Much as an MBA deals with management in a private sector context, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) deals with management in the public sector. Much like an MBA, an MPA provides professional preparation for administrative leadership within large institutions – but for an MPA, these are local, regional, and national branches of the executive, covering broad areas of public policy and state organisation. As well as covering broadly relevant managerial techniques and features of the executive, MPA students can focus their interests on specific aspects of the operation of the state, from disaster planning, to development, from healthcare, to environmental regulation. MPA courses have exhibited a tendency to become more interdisciplinary in recent years, bringing in material from the social sciences, economics, history and law. If you have set your sights on a managerial career in the public sector, an MPA is an excellent choice of postgraduate degree. But it is also a useful asset when considering a career in public policy research, such as for a think-tank, or indeed if you intend to stand for election as a public official. And increasingly, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are hiring MPA graduates for leadership positions.
