Joint Degree - PA/MPH | Milken Institute School of Public Health

Joint Degree - PA/MPH

As the US health care system continues to evolve, market forces create new and expanding roles for health care professionals. The joint Physician Assistant/Master of Public Health (MPH) Program strives to develop health care professionals with both the depth of medical knowledge and the range of leadership and policy skills needed to meet future challenges. Based in both the Milken Institute School of Public Health (SPH) and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) the PA/MPH Program blends important traditional paradigms of health care.

Students in the Program prepare as clinicians fulfilling all of the requirements for national certification as a physician assistant (PA) in the GW Physician Assistant Program.

The major goals of the GW PA/MPH Program are to:

Recruit diverse and intellectually curious students and develop in them a strong clinical medical and prevention knowledge base.
Develop practitioners for the future who use analytic thinking skills to integrate concepts of prevention, community-oriented primary care, and population health.
Nurture respect for the cultural and personal beliefs of all patients and an understanding of how social, economic, and other system forces can impact health and healthcare.
Encourage graduates to be responsive to the needs of patients and society and advocate for quality patient care.
Graduate collaborative clinicians who will serve the healthcare needs of a worldwide community with intelligence, compassion and integrity.

Program Director: Howard Straker

Applicants to the joint PA/MPH Program apply directly to the PA Program and are reviewed independently by the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (PA) and the Milken Institute School of Public Health (MPH). The School of Medicine and Health Science will contact you regarding the completion of your application and admissions decisions.

The deadline for all materials is October 1st. Both the CASPA and Supplemental applications must be received and fully completed by this date. Incomplete applications by this date will prevent the application from further review.

To save you time and money, the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, will copy your application materials and send them to the Admissions department in the Milken Institute SPH. Do not complete the SOPHAS application or the SPH secondary application, as this will delay the processing of your application and result in additional application fees.

Students in The George Washington University PA-MSHS/MPH Program fulfill the requirements of both programs with some credits in each program counting toward joint curricular requirements.

For more information about PA requirements please go to the SMHS website for the PA program.

The 6 MPH tracks in the joint PA/MPH programs include the following:

Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) Track
Environmental Health Science and Policy Track
Epidemiology Track
Global Environmental Health Track
Health Policy Track
Maternal and Child Health Track

For further information, please contact respective GWSPH departments and Program Directors.

Community-Oriented Primary Care (COPC)

COPC is designed for clinicians to apply public health in clinical settings, domestic or international. Graduates are equipped to assess, design, implement, and evaluate community health interventions with current technologies. For example, students learn how to analyze electronic health records at a population level and design mobile phone apps.

COPC...

is designed for clinicians.
is assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs.
implements public health in clinical settings.
is in any community, across various health issues.

For more information please see the Milken Institute School of Public Health - COPC homepage.

Curricular Guide, 2024-25 (for students matriculating Summer 2025)
Curricular Guide, 2023-24 (for students matriculating Summer 2024)
Curricular Guide, 2022-23 (for students matriculating Summer 2023)
Curricular Guide, 2021-22 (for students matriculating Summer 2022)
Curricular Guide, 2020-21 (for students matriculating Summer 2021)
Curricular Guide, 2019-20 (for students matriculating Summer 2020)
Curricular Guide, 2018-19 (for students matriculating summer 2019)
Program Guide, 2017-18
Program Guide, 2016-17

Environmental Health Science & Policy

EHSP is designed to provide graduates with a solid understanding of the connections between the environment and health, and the link between science and policy in public health. Students develop the analytic skills to compare options and identify sustainable solutions to health-related challenges, primarily within the developed world.

EHSP…

evaluates the impact of natural & human-made environment on health.
analyzes policies for implications for environmental & occupational health.
graduates participate in policy development, implementation and evaluation.
assess and manage environmental & occupational risks.

For more information please see the Milken Institute School of Public Health - EHSP homepage.

