MPA – Master of Public Administration at Rutgers SPAA

Gain leadership and organization knowledge/skills to create real-world solutions in government, nonprofit, and international sectors

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) Degree at Rutgers SPAA

Designed for pre-career and in-career students, the master's degree program in public administration at Rutgers SPAA provides professional competencies in public administration and management and gives students a broad understanding of the field and its relevant issues. Students become competent at defining pu­­­blic problems, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, developing and communicating creative solutions, and implementing ethical and practical courses of action.

Public administration is an academic field that addresses the implementation of public policies at all levels of government (federal, state, local, special districts) and in sectors related by virtue of their quasi-governmental structure, degree of regulation, or financial and contractual relationships to governments, such as, the nonprofit sector. The MPA degree combines contexts of public policy making with understanding of urban environments and knowledge and skills needed for operational management of government and nonprofit organizations and networks.
 
Rutgers SPAA MPA graduates are employed in local, county, state, and federal agencies, working in Human Services, Office of Budget and Management, Chief of Staffs, Office of Legislative Affairs, and Mayors Offices. In the nonprofit sector graduates work for YMCAs, March of Dimes, Workforce Development Corporation, United Way, Community Development Organizations, and Covenant Houses.

The MPA degree at Rutgers SPAA consists of 42 credits of coursework addressing the contexts and applications of public policy implementation, that is, design, delivery, leadership, management, performance, and results of public and nonprofit sector activity. These sectors provide over 16 million job opportunities in the U.S. alone.

Flexible full- or part-time schedules offer courses in Newark during days, evenings and weekends – and online anytime. Full-time students can complete the program in two years or less; Part-time students can earn their degrees in about three years. Close to three hundred students are working toward their MPA degree either full- or part-time at SPAA.
 
The MPA degree is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) and SPAA is the first U.S. school to earn full international accreditation from ICAPA – The International Commission on Accreditation of Public Administration Education and Training Programs.

 

MPA Core Curriculum Areas of Study

  1. Foundational
    Provides understanding of public administration contexts and key professional competencies for public and nonprofit sectors
  2. Analytical
    Examines quantitative and qualitative data methods and research design
  3. Managerial
    Provides foundations in organization and human resources management
  4. Financial
    Examines financial contexts and budgeting skills
  5. Applications
    Provides students with the opportunity to utilize what they have learned in the program via a real world project

 

MPA Concentrations

  • Budgeting and Financial Management
  • Healthcare Administration
  • Leadership of Public Organizations
  • Nonprofit Management
  • Public and Nonprofit Performance Management
  • Technology and Information Management

 

Student Learning Outcomes

Our faculty provides our students with the theoretical underpinnings for public service by focusing on these learning outcomes. Coursework enables students to:

  1. Lead and manage in public governance;
  2. Participate and contribute to the policy process;
  3. Analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make decisions;
  4. Articulate and apply a public service perspective; and
  5. Communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry.

 

MPA Dual Degrees

Combine your Master of Public Admistration with another distinguished gradute degree offered by Rutgers University-Newark and earn a dual degree in less time than it would take to earn each separately:

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