GWSPH Summer Institute

Enroll now in the 2025 Milken Institute School of Public Health Summer Institute and empower yourself to shape a healthier tomorrow. The classes for the 2025 schedule will be held online from June 2-13, 2025. 

Experience a unique blend of graduate-level short courses designed to address critical and contemporary public health issues. This immersive five day program, taught by esteemed public health researcher experts and practitioners at the forefront of public health research and practice, offers an unmatched opportunity to gain practical expertise, refine your analytical skills, network with like-minded global professionals, and broaden your understanding of pressing health challenges.

Our flexible learning format ensures that you can participate in these engaging courses from anywhere in the world. Delve into key topics and cutting-edge approaches that will empower you to contribute effectively to the global public health landscape. With a curriculum crafted to accommodate the busy schedules of international professionals, you can access valuable insights without interrupting your career.

Below are the courses being offered in Summer 2025 online!
 

Week 1: June 2-6, 2025

Morning classes 8:30 am – 12:00 pm

PUBH 6420 Understanding Commercial Determinants of Health (1 credit)

Instructors: Nino Paichadze (Primary and contact) and Adnan A. Hyder 

Prerequisites: None

Description: The goal of this course is to explore the relatively new concept of commercial determinants of health, their drivers and channels and focus on conceptual understanding and frameworks for commercial determinants as key to improving public health. This course will allow participants to explore the concept, appreciate how commercial determinants impact global health, analyze them by applying conceptual frameworks and discuss effective approaches for addressing them.

PUBH 6421 Responsible Conduct of Research (1 credit)

Instructors: Paul Ndebele (Primary and contact) and Adnan A. Hyder 

Prerequisites: None

Description: The main goal of this course is to increase participants’ awareness about responsible conduct of research including strategies for preventing irresponsible research practices inclusive of unacceptable research practices as well as research misconduct. The course meets the requirement for individuals engaged in NIH and NSF funded research and focuses on a conceptual understanding of responsible conduct of research as key to human and societal development.

Afternoon classes 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm

PUBH 6499 Global Health and Rule of Law (1 credit)

Instructor: Kimberly Gamble-Payne

Prerequisites: none

Description: Legally binding agreements among governing powers have been an essential feature of the history of global health policy and practice, beginning with the 1377 Law of Ragusa (Dubrovnik today) a legal system for protecting public health and commercial interests from infectious disease associated with trade and travel. And so began an expansion of state authority to protect public health through the application of the rule of law. This short course is a general introduction and a broad overview of the bodies of international law, regulation and other agreements that constitute a critical framework of global health governance. The focus of the course will be on (1) global health security laws and regulations, (2) human rights, humanitarian and refugee law and (3) international trade law. Class discussions will be built around selected readings and case studies.

Week 2: June 9-13, 2025

Morning classes 8:30 am – 12:00 pm

PUBH 6299 Reproductive Epidemiology (1 credit)

Instructor: Heather Young

Prerequisites: PUBH 6003 or introductory epidemiology course

Description: This course focuses on current research, controversial issues, and methodological problems in the epidemiology of perinatal health including complications of pregnancy, adverse pregnancy outcomes, infections in pregnancy, and adverse birth outcomes.

PUBH 6422 Injury and Global Public Health (1 credit)

Instructors: Katherine Douglass and Nino Paichadze

Prerequisites: None

Description: Injury is a complex issue that involves competing interests between the need for economic development in communities and the health and safety of populations. This course will provide a snapshot of different injury topics, both domestic and international, through a public health lens. We will explore different public health aspects of injury, including surveillance, evaluation strategies, and policy implications.

PUBH 6699 Introduction to Nutrition in Spanish (1 credit)

Instructors: Karina Lora & Carmen Ortega-Santos

Prerequisites: Knowledge of Spanish, at least intermediate level (B1)

Description: This short course introduces the fundamentals of human nutrition, emphasizing its role in health, disease prevention, and management through a public health lens. Taught entirely in Spanish, this course is uniquely designed to support those interested in research, community engagement, or clinical practice with Spanish-speaking populations. Students will explore how nutrients are digested, absorbed, and metabolized, their functions in health, and their impact on diet-related chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cancer.

