Public administration or Public Policy

Public Administration has already grown into a major field of study. According to H.A. Simon, D.W. Smithburg and V.A. Thompson, “By Public Administration is meant, in common usage, the activities of the executive branches of national, state and local government corporation and certain other agencies of a specialised character. Specifically excluded are judicial and legislative agencies within the government and non – government administration.” Some universities call it Public Administration while others call it Public Policy and the emphasis differs.

As Ryerson University, Canada, points out there are many career options open to students with such a Master’s degree:

• a policy unit of a federal, provincial or municipal government department

• the decision-making structure of a third (voluntary/nonprofit) sector organization

• the private sector, particularly where private companies have extensive interactions with domestic or foreign governments

• international governmental organizations (e.g., UN, OECD, World Bank)

• international non-Government Organizations (NGOs)

• a political aide to an elected official

• private companies engaged in public research

• interest/pressure groups

• community-based organizations, particularly those that interact with the federal, provincial, or municipal government.

Ryerson University offers a graduate program with full-time and part-time study options leading to a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration, while also giving them proximity to, and engagement with, business, government and community agencies. (http://www.ryerson.ca/politics/programs/graduate/mppa/index.html)

Hertie School of Governance, Berlin offers a 2 year degree in Masters in Public Policy (https://www.hertie-school.org/mpp/) and a one year Executive Master of Public Administration. About the Executive MPP, it says that “The flexible programme can be completed full-time in one year or over a period of two years while working”. (https://www.hertie-school.org/empa/) Berlin school of economics and law offers a distance learning program for Masters in Public Administration. https://www.hertie-school.org/empa/

The European Master’s in Public Administration programme provided by the Center for Public Affairs Studies (CPAS) of the Faculty of Economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary, is focused on the comparative analysis of questions of public administration, public policy and public management in different (EU and non-EU) European countries in the context of processes of internationalization, Europeanization and European integration. The main feature of the EMPA-Budapest programme is that it offers a structure of core and elective courses which focuses on Hungarian and Central European characteristics. This strategy provides detailed information for different approaches and questions regarding our public policies. (http://portal.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php?id=44584)While offering one year full time Master’s degree course in Public administration, the London Metropolitan University aims to “develop high quality administrators and managers who will play a critical role in their home country environments.” (http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/master-of-public-administration-mpa—ma/) The programme of MPA offered by the London South Bank University “addresses some of the key issues facing the public sector such as effective leadership, anticipating and responding to change, performance management, governance and ethical practice and sustainability and gives students the opportunity to develop specialist expertise as well as the ability to respond to an ever-changing and challenging environment”. (http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/courses/course-finder/master-public-administration-mpa) The course MPA at the Institute of Public Affairs, London School of Economics, “will develop high-level professional policy-making skills required by employers in the public sector and private sector, and by non-governmental organisations.” (http://www.lse.ac.uk/IPA/MPA/TheMPA.aspx). The MPA course at the University of Portsmouth “delivers transferable lifelong skills that you will be able to apply to complex issues, both systematically and creatively.” (http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/business-and-management/mpa-public-administration/)

Melbourne School of Government offers a two year fulltime Master’s degree course in MPA. According to the university,” allows you to pursue a specialist interest in public administration in areas such as Law, Economics, Development or International Politics”. (https://government.unimelb.edu.au/degrees/37-master-of-public-administration) USF (University of San Francisco) Master of Public Administration “develop workable solutions for the common good while working toward an exciting career in public management”. (https://www.usfca.edu/management/graduate-programs/public-administration) The Department of Public Administration and Policy Analysis at the Southern Illinois Univeristy Edwardsville (SIUE) offers the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree program.  The MPA degree program is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) and is one of the largest graduate degree programs at SIUE. (https://www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/papa/about.shtml) The Political Science Program at West Virginia State University offers a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree for those interested in government and non-profit employment at the national, state and local levels. (http://studywv.org/wvstateu/mpa-in-public-administration-west-virginia-state-university/)