and for students who need to complete their degree in one year due to the competing demands of other graduate-level programs," explains Alan Greenberg, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

In order to complete the program in one calendar year, students must begin the program in the summer semester due to course sequencing. There is the option to complete the program in 14 or 18 months for students who wish to take longer to complete the degree or who cannot start in the summer. Due to the intensive nature of the one-year MPH program, students are not encouraged to work full-time.

“Students enrolled in this enriching and challenging program will study the distribution of and risk factors for diseases largely in human populations, and how to apply these concepts to impact the prevention and control of current public health problems,” Greenberg says. Once enrolled, students have the opportunity to concentrate their studies in one of seven focus areas including chronic disease epidemiology, infectious disease epidemiology, methods and analysis, nutritional epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, reproductive and perinatal epidemiology, and translational epidemiology.

The program also requires students to complete a practicum, or real-world experience. “The school’s DC location gives students access to unique opportunities to gain experience in the field of epidemiology,” says Heather Young, PhD, MPH, an associate professor in the department and a program director for the one-year MPH program in epidemiology. “We’ve had students work with organizations like the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Pan American Health Organization, Food and Drug Administration, and other health-related NGOs and government agencies which is a key benefit of our on-campus MPH program.” Students in the accelerated program with substantial public health experience relevant to epidemiology may request to waive the practicum requirement and substitute elective credits.

Graduates of the program can expect to work locally, nationally or globally in a variety of positions in the field of epidemiology such as research coordinators for observational studies or clinical trials, data analysts, surveillance coordinators, and in state and local health departments.

"Our department is extremely excited that we’re now able to offer an accelerated MPH program in epidemiology,” Greenberg says. Young agrees, adding, “Individuals who may have been unable to complete their MPH at GW due to timing and competing professional demands will now have the opportunity to complete that experience.”

View the MPH in epidemiology program guide for more information and a sample course schedule.