GWSPH Summer Institute

Enroll now in the 2026 Milken Institute School of Public Health Summer Institute and empower yourself to shape a healthier tomorrow. The classes for the 2026 schedule will be held online from May 18 - June 26, 2026. 

Experience a unique blend of graduate-level short courses designed to address critical and contemporary public health issues. This immersive five week 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 2026 online!
 

Week 1: May 18-22, 2026

Afternoon classes 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

PUBH 6299 Epidemiology of Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs (1 credit)

Instructors: Debra Bernat

Prerequisites: PUBH 6003 or introductory epidemiology course

Description: This course will cover fundamentals of substance use including alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs epidemiology in the United States, as well as current issues in substance use epidemiology research.  Students will acquire skills to critically read and evaluate substance use literature, as well as learn and be able to locate information about the prevalence, incidence, and trends for the most commonly used substances, risk factors for substance use, and substance use prevention and control.

Week 2: June 1-5, 2026

Morning classes 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

PUBH 6421 Responsible Conduct of Research (1 credit)

Instructor: Paul Ndebele

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.

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.

All-day classes 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

PUBH 6281 Analysis of Complex Survey Data (2 credits) 

Instructors: Sean Cleary

Prerequisites: 6853 or equivalent or programming experience in SAS/Stata

Description: Appropriate methods to analyze survey data collected using complex sampling methods are discussed and applied to national survey data to address provocative public health research questions.

Week 3: June 8-12, 2026

Afternoon classes 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

PUBH 6299 Epidemiology of Drug and Vaccine Safety (1 credit)

Instructor: Scott Quinlan

Prerequisites: 6002 and 6003 or equivalent intro epi and biostatistics course

Description: Introductory course on the importance of, and challenges and opportunities related to, studying the epidemiology of drug and vaccine safety in the real world.

Week 4: June 15-18, 2026

Morning classes 8:30 am – 12:00 pm

PUBH 6499 Introduction to Disaster Management (1 credit)

Instructor: Andrew L. Garrett

Prerequisites: None

Description: This course introduces students to core concepts and systems in disaster management, emphasizing all-hazards risk, domestic response frameworks, and disaster medical and public health operations. Through lectures, independent study, and
applied projects using Ciottone’s Disaster Medicine 3rd edition as a textbook, students will analyze real-world disasters and practice developing concise briefing products.

PUBH 6269 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.

Week 5: June 22-26, 2026

Morning classes 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

PUBH 6420 Understanding Commercial Determinants of Health (1 credit)

Instructor: Nino Paichadze

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 6499 Stigma and Health: Measurement, Mechanisms, and Intervention Design (1 credit)

Instructors: Sauharda Rai & Brandon Kohrt

Prerequisites: None

Description: Stigma is a powerful structural driver of health inequities across conditions, including mental health, HIV, substance use, disability, and chronic disease. It influences help seeking, treatment access, quality of care, policy development, and social inclusion across global contexts. This course will examine stigma as a multi-level determinant of health, with particular focus on mental health and intersecting conditions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Throughout the week, students will explore theoretical frameworks of stigma, approaches to measuring stigma across cultural contexts, and mechanisms through which stigma produces health disparities. The course will then delve into developing stigma-reduction interventions, largely focused on social contact and integrating lived experiences. Using real-world case studies, students will learn how to design, evaluate, and scale stigma reduction interventions that are contextually grounded and ethically sound.

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.

Afternoon classes 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

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

Instructor: Paul Ndebele

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.

Evening classes 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

PUBH 6499 Framework for Public Health Authority and Regulation (1 credit)

Instructor: Carlos Santos-Burgoa

Prerequisites: None

Description: This course will provide the conceptual and methodological basis to understand the risk protection function and how it is implemented through its regulatory institutions. The core method covered will be health risk assessment. We will use a comparative analysis of institutions in different countries as a source of information. At the end of the course, the student will be able to identify the value of public health protection and the essentials to deliver it.

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.