Master of Public Administration Curriculum

Superior preparation. Meaningful employment. Lasting impact.

Develop knowledge and skills to be effective in a range of leadership and management positions across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, both domestically and internationally. The core requirements of Maxwell’s M.P.A. degree form a balanced foundation of courses in three areas:

formulating, implementing and evaluating policy,
leading and managing organizations with diverse stakeholders and,
applying rigorous, evidence-based analysis to decision-making.

To meet larger public policy and management goals, this foundation must be established with a contextual understanding of organizational, economic, societal and political settings, and the dynamics at work within each of these settings.

40 credits

required and elective courses balance foundations and specializations

1 year

our rigorous yet efficient program can be completed in just 12 months

< 100

small student cohort and faculty-to-student ratios build strong bonds that last a lifetime

Core Courses

The M.P.A. degree requires 40 credits of graduate coursework, including 25 credits of required coursework and 15 credits of elective courses. Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Please see the Course Catalog for complete requirements.

Public Affairs Colloquium

All incoming M.P.A. students participate in this 1-credit colloquium, typically held at the start of their program, led by department leadership and distinguished speakers.

Public Organizations and Management

Compare attributes of the nonprofit sector with public (government) and private (business) sectors, explore public policy relationships that intertwine these sectors, and learn distinctive skills and talents needed for effective leaders in the nonprofit sector.

Introduction to Statistics

Students will learn basic inferential statistics (point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing) and descriptive statistics (measure of central tendency, variation, bivariate and multivariate association).

Public Budgeting

Learn more about the role of the modern budget in determination of policy, administrative integration, control of government operations and intergovernmental relations, and in relation to private economy. Other topics include unit costs, work programs and budgetary analysis.

Public Administration and Democracy

Learn public policy and administration in the context of a constitutional democracy, and study relationships between administrative and constitutional values.

Economics for Public Decisions

Application of microeconomic analysis to public policy problems is the focus of this course. Students will use basic economic reasoning to help untangle complex real-world policy problems.

Quantitative Analysis

This course focuses on quantitatively oriented models used in policy analysis, program evaluation and forecasting. Additional topics include linear, mathematical, probabilistic and cost-benefit models.

Executive Leadership and Policy Politics

This simulation exercise involves current public policy issues. The focus is on the politics of formulating and setting policy.

M.P.A. Workshop

Students will serve as consultants for a project that addresses current topics in public management. Objective of the team project is the application of M.P.A. subject matter and techniques.

For Complete Courses and Requirements

M.P.A. Student Handbook

Visit the Course Catalog

I am Maxwell.

In her previous role as policy team lead for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and in prior roles at the CDC and the NIAID, Liz Fomegne says she has drawn on her Maxwell leadership training almost daily—including an exercise from the opening M.P.A. Colloquium. “The point of the exercise was that there has to be delegation. There have to be roles assigned. There has to be clarity about how you manage this process.”

Elizabeth Fomegne ’04 B.F.A./'09 M.P.A.

Director, Office of Policy and Planning, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services

Read Liz Fomegne’s story

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