Health Communication and Digital Media - MPH | Milken Institute School of Public Health

HEalth Communication

& Digital Media - MPH

Applications are being accepted for a Fall 2027 start!

The Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Communication and Digital Media program trains the next generation of public health professionals to design, implement, and evaluate effective communication strategies that measurably improve population health.

Core Areas of Expertise

Graduates of the MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media will be trained in developing, implementing, and evaluating:

Behavior Change Communication: Programs that empower people make informed, sound health decisions and effectively manage their health behaviors.
AI and Digital Media Applications: Population-level campaigns and initiatives that leverage artificial intelligence, social and digital media to drive health behavior change.
Information Integrity and Digital Literacy: High-impact messages and digital strategies designed to promote evidence-based information, combat public health misinformation, and build digital health literacy.
Social Marketing Campaigns: Public Health programs that improve community health by enhancing the competitiveness and accessibility of healthy products and services over unhealthy alternatives.

Program Learning Objectives and Career Skills

Washington, D.C. is the epicenter of work in health communication, with more health communication companies based in D.C. than in any other place in the United States.

Students in the MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media program will gain hands-on experience and be able to:

Apply Ecological Frameworks: Assess and promote population health through a holistic, multi-level ecological lens.
Conduct Communication Research: Utilize rigorous research methods to design, refine, and improve public health programs.
Leverage Emerging Technologies: Develop and implement health communication strategies that harness AI, digital media, and community-engaged approaches to promote individual- and population-level behavior change.
Develop and Administer Public Health Communication Campaigns: Launch and manage health communication campaigns that promote individual- and population-level behavior change and improve the health capacity of communities.
Advocate for Policy: Develop and administer health communication programs to promote the adoption of policies that enhance digital health literacy, and address complex public health challenges.
Evaluate Program Impact: Measure and analyze the effectiveness of health communication and social marketing initiatives.

Flexible Programming

To help students fit graduate school into their daily life, Milken Institute SPH provides flexible course offerings, which allows Health Communication and Digital Media students to take up to 15 credits online. This means that all your first semester classes can be taken online, allowing you additional time to move to the DC area if needed. The MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media program requires the completion of 45 credits. Coursework can generally be completed in 2.5 years as a full-time student or 4 years as a part-time student, though we offer flexible pathways to degree completion and most students earn their degree in less time.

Program Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites for entering the Health Communication and Digital Media master’s program, other than a bachelor’s or higher degree. This program is a good fit for anyone with an interest in improving human health. Students who are especially interested in working with diverse populations and those who wish to study broad categories of health concerns are great candidates for this MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media.

Program Director: Khadidiatou Ndiaye

Advisor & Advising Info

Course descriptions are available in the GW Bulletin.

MPH Core Requirements

PUBH 6000 | MPH Applied Practice Experience (0 credits)
PUBH 6002 | Biostatistical Applications for Public Health (3 credits)
PUBH 6003 | Principles & Practice of Epidemiology (3 credits)
PUBH 6007 | Social & Behavioral Approaches to Public Health (2 credits)
PUBH 6011 | Principles of Environmental Health Sciences (3 credits)
PUBH 6012 | Fundamentals of Health Policy (2 credits)
PUBH 6021 | Essentials of Public Health Practice & Leadership 1 (1 credit)
PUBH 6022 | Essentials of Public Health Practice & Leadership 2 (1 credit)
PUBH 6023 | Interprofessional Education Experience (IPE) (0 credits)
PUBH 6015 | Culminating Experience (2 credits)

MPH CORE TOTAL: 17 CREDITS

Program-Specific Requirements

Required Department Courses
PUBH 6500 | Planning & Implementing Health Promotion Programs (3 credits)
PUBH 6501 | Program Evaluation (3 credits)

Required Public Health Communication and Marketing Courses
PUBH 6503 | Public Health Communication Campaigns in Domestic & International Settings (3 credits)
PUBH 6504 | Social & Behavioral Science Research Methods (3 credits)
PUBH 6570 | Advanced Public Health Communication: Theory & Practice (3 credits)
PUBH 6578 | Generative AI Applications in Health Promotion (2 credits)
PUBH 6579 | Health Misinformation in Digital Ecosystems (2 credits)

PROGRAM-SPECIFIC TOTAL: 19 CREDITS

Electives

Students must complete 9 credits of advisor-approved electives. For the most up-to-date list of approved electives, please reference the program guide. Alternatives may be discussed with your advisor.

ELECTIVES TOTAL: 9 CREDITS

Non-Academic Requirements

Professional Enhancement

Students in SPH degree programs must participate in eight hours of Professional Enhancement. These activities may be public health-related lectures, seminars, and symposia related to your field of study.

Professional Enhancement activities supplement the rigorous academic curriculum of the SPH degree programs and help prepare students to participate actively in the professional community. You can learn more about opportunities for Professional Enhancement via the Milken Institute School of Public Health Listserv, through departmental communications, or by speaking with your advisor.

Students must submit a completed Professional Enhancement Form to the student records office.

Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Training

All students are required to complete the Basic CITI training module in Social and Behavioral Research prior to beginning the practicum. This online training module for Social and Behavioral Researchers will help new students demonstrate and maintain sufficient knowledge of the ethical principles and regulatory requirements for protecting human subjects - key for any public health research

Academic Integrity Quiz

All Milken Institute School of Public Health students are required to review the University’s Code of Academic Integrity and complete the GW Academic Integrity Activity. This activity must be completed within 2 weeks of matriculation. Information on GWSPH Academic Integrity requirements can be found here.

