Dual Master of Public Health and Doctor of Medicine

Program Co-Directors: K. Bartholomew, G. Gray

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and the Milken Institute School of Public Health (SPH) offer two combined degree programs to prepare clinician-leaders to help drive the changing health care landscape, improve broad health systems, promote the health of communities, and engage in scholarly inquiry. MD students at GW have the option of earning an MD/Master of Public Health (MD/MPH) with one additional year of training or completing an MD/Graduate Certificate in Public Health (MD/Certificate) during the four years of medical school.

Both combined programs capitalize on the MD program’s inclusion of its clinical public health curriculum and take full advantage of GW’s location in the nation’s capital, with unique proximity to policymakers, agencies, and organizations engaged in all aspects of health and health care. Upon completion of either the MD/MPH or MD/Certificate, students may take the national certifying exam in public health (CPH).

MD/MPH

MD students can complete an MPH with one additional year of training (4 years MD + 1 year MPH) through a combination of online and residential MPH Courses. Students pursue a generalist MPH program that provides them with a broad knowledge of public health while offering a generous number of electives to allow students an opportunity to design a program tailored to their interests and goals. 

By capitalizing on the SMHS MD curriculum's inclusion of public health, population health, and health systems in its clinical public health curriculum, the MD/MPH provides 15 cross-credits for Milken SPH courses, with 30 credits to be completed at Milken SPH. Also, 4 credits from Milken SPH will cross-count as 4 weeks of  MD fourth-year electives. Students may begin Milken SPH coursework during the summer after Year 1, Year 3, or Year 4 of the MD Program. 

MD/Certificate in Public Health

MD students can gain a foundational understanding of the core disciplines of public health by completing a Graduate Certificate in Public Health during the four years of the MD program. MD/Certificate students begin SPH courses during the summer following Year 1 and complete 10 credits at SPH while receiving 5 credits for MD clinical public health coursework. Additionally, the MD Program accepts SPH coursework as 4 weeks of MD fourth-year electives.

For more information about both programs visit the Milken Institute SPH website or contact the MD Public Health combined degree program at mdmph@gwu.edu. 

Adjusted requirements for the MPH when taken as part of the dual program

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Adjusted MPH core curriculum requirements
Core (11 credits)
PUBH 6000	MPH Applied Practice Experience
PUBH 6002	Biostatistical Applications for Public Health
PUBH 6003	Principles and Practices of Epidemiology
PUBH 6007	Social and Behavioral Approaches to Public Health
PUBH 6009	Fundamentals of Public Health Program Evaluation
PUBH 6022	Essentials of Public Health Practice and Leadership II
Program-Specific (10 credits)
PUBH 6052	Practical Data Management and Analysis for Public Health
PUBH 6442	Comparative Global Health Systems
PUBH 6500	Planning and Implementing Health Promotion Programs
PUBH 6503	Introduction to Public Health Communication and Marketing
Electives (9 credits)
9 credits taken in any graduate-level PUBH courses.

Cross crediting

Completion of 45 credits is required for the standalone MPH program. For the dual MD/MPH, students in both programs must complete a minimum of 30 credits in MPH coursework. Up to 15 credits from the MD curriculum may be cross credited between programs.

• MPH core courses: 11 credits in MPH core courses are required instead of the 17 credits required for the standalone MPH

MD/MPH students take 11 credits of the regular MPH@GW core coursework. In addition, they receive a total of 6 credits from cross crediting MD program coursework. These credits fulfill the requirement for the following MPH core courses: PUBH 6011 Environmental and Biological Foundations of Public Health (3 credits), PUBH 6012 Fundamentals of Health Policy (2 credits), and PUBH 6021 Essentials of Public Health Practice and Leadership I (1 credit).

• MPH culminating experience: 2 credits are cross credited from MD coursework

MD/MPH students satisfy the 2-credit MPH requirements in PUBH 6060 (1 credit) and PUBH 6061 (1 credit) by cross crediting of coursework MD coursework.

• MPH program-specific requirements: 10 credits of PUBH-specific coursework

MD/MPH students complete required program-specific MPH courses PUBH 6052, PUBH 6442, PUBH 6500, and PUBH 6503 (10 credits).

• MPH elective requirement: 9 credits in PUBH course

Students must take a minimum of 9 elective credits in any PUBH courses. The MPH program will accept up to 7 credits from the MD program to count toward additional MPH elective requirements. 

• Cross-counting MPH credits for MD Year 4 electives

4 credits in MPH coursework taken in PUBH 6007 (2 credits) and PUBH 6009 (2 credits) are cross-counted as four weeks of MD Year 4 electives.