A Master of Public Affairs (MPA or MPAff) is a

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 Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor ...

that provides training in

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 ...

and the operation of government. Courses required for this degree educate students in public and non-profit management, policy analysis, and applied technology. The degree is commonly applied to international and domestic policy careers. Many master of public affairs degrees are similar to a

Master of Public Policy The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a graduate-level professional degree. It 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 pu ...

degree, whereas others fall closer to a

Master of Public Administration 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 ...

degree. It is one of several

public affairs degrees Public policy degrees, public administration degrees and public affairs degrees are Postgraduate education, graduate master degree, master's and PhD level professional degrees or Undergraduate education, undergraduate bachelor's degree level Academi ...

and has historically been a

terminal degree A terminal degree is the highest-level university degree that can be achieved and awarded in an academic discipline or professional field. The term "terminal degree" is also used to refer to a degree that is awarded because a doctorates, doctoral-le ...

References

Public Affairs {{edu-stub