Health Policy and Management
Shaping policies and leaders for a healthier future.
Located in the heart of the nation’s capital, the Department of Health Policy and Management offers students unparalleled access to U.S. leadership and an opportunity to make lasting and impactful changes to the world we live in. Students focus on developing and advocating for better public health policies while learning how to be effective, productive and compassionate healthcare leaders.
Graduate Degrees and Certificates
The Department of Health Policy and Management offers a number of graduate degrees that allow students to specialize in key aspects of this broad and dynamic field.
Whether you are looking to obtain an MPH or an MHA, options are available to students both in the classroom and online. We also offer a doctorate program and joint degrees. Only a few blocks from the Capital Building, White House and Supreme Court, health policy begins and ends in our community.
Meet Our Department Chair
Anne Markus, PhD, MHS, JD
Department Chair
The overarching theme of social justice weaves through Professor Markus's work. An expert on the financing and organization of health care and on access to care, she is particularly interested in how the health system addresses - or fails to address - the needs of women, trans and nonbinary persons, minorities and children, including those of low-income and with special needs.
Student Opportunities
HPM in the US
National Opportunities
Each semester, faculty, staff and students from HPM practice what they teach and learn in the classroom with the goal of better health for all.
HPM in DC
In Our Own Community
HPM offers unique opportunities to work with federal agencies on the most pressing public health problems facing the world.
HPM at GW
Here on Campus
GW is home to a wide range of public health research and practice activities both within GWSPH and across the university.
Explore HPM
Research
Our rigorous, objective research focusing on outcomes and ways to improve health and healthcare policies and leadership practices is enhanced by our unique location.
Practice Experience
Our extensive and ever growing partner network enables students to work with leading Washington, D.C. and regional based health organizations as practice settings.
Careers and Alumni
Earning one of our many degrees can lead to a wide range of professional opportunities upon graduating. Click for a sampling of opportunities and alumni profiles.
New In HPM
HPM Alumnus Explores Health Workforce Diversity
Indira Islas, an alumnus of the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, was the lead author of a study showing that Latinos are very underrepresented in the US health professions requiring an advanced degree. Islas, who conducted the study while a graduate student at GW, talks in this video about the study and its findings. Islas, a Mexican American and member of the dreamer generation, graduated from the Milken Institute School of Public Health in May of 2022 with an MPH. Watch the video here.
Department News
GWSPH Celebrates Installation of Endowed Professors Alison Barkoff and Timothy Holtz
May 22, 2025
GWSPH Celebrates Installation of Endowed Professors Alison Barkoff and Timothy Holtz
2025 Maternal Mental Health State Report Cards Released - 19 States Have Ds and Fs
2025 Maternal Mental Health State Report Cards Released - 19 States Have Ds and Fs The overall U.S. grade improved slightly from a D+ to C-, as states made incremental progress
May 15, 2025
Every year, about one in five moms in the U.S. experience maternal mental health conditions, like postpartum depression. Research illustrates that 75% of women never get the treatment they need.
NEW STATE-BY-STATE REPORT: Medicaid Work Requirements Threaten Up to Half a Million Jobs and Could Drain State Economies by $59 Billion in 2026 Alone
Study Finds Proposed Changes Would Leave Millions Uninsured, Shrink State Budgets, and Undercut the U.S. Workforce
May 1, 2025
Proposed Medicaid work requirements could significantly reduce access to health coverage and trigger deep economic losses, while failing to increase employment.