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What is Public Administration?
Serving the Public Good
Public administration is a field of study and a profession for individuals who wish to engage in meaningful public service, which, broadly defined, includes employees of government and not-for-profit organizations, elected officials, members of boards, community activists, volunteers, and philanthropists, among others.
Public administrators and managers work in public departments and agencies at all levels of government (local, state, and federal) and nonprofit organizations in a wide range of service and interest areas. Knowledge and skills from the public administration field are easily transferrable to the private sector as well. (See Careers & Internships for more information.)
Careers in government or nonprofits can be in or relate to the following service or interest areas:
- Administration / Management / Leadership
- Arts and Culture
- Community and Economic Development
- Data Analysis
- Education
- Emergency Management / Disaster Response
- Finance and Budgeting
- Healthcare Administration / Health Policy and Management
- Homeland / National Security
- Housing
- Human Resources
- Law Enforcement / Public Safety
- Parks and Recreation
- Public Policy Analysis / Public Policy
- Public Works
- Transportation
- Technology and Information Management
Specific job titles of a public administrator or manager in government or nonprofits can include:
- Budget Analyst
- Chief Executive or Operating Officer
- City or Town Manager
- Community Engagement Director
- County Executive
- Government Relations Specialist
- Grant Writer
- Labor Relations Manager
- Legislative Aide
- Performance Analyst
- Policy Analyst
- Public Affairs Director
- Strategic Planning Director
Rutgers SPAA: Where Service Meets Leadership
Rutgers SPAA degree and certificate programs provide students with the substantive knowledge, analytical skills, and perspectives needed to respond effectively and fairly to major contemporary social problems as they relate to the public sector. (See Academics for more information.)
How SPAA Alumni Serve
Read about what some of our alumni are doing with their public administration degrees from Rutgers SPAA and find out what "Public Administration is..." to them.
Alumni who serve in...
- Government
- Gary Williams (MPA'12)
Senior Legislative Aide, Gov. Philip Murphy
- Gary Williams (MPA'12)
- Higher Education
- RaJade Berry-James (PhD'99)
Associate Professor, School of Public and International Affairs, NC State University - Patria de Lancer Julnes (PhD’97)
Director, School of Public Affairs, Penn State Harrisburg - Kaifeng Yang (PhD'03)
Dean, School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China
- RaJade Berry-James (PhD'99)
- Law Enforcement
- Jamie Hendrix (MPA'14)
Lieutenant, Rutgers University–Newark Police Department - Mitchell Stern (MPA'13)
Former Police Chief, Township of Verona, NJ
- Jamie Hendrix (MPA'14)
- Nonprofits
- Shane Fuller (BA’16, MPA’17)
Co-Founder, Them Cloud Kids (TCK) - Natasha Hemmings (MPA'16)
Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey - Virgil Simons (MPA'08)
Founder, The Prostate Net
- Shane Fuller (BA’16, MPA’17)