• Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Content
  • Skip to Footer
McCourt School of Public Policy
  • Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Dual Degree Programs
    • International Programs
    • Certificate Programs
    • Executive Education
  • People
    • Leadership Team
    • Faculty and Researchers
    • Staff
  • Research
    • Featured Publications
    • Centers and Initiatives
    • Massive Data Institute
    • Tech & Public Policy
    • Better Government Lab
    • GU Politics
    • Research Data Center
    • Faculty and Researchers
    • Research Seminars
  • Admissions
    • Application Requirements
    • Application Deadlines
    • Cost, Aid, and Assistance
    • McCourt’s Foundational Skill Set
    • Admissions Events
    • McCourt Ambassadors
    • McCourt Scholars
    • Class Profiles
    • International Applicants
    • Admissions FAQ and Contact Information
  • Life at McCourt
    • Schedule an Event at the McCourt School
    • Student Organizations
    • Community Engagement
    • Events at McCourt
    • Research Opportunities
    • Opportunities at Georgetown
    • Life in DC
    • Resources for Current Students
  • Apply Now
  • Careers with Impact
    • Careers in Policy
    • Employment Outcomes
    • Resources for Students
    • Resources for Alumni
    • Resources for Employers
    • Career Development Team
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • A Letter from our Dean
    • Our History
    • Our Founding Donor
    • Commitment to Inclusion
    • Our New Home
    • McCourt School Advisory Board
  • News
    • Policy Perspectives
    • The Policy Memo
    • McCourt Impacts
  • Giving
    • Support Funds
Georgetown University
  • Apply Now
  • Careers with Impact
    • Careers in Policy
    • Employment Outcomes
    • Resources for Students
    • Resources for Alumni
    • Resources for Employers
    • Career Development Team
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • A Letter from our Dean
    • Our History
    • Our Founding Donor
    • Commitment to Inclusion
    • Our New Home
    • McCourt School Advisory Board
  • News
    • Policy Perspectives
    • The Policy Memo
    • McCourt Impacts
  • Giving
    • Support Funds
McCourt School of Public Policy
  • Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Dual Degree Programs
    • International Programs
    • Certificate Programs
    • Executive Education
  • People
    • Leadership Team
    • Faculty and Researchers
    • Staff
  • Research
    • Featured Publications
    • Centers and Initiatives
    • Massive Data Institute
    • Tech & Public Policy
    • Better Government Lab
    • GU Politics
    • Research Data Center
    • Faculty and Researchers
    • Research Seminars
  • Admissions
    • Application Requirements
    • Application Deadlines
    • Cost, Aid, and Assistance
    • McCourt’s Foundational Skill Set
    • Admissions Events
    • McCourt Ambassadors
    • McCourt Scholars
    • Class Profiles
    • International Applicants
    • Admissions FAQ and Contact Information
  • Life at McCourt
    • Schedule an Event at the McCourt School
    • Student Organizations
    • Community Engagement
    • Events at McCourt
    • Research Opportunities
    • Opportunities at Georgetown
    • Life in DC
    • Resources for Current Students
Life at McCourt
Navigate To…
  • Student Organizations
  • Community Engagement
    • McCourt Policy in Practice
    • Policy Challenge
    • Policy Innovation Lab
  • Events at McCourt
  • Research Opportunities
  • Opportunities at Georgetown
  • Life in DC
  • Resources for Current Students

Policy Challenge

Applications are now open for the 2023 Georgetown Public Policy Challenge. Applications are due by January 27, 2023. Click here to apply.

Students enrolled in any Georgetown graduate program are eligible to apply, either as an individual or as a team of 2-5 students. Individuals will be placed on teams with other students with similar policy interests. The application for the 2023 Public Policy Challenge is now open. Applications are due by January 27, 2023. Please address any questions to publicpolicychallenge@georgetown.edu. 

The Georgetown Public Policy Challenge tasks graduate students with developing innovative solutions to issues in the Washington, DC region. Hundreds of students have participated and thousands of dollars in prize money has been awarded through this competition since its founding in 2014, leading to the development and implementation of proposals focusing on a large range of policy issues across the District.

Georgetown University School of Medicine students Kira Chandran (M‘23), Pei-Ying Kobres (M‘23), Chloe Wang (M‘23) and Ruth Watson (M‘23) were awarded the grand prize at the 2022 Georgetown Public Policy Challenge final hosted by the McCourt School. Their proposal, “​​Within Reach: Ending Opioid-Related Deaths in the District,” was recognized as the most outstanding innovative policy solution to help address a challenge in the DC community.

The winner of the 2021 Public Policy Challenge was the Buy Your Own Building project, which proposed providing small businesses in DC the right of first refusal to purchase their buildings and create a grant for equity impact enterprises in Wards 7 and 8 to assist with down payments.

Other past winning proposals have addressed the issues young homeless parents face in the District, DC’s high asthma prevalence and ER utilization rates, a mobile clinic to supply free flu vaccinations to vulnerable neighborhoods, a skills-based job training program housed within public libraries, a workshop teaching forgiveness and reconciliation to high-risk Latino youth, and a mobile-based application that directly addresses absenteeism and academic performance.


  • Policy Challenge 2022
  • Policy Challenge 2021
  • Policy Challenge 2020
  • Policy Challenge 2019
  • Policy Challenge 2019 Finalists 
  • Policy Challenge 2018
  • Policy Challenge 2017 National Finalists
  • Policy Challenge 2017
  • Policy Challenge 2016
  • Policy Challenge 2015

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Georgetown University
  • Apply Now
  • Careers with Impact
  • About Us
  • News
  • Giving

McCourt School of Public Policy
37th and O Streets, NW
Old North, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20057

P. (202) 687-5932

  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright Information
  • Accessibility
  • Notice of Non-Discrimination
© 2023 McCourt School of Public Policy