Career Choices for Master of Public Administration graduates

By Pearlie Vanwagner


A Master of Public Administration degree prepares graduates for work in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and businesses that work closely with governments.

Public administrators manage nearly every aspect of public service at the national, state and local levels.

They can be involved in essential decisions regarding policy-making, social system evaluation and providing basic services for the public.

To prepare graduates for these responsibilities, MPA training programs normally consist of a variety of professionally-focused, interdisciplinary areas of study like economics, sociology, law, anthropology, political science, and regional planning.

Consequently, MPA students obtain expertise in a number of subject areas and develop a diverse set of skills and information that could aid them in setting public policy.

The central training of a typical MPA program typically consists of courses on microeconomics, public finance, research procedures and statistics, policy process and policy analysis, public monetary management, managerial accounting, leadership, planning, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), administrative theory & practice, organizational behavior and change, legal and political context of public management, public human resources management, ethical considerations for public administration, and program performance measurement.

Common areas of specialization for students pursuing an MPA degree may involve nonprofit management, local government management, budgeting & finance, and human resources management, urban planning, emergency management, transportation, health care (especially public health), economic development, urban management, community development, education, non-profits, information technology, environmental policy, cultural policy, and criminal justice.

The wide scope of an MPA degree is therefore adequate preparation for a lot of supervisory, managerial, analyst, and support-staff positions.

And MPA graduates have flexible career options that permit them to work in the governmental, charity and private sectors through promotions, lateral transfers and career switching.

Graduates who have graduated with an MPA degree may start their profession working in local government, and then move to a position in the federal government, or with a nonprofit organization.

The training that MPA students obtain is focused on understanding the principles of executive management and organization; consequently, MPA graduates are prepared to function at all levels of government as well as with nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and nonprofit organizations.

Many MPA graduates follow careers in community government administration such as staffing, finance, policy, planning, and other departments.

And city planners typically combine their MPA training with an engineering degree to ensure that they can design just about anything from highways to public parks and parking garages.

Graduates with an MPA can also work outside of government jobs as directors for a range of non-profits as well as other associations like trade groups.

In those cases, the Master of Public Administration graduate can use their specialized understanding to direct organizational programs, develop policy and procedures, and create a good working relationship with appropriate governmental agencies. In these instances, the MPA training is used to manage programs, implement policy and work cooperatively with government organizations.

A individual with a postgraduate degree in public administration may also develop a career in social work, running social services organizations, including foster care or drug rehabilitation organizations and charities.

And of course the nationalfederal government is an attractive professional choice for MPA graduates who want to work with elected officials, oversee federal program budgets, write public policy, and even administer national agencies.




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