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
Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity Announces its 2026 Cohort
September 15, 2025
The Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity announced its 2026 cohort — 15 leaders worldwide creating bold solutions to improve health in their communities.
New Research: Proposed CDC Budget Cuts Harm Public Health and State and Local Economies
Proposed budget would lead to shrinking state and local economies and 42,000 jobs lost nationwide, according to a new analysis
September 10, 2025
Proposed FY26 CDC budget cuts could harm public health and undermine state and local economies, GW researchers report.
Public Health Leaders Urge Court to Protect Medicaid Beneficiaries from Harmful Waivers in Indiana
The brief urges the court to affirm a lower court ruling that found federal approvals of Indiana’s Medicaid waiver extensions unlawful
July 9, 2025
WASHINGTON (July 9, 2025) – The American Public Health Association, along with 67 leading deans and scholars in public health and health law, has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Monte Rose Jr., et al. v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., et al.