Afternoon classes 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm

PUBH 6299 Perinatal Epidemiology (1 credit)

Instructor: Heather Young

Prerequisites: PUBH 6003 or introductory epidemiology course

Description: This course focuses on current research, controversial issues, and methodological problems in the epidemiology of reproductive health including conception, infertility, reproductive health care, puberty, and reproductive senescence.

PUBH 6423 Ethics in Public Health Practice and Policy (1 credit)

Instructors: Paul Ndebele (Primary and contact) and Adnan A. Hyder 

Prerequisites: None

Description: The main goal of this course is to increase participants’ awareness about public health ethics. The course provides training on the basics of public health ethics and the process of ethical analysis and describes tools and resources for addressing ethical challenges that commonly arise in the practice of public health. It also explores the complementary nature of public health law and public health ethics, reviews approaches to implementing public health ethics, and presents case studies to illustrate the steps of applying an ethical analysis to real-life case scenarios.

PUBH 6299 Digital Methods in Epidemiology (1 credit)

Instructor: Jonathon Rendina

Prerequisites: PUBH 6003 or introductory epidemiology course

Description: This course will provide an introduction to the field of digital epidemiology, in which epidemiologic research and surveillance is conducted by analyzing trends in historical or prospective digital data, such as social media posts or search engine queries. Additionally, the course will provide an initial survey of the use of various digital technologies and data types within epidemiologic research and practice. Finally, the course will highlight key ethical considerations and limitations related to the use of digital epidemiology and digital methods in research. The overall goal of the course is to introduce students to a variety of digital methods and data types available within epidemiology for further learning rather than provide in-depth knowledge in a specific area.

MORE COURSES COMING SOON 

How can I get confirmation of completing a course?

Upon successfully completing a course, the course instructor will award students a certificate of completion. If requested, the University Registrar's office can also confirm course completion. However, individuals who register for the course but do not attend the full course or fail to meet all requirements will not receive credit. As a result, they will be considered ineligible for confirmation of attendance or transcripts.

Can I receive tuition reimbursement/scholarship funding if I’m a GW faculty member, staff, or student?

GW employees eligible for tuition remission may apply this benefit to these courses. Other student scholarship funding is not available for GWSPH Summer Institute classes.

What is the tuition rate?

Students who opt to take one or more of the GWSPH Summer Institute courses for one credit will be charged at the regular tuition rate. GWSPH 2025 tuition rate is $1,890.05 per credit.

Other professionals may enroll in these courses for zero credit option at 50% of the rate per credit, which is $945.03 for each course in 2025.

Are there prerequisite requirements I have to fulfill to be eligible to take these courses?

Most classes offered in the Summer Institute do not have prerequisites and can be taken regardless of other coursework.  Please check the course descriptions on the overview page.

Will these courses be graded?

Students who select the one-credit option will be graded based on the grading scale outlined in the syllabus.

Students who choose the zero-credit option will not receive a letter grade, but they must fulfill all course requirements to obtain confirmation of completion.

Where will classes be held?

All 2025 Summer Institute classes will be held entirely online.

What are expectations of students?

These courses are offered at the level expected of graduate education.  Students will be expected to fulfill all requirements.  Workload includes:

• Participation in all class activities, discussions, assignments
• Pre-class reading assignments to be prepared for first day of class
• Reading assignments for each session
• Independent and/or group work assignments most evenings; may include preparation for quizzes
• Submission of a final paper one week after class has ended

​What is your refund and cancellation policy?

Courses dropped prior to the start of the semester (before the first day of classes) will have 100% of the tuition charges canceled.

Will my institution accept this course for credit?

Students are responsible for ensuring that their respective institutions for higher education will accept this course for credit. GWSPH is unable to confirm that determination for other institutions. If you are in a GWSPH program or other GW program please confirm with your program director, in advance, that any course you enroll in will be accepted as an elective credit to your program.

If I am interested in a degree program at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, where do I get more information?

The GW School of Public Health has an array of degree programs that may interest you. Please learn about these programs on our website by following this link.