A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of public services.
The Master of Public Policy (MPP), is one of several public policy degrees. An MPP is a master's-level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to public policy and the decision processes associated with them. This includes training in the role of economic and political factors in public decision-making and policy formulation; microeconomic analysis of policy options and issues; resource allocation and decision modeling; cost/benefit analysis; statistical methods; and various applications to specific public policy topics. MPP recipients serve or have served in the public sector, at the international, national, subnational, and local levels and the private sector.
Public administration, or public policy and administration is the collective process through which public policy is created and implemented. It is also the subfield of political science that studies this policy process and the structures, functions, and behavior of public institutions and their relationships with a broader society. Public administration students generally take up employment across the public sector and non-profit civic sector, but also have opportunities to work in the for-profit private sector as well, especially in roles related to civil service, think tanks, politics, government relations and lobbying, public relations, regulatory affairs and regulatory compliance, consulting, trade associations, corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social, and governance (ESG), public procurement (PP), public-private partnerships (P3), and business-to-government marketing/sales (B2G).
The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a public policy and planning school at the University of Minnesota, a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named after Hubert H. Humphrey, former Vice President of the United States and presidential candidate. The school is located on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota, which is also home to the University of Minnesota Law School and Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis. The Humphrey School is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).
A Master in International Affairs (MIA), Master in Global Affairs (MGA), Master of Arts in International Relations (MAIR), Master of International Policy and Practice (MIPP), or Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) is a professional master's degree in international affairs.
A public policy school or school of public affairs is typically a university program, institution, or professional school of public policy, public administration, political science, international relations, security studies, management, urban planning, urban studies, intelligence studies, global studies, emergency management, public affairs, nonprofit management, criminology, and the sociology of law.
The Master’s in Public Administration program at Cornell University is part of the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy.
The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization. It is an international association and accreditation body of public affairs schools also known as schools of public policy and administration at universities in the United States and abroad. NASPAA is also the sole body in the United States recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the accreditor of master's degree programs in public policy (MPP), public affairs (MPAff), and public administration (MPA). Its stated mission is to "ensure excellence in education and training for public service and to promote the ideal of public service." It administers the honor society Pi Alpha Alpha.
The McCourt School of Public Policy is one of ten constituent schools of Georgetown University. The McCourt School offers master's degrees in public policy, international development policy, policy management, data science for public policy, and policy leadership as well as administers several professional certificate programs and houses fifteen affiliated research centers. The McCourt School has twenty-one full-time faculty members, ten visiting faculty members, more than one-hundred adjunct faculty members and approximately 450 enrolled students across the various degree and executive education programs.
The James W. Martin School of Public Policy and Administration is the graduate school of Public Affairs at the University of Kentucky.
The Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance is the school of public policy of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. The school is named after former Washington State Governor and U.S. Senator Daniel J. Evans.
The Schar School of Policy and Government - SSPG, is the public policy school of George Mason University, a public research university in the Commonwealth of Virginia near Washington, D.C. Established as Northern Virginia's first public policy school with locations in Arlington and Fairfax County, the school's political science curriculum has a professional education and applied emphasis on public administration and national security at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, in addition to a traditional liberal arts education, while also maintaining an active role within all five major subfields of political science known as political philosophy, political methodology, comparative politics, international relations, public policy and public administration.
The Pepperdine University School of Public Policy (SPP) is a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree program, located in Malibu, California with summer classes offered in Washington, DC. It is one of four graduate schools at Pepperdine University. The MPP is customized with specializations in Applied Economic Policy, American Policy and Politics, International Relations and National Security, State and Local Policy, and Public Policy Dispute Resolution.
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, previously known as School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD), is the public policy school of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles & Sacramento, California. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including a doctoral program and several professional and executive master's degree programs. USC Price also offers the Master of Public Administration program at a campus in Sacramento.
The Trachtenberg School, officially the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (TSPPPA), is the graduate school of public policy and public administration in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.
The Bush School of Government and Public Service is an undergraduate and graduate college of Texas A&M University founded in 1997 under former US President George H. W. Bush's philosophy that "public service is a noble calling." Since then, the Bush School has continued to reflect that notion in curriculum, research, and student experience and has become a leading international affairs, political science, and public affairs institution.
The School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University (SPPA) is the public policy school of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1953, it is Canada's oldest graduate school in the field of policy studies and public management. Since its establishment, it has produced several prominent leaders within the Canadian public and non-profit sectors, and has led research activities in this area.
The University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs is located in the Lower Downtown ("LoDo") district of Denver, Colorado. The School is fully accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). The School offers graduate programs in public administration, public affairs, and criminal justice, and undergraduate programs in criminal justice and public service.
The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs (Levin) is an accredited college of urban studies, public administration, urban planning, environmental studies, and nonprofit management at Cleveland State University located in Cleveland, Ohio. The Levin College offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees, as well as professional development programs. Its urban policy research centers and programs provide communities with decision-making tools to address their policy challenges. The Levin College is recognized for offering highly ranked programs in urban policy, local government management, nonprofit management, and public management and leadership.
Bruce D. McDonald III is a public administration researcher, author and academic. He is a professor of Public Budgeting and Finance in the Department of Public Administration at North Carolina State University and an Academic Associate for the International Centre of Public Accountability at Durham University.
