Health and the Public Interest

Application Deadline

Georgetown’s HAPI program is unique because it brings together students from varied academic backgrounds to coalesce in an interdisciplinary public health education experience that makes for richer cross-pollination, creative thinking, and problem solving.

Tiger Bye ’21, Co-Founder of Better Yoga

An Interdisciplinary Curriculum That Integrates Theory, Science and Advocacy

We examine health policy through a lens that considers societal, psychological and cultural factors and how they intersect with corporate and institutional influences through our curriculum which emphasizes critical thinking, analytical and research skills. The challenges we face today require creative solutions; therefore, our program embraces an interdisciplinary approach.

Health and the Public Interest students have access to electives across many programs and schools at Georgetown that enable them to tailor the program to their specific interests.

Learn From Leaders in Public Health

The Health and the Public Interest Seminar Series is a forum in which Georgetown students, faculty, and the general public engage with key leaders in healthcare research, policy, and advocacy. Seminar topics may include topics such as cross-cultural views of disease, cultural change and health, the medicalization of normal life, corporate shaping of discourse about illness, the regulation of medical products, placebo effects, symptom formation and healing, the high costs of drugs, creating new diseases, and the opioid epidemic. 

This fall we will be featuring seminars from speakers such as David Holtgrave, PhD, Senior Policy Advisor for the State of New York Department of Health and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Charles Hillman, PhD, Associate Director for the Center of Cognitive & Brain Health, and Christopher King, PhD, Dean of Georgetown University School of Health. See the full Fall 2024 schedule and join our seminar series mailing list for weekly virtual seminar invitations.

Judy Waxman, JD

Oral Historian and Former Vice President of Health and Reproductive Rights at the National Women’s Law Center

Watch on Youtube: Will Women Ever Have Control Over Their Own Bodies?

Lucile Adams-Campbell, PhD

Cancer epidemiologist and Distinguished University Professor

Watch on Youtube: Intersectionality of Cancer, Aging, and Disparities: A Biological Basis

Matthew Biel, MD

Marriott Chair in Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health, Georgetown University Medical Center

Watch on Youtube: Trauma, Adversity, and Social Determinants of Mental Health

Advancing Your Career in Public Health

The Master of Science in Health and the Public Interest trains students to work in a variety of fields and graduates are highly competitive for health policy or research jobs in government, advocacy, or nonprofit sectors. A defining feature of the master’s program in Health and the Public Interest is the small cohort size. This allows for an engaging and interactive academic experience as well as tailored career service advising – we are here to help you find jobs, internships, and projects that are right for you.

Our graduates pursue a wide range of careers in the non-profit, private sector, and government. Here are some employers of our recent grads: 

• Health Resources and Services Administration
• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 
• Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
• National Cancer Institute
• National Center for Health Research
• PharmedOut
• Medicare Rights Center