Health Policy - PhD

GWSPH Doctoral programs admit students for the Fall term each academic year. Applications will be accepted beginning in August and are due no later than December 1st for the next matriculating cohort beginning in the following Fall term. Find Milken Institute SPH graduate admissions information here.

The Health Policy PhD is a 48-credit program designed to be full-time, in-residence for the first two years. Admitted students will be required to have:

• A Master's degree; preferably in public health, public policy, and similar fields (e.g. economics, sociology, demography).
• Evidence of introductory economics and introductory statistics coursework.
• At least one year of multivariate statistics (e.g. biostatistics, econometrics) is desirable, but not required.
• Prior experience conducting health policy or health services research. Experience developing peer-reviewed articles or scholarly reports is desirable but not required.
• Professional experience is helpful, but not required.

GWSPH uses the SOPHAS* application system for admissions. Applications will be reviewed beginning in January and those applicants selected for a personal interview (in-person, telephone or videoconference) can expect to be contacted no later than late-February.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is strongly recommended but not required. Applicants for the PhD in Health Policy may submit their GRE scores to SOPHAS Code 5268. Email gwsphadmitgwu [dot] edu (gwsphadmit[at]gwu[dot]edu) should you have any questions.

Course descriptions are available in the GW Bulletin.

See the program guide and the SPH Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

Required Core

PUBH 6080 | Pathways to Public Health (0 credit)
PUBH 8001 | PhD Seminar on Cross-Cutting Concepts in Public Health (1 credit)
PUBH 8416 | Study Design & Evaluation Methods (3 credits)
PUBH 8418 | Applied Statistical Analysis (3 credits)
PUBH 8475 | Research Ethics and Integrity in Domestic & International Research (1 credit)

REQUIRED CORE TOTAL: 8 CREDITS

Required Program-Specific Courses

PUBH 6340 | Health Economics & Finance (3 credits)
PUBH 8405 | Advanced Topics: Health Economics Research (3 credits)
PUBH 8417 | Qualitative Research Methods & Analysis (3 credits)
PUBH 8620 | Seminar: Foundations of U.S. Health Policy (2 credits)
PUBH 8622 | Healthcare Payments, Systems, & Delivery Models (3 credits)
PUBH 8722 | Public Health Policy Analysis (3 credits)
PPPA 8022 | Econometrics for Policy Research II (at least 2 credits)

PROGRAM-SPECIFIC TOTAL: 19 CREDITS

Electives Courses

Students may choose any PUBH graduate-level course. Electives offered by other departments at GW may also be acceptable. All electives must be approved in advance by the program director. See program guide for latest pre-approved elective courses.

ELECTIVES TOTAL: 11 CREDITS MINIMUM

Dissertation Requirements

PUBH 8435 | PhD Dissertation Proposal Development (2 credits)
PUBH 8999 | Health Policy & Management PhD Dissertation Research (at least 8 credits)

DISSERTATION RESEARCH TOTAL: 10 CREDITS MINIMUM

Non-Academic Requirements

Professional Enhancement

Students in Milken Institute SPH degree programs must participate in eight hours of Professional Enhancement. These activities are pre-approved by an advisor and may be public health-related lectures, seminars, or 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.  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

Program Guides from prior Academic Years

Students in the PhD in Health Policy 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.

• Program Guide, 2025-26
• Program Guide, 2024-25
• Program Guide, 2023-24
• Program Guide, 2022-23
• Program Guide, 2021-22
• Program Guide, 2020-21
• Program Guide, 2019-20

Comprehensive Exam

The PhD in Health Policy requires successful completion of comprehensive exams which typically occurs following the Spring semester of Year 2. Students will compile a 3-person comprehensive exam committee which will consist of their advisor and two other appropriate faculty members. Upon successful completion of the comprehensive exam, students move to the candidacy phase of the PhD program and may begin work on the dissertation. 

Dissertation

For the dissertation, students are expected to conduct original research on a contemporary public health problem or issue. They are expected to make a significant scholarly contribution and to gain the expertise and skills that enable them to make a continuing impact on the field. Students are guided by health policy, public health and social science theory in formulating their dissertation questions, which they address using quantitative and/or qualitative methods and through primary data collection and/or secondary analysis of already collected data.

Dissertations may take the form of a traditional dissertation or a “manuscript” dissertation where the student will prepare 3 papers in a related area that are publishable or have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Additional information will be made available to PhD students well in advance of their candidacy.

Meet Our Recent Graduates