Past Program Guides

Students in the MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media program should refer to the guide from the year in which they matriculated into the program. For the current program guide, click the "PROGRAM GUIDE" button at the top of the page.

GW MPH graduates of Health Communication and Digital Media program are in high demand as the need for health communication experts is quickly growing at the local, national, and global levels. Strong evidence exists that deem a master’s degree an essential requirement for a career in the field of health communication.

GW Health Communication and Digital Media graduates consistently have obtained employment in a variety of sectors. The top organizations to hire Health Communication and Digital Media graduates represent the federal government, non-profit advocacy or volunteer organizations, a variety of for-profit consulting agencies, and educational institutions.

Graduates express high success rates in securing jobs upon graduation in addition to financial success.

Career Opportunities

Depending on years of experience before starting your degree, position levels will vary. Below are examples of jobs, by sector, for which our graduates will be qualified for with 0-2 years of experience after earning an MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media.

Federal Agency

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – Public Health Specialist
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Science Communication Outreach Associate
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Public Health Analyst
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – Program Specialist
National Cancer Institute (NCI) – Health Communication Fellow
National Institutes of Health (NIH) – Writer/Editor
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) – Health Communication Specialist

Academia

GW Milken Institute of Public Health – Research Associate
National Children’s Hospital – Clinical Research Coordinator
GW Milken Institute of Public Health – Social Media Specialist

Consulting Groups & Other Private Agencies

Porter Novelli – Account Supervisor
Weber Shandwick – Client Experience Manager
Ketchum – Account Executive
Edelman – Senior Account Supervisor
Hager Sharp – Vice President
Spectrum Communications – Account Executive

Non-Profit Organizations

Project HOPE – Social Media Manager
Truth Initiative – Managing Director of Product
American Lung Association – National Specialist of Cessation Policy
Population Services International (PSI) – Communications and Knowledge Manager
FHI 360 (formerly AED) - Program Associate, Marketing Research
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute – Communications Manager
Epilepsy Foundation – Manager of Communications
American Institutes for Research – Digital Communications Associate

Visit our GW Career Services.

Students in the GW MPH programs gain practical skills and knowledge through their practice experiences. It is important for MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media graduates to feel confident in their skills and gain real-world experience during their studies. Students in the Health Communication and Digital Media program complete both an Applied Practice Experience (practicum) and a Culminating Experience to practice their knowledge and skills in real-world settings.

Practicum

In the Department of Prevention and Community Health, the Applied Practice Experience is a course designed to engage students in a Practice Activity—a planned, supervised, and evaluated experience in a public health organization. The Practice Activity can be related to either primary research or public health practice. It might include activities such as conducting literature reviews, writing proposals, designing ad campaigns, or collecting and analyzing data.

The Practice Activity for the MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media may not be directly related to the student's day-to-day work. This is to ensure that students learn and apply new skills in the context of public health. If the student does conduct the Practice Activity at their place of employment, it must be work for which the student is not remunerated.

Examples of Practicum Sites:

Guidehouse – Summer Associate
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Public Affairs – Strategic Communications Officer
Park View Market – Public Health Communications Intern
Hager Sharp
Children’s National Hospital

Culminating Experience

The Culminating Experience (CE) integrates the knowledge and skills students acquire through their academic work and the Practice Activity. The CE requires students to identify and define a specific public health issue and formulate hypotheses to address that issue. Students work with data obtained through either primary research or from an existing dataset. The process of proposal development, data analysis, interpretation, and extrapolation of the results culminates in a written report or manuscript and an oral presentation.

Examples of CEs include:

A Qualitative Evaluation of Patient Trust and Acceptance of AI Tools in Community Health Centers After AI Demonstrations
Recommendations on Communication Strategies for the Support Your Heart Feasibility Study: Targeting Young Adults on the Importance of Cardiovascular Health Interventions
Celebrity Advocacy and Youth Mental Health Engagement: A Thematic Analysis of UNICEF x BTS Love Myself Campaign Across Social Media Platforms
A Content Analysis of Mental Health Corporate Social Responsibility Campaigns Targeted to Adolescents and Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In-depth Mainstream Media Coverage of the 2021 Texas Power Crisis: A Volume & Accuracy Analysis
The Impact of Athlete Mental Health Self-Disclosures from Olympic Athletes: Content Analysis of Twitter Data
“You’re Not Alone:” A Communications Campaign to Improve Mental Health Outcomes in George Washington University First-Year Students

Students pursuing an MPH in Health Communication and Digital Media have access to a world-class faculty with relevant expertise and diverse experience in research, governmental, clinical, and communication settings. The many areas of interest and research experience for professors and lecturers in the MPH in Health Communication and Digital program include behavior science, program planning, new media, and ad and strategy development.

Faculty Spotlight

Researchers at George Washington University are looking into a new use for AI chatbots: Helping smokers quit.

News4's Mauricio Casillas spoke with Dr. Lorien Abroms, Professor of Prevention and Community Health and Health Communication & Digital Media faculty member, about how much the BeFreeBot helped smokers trying to kick their habit in an initial study — and about the guardrails being put in place to make sure the tool stays helpful.