# Master of Public Administration > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Master_of_Public_Administration > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Master_of_Public_Administration.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Public_Administration > Source revision: 1333995699 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration Not to be confused with [Master of Public Affairs](/source/Master_of_Public_Affairs), [Master of Public Policy](/source/Master_of_Public_Policy), or [Motion Picture Association](/source/Motion_Picture_Association). This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Master of Public Administration" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The academic qualification of **Master of Public Administration** (**MPA**) is a specialized [professional](/source/Professional_degree) [graduate degree](/source/Graduate_degree) in [public administration](/source/Public_administration). Its course of studies prepares students for roles as [leaders](/source/Leader), and resembles or mirrors training for qualification as a [Master of Business Administration](/source/Master_of_Business_Administration), but with an emphasis on issues of [public services](/source/Public_service). This program covers principles of public administration, [policy development](/source/Policy_development), and [management](/source/Management). Graduates may work in government, [nonprofits](/source/Nonprofits), or [private companies](/source/Private_company). 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](/source/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](/source/Non-governmental_organization) (NGO) and [nonprofit](/source/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](/source/Public_policy) management and implementation.[1] 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](/source/Microeconomics), [public finance](/source/Public_finance), research methods, statistics, [policy analysis](/source/Policy_analysis), [managerial accounting](/source/Managerial_accounting), ethics, [public management](/source/Public_management), [geographic information systems](/source/Geographic_information_system) (GIS), and program evaluation. MPA students may focus their studies on public sector fields such as [urban planning](/source/Urban_planning), [emergency management](/source/Emergency_management), [transportation](/source/Transportation), health care (especially [public health](/source/Public_health)), [economic development](/source/Economic_development), [community development](/source/Community_development), [non-profit](/source/Non-profit) management, [environmental policy](/source/Environmental_policy), [cultural policy](/source/Cultural_policy), [international affairs](/source/International_affairs), and [criminal justice](/source/Criminal_justice). MPA graduates currently serve in some important positions within the public sector including the former Prime Minister of Singapore [Lee Hsien Loong](/source/Lee_Hsien_Loong), the [Nobel Peace Prize](/source/Nobel_Peace_Prize) laureate and former President of Colombia [Juan Manuel Santos](/source/Juan_Manuel_Santos), former UN Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon](/source/Ban_Ki-moon), three former presidents of Mexico ([Felipe Calderón](/source/Felipe_Calder%C3%B3n), [Carlos Salinas de Gortari](/source/Carlos_Salinas_de_Gortari) and [Miguel de la Madrid](/source/Miguel_de_la_Madrid)), former Canadian Prime Minister [Pierre Elliott Trudeau](/source/Pierre_Elliott_Trudeau), former President of Bolivia [Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé](/source/Eduardo_Rodr%C3%ADguez_(politician)), former President of Ecuador [Jamil Mahuad Witt](/source/Jamil_Mahuad) (MPA '89), former President of Costa Rica [José María Figueres Olsen](/source/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Figueres), former [CIA Director](/source/Director_of_the_Central_Intelligence_Agency) [David Petraeus](/source/David_Petraeus), former president of Liberia [Ellen Johnson Sirleaf](/source/Ellen_Johnson_Sirleaf), Foreign Minister of Serbia [Vuk Jeremić](/source/Vuk_Jeremi%C4%87), former New York City Police Commissioner [Raymond Kelly](/source/Raymond_Kelly), former [Secretary of Health and Human Services](/source/Secretary_of_Health_and_Human_Services) [Kathleen Sebelius](/source/Kathleen_Sebelius), and former Treasurer of Australia [Josh Frydenberg](/source/Josh_Frydenberg). Other notable MPA graduates include actress [Ashley Judd](/source/Ashley_Judd), [U.S. Representative](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) [Dan Crenshaw](/source/Dan_Crenshaw), New York City Mayor [Eric Adams](/source/Eric_Adams), [Bill O'Reilly](/source/Bill_O'Reilly_(political_commentator)) and pilot [Chesley Sullenberger](/source/Chesley_Sullenberger).[2] A Master of Public Administration can be acquired at various institutions. See *[List of schools offering MPA degrees.](/source/List_of_public_administration_schools)* ## See also - [Master of Public Affairs](/source/Master_of_Public_Affairs) - [Master of Public Policy](/source/Master_of_Public_Policy) - [Master of Nonprofit Organizations](/source/Master_of_Nonprofit_Organizations) - [Public policy schools](/source/Public_policy_schools) - [Master of Business Administration](/source/Master_of_Business_Administration) - [Doctor of Public Administration](/source/Doctor_of_Public_Administration) - [List of master's degrees](/source/List_of_master's_degrees) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Contributors, NU Editorial (April 18, 2019). ["What Is an MPA Degree?"](https://www.nu.edu/blog/what-is-an-mpa-degree/). *National University*. {{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: |last= has generic name ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#generic_name)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["15 notable graduates from MPA and MPP programmes"](https://www.study.eu/article/15-notable-graduates-from-mpa-and-mpp-programmes). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180218090323/https://www.study.eu/article/15-notable-graduates-from-mpa-and-mpp-programmes) from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-02-17. ## External links - [Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration](https://web.archive.org/web/20150408031434/http://www.naspaa.org/) - Accrediting body for MPA and MPP programs in the U.S. - [Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management](http://www.appam.org/) - [American Society for Public Administration](https://web.archive.org/web/20191029045911/https://www.aspanet.org/) - Professional society for public administration (PA) practitioners and educator] v t e Levels of academic degree Undergraduate ISCED level 5 Associate degree Foundation degree Higher National Diploma / ​Diploma of Higher Education / ​Certificate of Higher Education ISCED level 6 Bachelor's degree Honours degree Postgraduate ISCED level 7 Diplom degree Engineer's degree Master's degree Postgraduate diploma/​certificate Candidate of Philosophy ISCED level 8 Doctorate Candidate of Sciences Other Postdoctoral Docent Fellow Habilitation Higher doctorate Tenure No dominant classification Academic certificate Artist diploma Certificate of Advanced Study External degree Graduate certificate Graduate diploma Higher diploma Laurea Licentiate Magister degree Microdegree Professional degree Specialist degree/​diploma Terminal degree Unearned Ad eundem degree Honorary degree Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Master of Public Administration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Public_Administration) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Public_Administration?action=history)). 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