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A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of public services.
The MPA program is a higher professional degree and a post graduate degree for the public sector and it prepares individuals to serve as managers, executives and policy analysts in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in non-governmental organization (NGO) and nonprofit sectors; it places a focus on the practices of executive organization and management. Instruction includes the roles, development, and principles of public administration; public policy management and implementation.
Through its history, the MPA degree has become more interdisciplinary by drawing from fields such as economics, sociology, law, anthropology, organizational development, political science, and regional planning in order to equip MPA graduates with skills and knowledge covering a broad range of topics and disciplines relevant to the public sector. A core curriculum of a typical MPA program usually includes courses on microeconomics, public finance, research methods, statistics, policy analysis, managerial accounting, ethics, public management, geographic information systems (GIS), and program evaluation. MPA students may focus their studies on public sector fields such as urban planning, emergency management, transportation, health care (especially public health), economic development, community development, non-profit management, environmental policy, cultural policy, international affairs, and criminal justice.
MPA graduates currently serve in some important positions within the public sector including the current Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, three former presidents of Mexico (Felipe Calderón, Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Miguel de la Madrid), former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, former President of Bolivia Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, former President of Ecuador Jamil Mahuad Witt (MPA '89), former President of Costa Rica José María Figueres Olsen, former CIA Director David Petraeus, former president of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Foreign Minister of Serbia Vuk Jeremić, former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and former Treasurer of Australia Josh Frydenberg. Other notable MPA graduates include U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Bill O'Reilly and pilot Chesley Sullenberger. [1]
A Master of Public Administration can be acquired at various institutions. See List of schools offering MPA degrees.
Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public administration, and international development, four doctoral degrees, and various executive education programs. It conducts research in subjects relating to politics, government, international affairs, and economics. As of 2021, HKS had an endowment of $1.7 billion. It is a member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), a global consortium of schools that trains leaders in international affairs.
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.
The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 13 affiliated research centers and offers coursework in the fields of public administration, international relations, foreign policy, political Science, science and technology policy, social sciences, and economics through its undergraduate (BA) degrees, graduate Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Master of Arts (MA), and PhD degrees.
The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is the public policy school of New York University in New York City, New York. The school is named after New York City former mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. in 1989.
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).
The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. It is consistently ranked one of the leading graduate schools for international relations in the world. SIPA offers Master of International Affairs (MIA) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees in a range of fields, as well as the Executive MPA and Ph.D. program in Sustainable Development.
The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, also known as the Ford School, is the public policy school of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1914 to train municipal administration experts, the school was named after University of Michigan alum and former U.S. President Gerald Ford in 1999.
A public policy school is typically a university program, institution, or professional school that teaches students policy analysis, program evaluation, policy studies, public policy, political economy, urban planning, public administration, international relations, security studies, nonprofit studies-nonprofit management, political science, urban studies, intelligence studies, global studies, emergency management, public affairs and/or public management. Public policy schools typically train students in two streams. The more practical stream treats the master's degree as a terminal degree, which trains students to work as policy analysts or practitioners in governments, government relations, think tanks, business-to-government marketing/sales, and consulting firms. A more theoretical stream aims to train students who are aiming to go on to complete doctoral studies, with the goal of becoming professors of public policy, political science in general, or researchers.
The Maryland School of Public Policy is one of 14 schools at the University of Maryland, College Park. The school is located inside the Capital Beltway and ranks 16th nationally for schools of public policy according to U.S. News & World Report (2012).
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 Hertie School is a German private, independent graduate school for governance located in Berlin. Hertie School is accredited to confer master's and doctoral degrees. Half of the school's students are international, with more than 95 countries represented among alumni and currently enrolled students. The working language is English.
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 Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, commonly known as the La Follette School, is a public graduate public policy school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It offers master's degrees in public affairs and international public affairs, and joint degrees with other departments. The La Follette School is housed in the Observatory Hill Office Building.
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 Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) is a graduate-level professional degree that blends the theoretical and practical aspects of public administration and policy analysis. Tailored for individuals aspiring to contribute to the public and non-profit sectors, the MPPA provides students with a multidisciplinary understanding of governance, management, and evidence-based policy-making. This degree equips graduates to design, analyze, and implement public policies and programs in diverse settings, both domestically and internationally.