Curricular Guide, 2023-24 (for students matriculating Summer 2024)
Curricular Guide, 2022-23 (for students matriculating Summer 2023)
Curricular Guide, 2021-22 (for students matriculating Summer 2022)
Curricular Guide, 2020-21 (for students matriculating Summer 2021)
Curricular Guide, 2019-20 (for students matriculating Summer 2020)
Curricular Guide, 2018-19 (for students matriculating Summer 2019)
Program Guide, 2017-18
Program Guide, 2016-17

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is designed to prepare students for epidemiological research and evaluation in academic, governmental, private-sector, and community health centers. Students receive training in quantitative methods, including the use of software such as SAS, R, and GIS. In addition, students can focus in specialty areas including chronic disease, infectious disease, reproductive and perinatal outcomes, environmental epidemiology, nutritional epidemiology, and translational epidemiology.

Epidemiology...

is a core science of public health
focuses on determinants and distribution of disease and injury
designs, conducts, interprets and evaluates health related studies
manages and analyzes health data

For more information please see the Milken Institute School of Public Health - Epidemiology homepage.

Curricular Guide, 2024-25 (for students matriculating Summer 2025)
Curricular Guide, 2023-24 (for students matriculating Summer 2024)
Curricular Guide, 2022-23 (for students matriculating Summer 2023)
Curricular Guide, 2021-22 (for students matriculating Summer 2022)
Curricular Guide, 2020-21 (for students matriculating Summer 2021)
Curricular Guide, 2019-20 (for students matriculating Summer 2020)
Curricular Guide, 2018-19 (for students matriculating Summer 2019)
Program Guide, 2017-18
Program Guide, 2016-17

Global Environment Health

GEH is designed to provide graduates with a solid understanding of the connections between the environment and health, and the link between science and policy in public health. Students develop the analytic skills to compare options and identify sustainable solutions to health-related challenges, primarily within the developing world.

Global Environmental Health...

assess environmental exposures.
interprets epidemiologic and other research findings related to global environmental health risks.
assume leadership roles in designing, implementing and evaluating programs that focus on modification of environmental health-related behaviors at local, regional, national and/or global levels.

For more information please see the Milken Institute School of Public Health - Global Environmental Health homepage.

Curricular Guide, 2024-25 (for students matriculating Summer 2025)
Curricular Guide, 2023-24 (for students matriculating Summer 2024)
Curricular Guide, 2022-23 (for students matriculating Summer 2023)
Curricular Guide, 2021-22 (for students matriculating Summer 2022)
Curricular Guide, 2020-21 (for students matriculating Summer 2021)
Curricular Guide, 2019-20 (for students matriculating Summer 2020)
Curricular Guide, 2018-19 (for students matriculating Summer 2019)
Program Guide, 2017-18
Program Guide, 2016-17

Health Policy

The MPH in Health Policy offers the only free-standing degree program of its kind in the country. The course is designed to provide PA students with the tools needed to effect positive changes in policy in order to best serve health workers and their patients.

Health Policy...

provides access to top national health policy experts
applies policy analysis to research studies and health program evaluations
designs and evaluates policies that impact health
examines policy across various health issues

For more information please see the Milken Institute School of Public Health - Health Policy homepage.

Curricular Guide, 2024-25 (for students matriculating Summer 2025)
Curricular Guide, 2023-24 (for students matriculating Summer 2024)
Curricular Guide, 2022-23 (for students matriculating Summer 2023)
Curricular Guide, 2021-22 (for students matriculating Summer 2022)
Curricular Guide, 2020-21 (for students matriculating Summer 2021)
Curricular Guide, 2019-20 (for students matriculating Summer 2020)
Curricular Guide, 2018-19 (for students matriculating Summer 2019)
Program Guide, 2017-18
Program Guide, 2016-17

Maternal & Child Health

The MPH in Maternal and Child Health prepares health professionals to look at maternal and child health using a multi-disciplinary perspective.

Maternal and Child Health...

assesses the healthcare needs of women, children, and families
promotes the well-being of women and children
develops health professionals who will work most effectively with diverse populations of women and children

For more information please see the Milken Institute School of Public Health - Maternal and Child Health homepage.

PA/MPH students have a cap on tuition of 11 credits each semester, which means that joint students pay the current rate per credit up to and including 11 credits. For example, first Fall semester in the PA/MPH program, students enroll in 15 credits but will pay for 11.

Note: Tuition may increase each year beginning in the summer session, which is the beginning of the fiscal year.