A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

graduate degree in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

but with an emphasis on the issues of

public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...

. This program covers principles of public administration, policy development, and management. Graduates can work in government, nonprofits, and private companies. The specifics of the program can vary by university or country. It typically requires two years for completion.

Overview

The MPA program is a higher professional degree and a postgraduate 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 A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

(NGO) and

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

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 Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

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 Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and Theory of the firm, firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarcity, scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. M ...

, public finance, research methods, statistics, policy analysis, managerial accounting, ethics, public management,

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and Geographic information system software, software that store, manage, Spatial analysis, analyze, edit, output, and Cartographic design, visualize Geographic data ...

s (GIS), and program evaluation. MPA students may focus their studies on public sector fields such as

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

emergency management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

, health care (especially

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, community development,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

management, environmental policy, cultural policy, international affairs, and

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. MPA graduates currently serve in some important positions within the public sector including the former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

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. A Master of Public Administration can be acquired at various institutions. See '' List of schools offering MPA degrees.''

References

External links

Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration
- Accrediting body for MPA and MPP programs in the U.S.
Association for Public Policy Analysis and ManagementAmerican Society for Public Administration
- Professional society for public administration (PA) practitioners and educator] {{Academic degrees Master's degrees, Public Administration, Master Public administration

Overview

See also

References

External links