GPPI began as an idea in the Departments of Government and Economics in the late 1970s. The Government Department instituted a certificate program in 1980-1981 and in 1982 hired two junior faculty members to teach courses in public policy. For the next five years, the program remained small, granting an MA in government with a concentration in public policy to about 15 students. The Government Department in 1985 hired the first part-time director for the program. During the ensuing years, the framework for the Public Policy Program was formulated. By the late 1980s, enrollment in the program had grown to about 75 students.

 

 In 1990, the new president of Georgetown University, Father Leo O'Donovan, mandated the expansion of the Public Policy Program under the direction of the program's first full-time director, Colin Campbell, a Georgetown professor of philosophy and politics. Dr. Campbell was charged with the task of significantly expanding the program's faculty, students, and facilities. In 1996, in recognition of the program's status as one of the premier professional programs at Georgetown University, the Public Policy Program was renamed the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI).

 

In 1999, Judy Feder was appointed Dean of GPPI. Under her leadership, GPPI expanded to include five affiliated research institutes, 17 full time faculty, thirty research faculty, and 70 visiting and affiliated faculty. GPPI has also expanded in other ways. GPPI and its affiliates have led the main campus in securing over 50 percent of the total sponsored research funds awarded to the Georgetown University Main Campus.