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The Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree is one of several Master's level professional public affairs degrees that provides training in public policy and project and program implementation (more recently known as public management).

MPA programs focus on public administration at the local, state/provincial, national/federal and supranational levels, as well as in the nonprofit sector. Through its history, the MPA degree has become more interdisciplinary by drawing from fields such as economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, and regional planning in order to equip MPA graduates with skills and knowledge covering a broad range of topics and disciplines relevant to the public sector. A core curriculum of a typical MPA program usually includes courses on microeconomics, public finance, research methods/statistics, policy process and policy analysis, ethics, public management, leadership, planning & GIS, and program evaluation/performance measurement. Depending on their interest, MPA students can focus their studies on a variety of public sector fields such as urban planning, transportation, health care, economic development, urban management, community development, education, non-profits, information technology, environmental policy, etc.

In recent years, there has been a gradual convergence between the MPA and the master of public policy (MPP) degree after the realization that policy/project/program implementation could benefit from an understanding of policy analysis, and vice versa. Today, the course offerings of most MPA and MPP programs overlap to some degree, but MPP programs tend to provide more focused training in policy analysis and policy design, while MPA programs usually still provide more focused coursework in program implementation and public management.

Some educational institutions are now offering MPA degrees via online instruction. Though these programs may have regional accreditation many lack accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the preeminent accrediting authority in this field.

• Master of Public Affairs
• Master of Public Policy
• Master of Public Policy and Administration
• Master of Public Service and Administration
• Public policy schools

• National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration - Accrediting body for MPA programs in the United States
• Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
• American Society for Public Administration - Professional society for public administration (PA) practitioners and educators
• European Association for Public Administration Accreditation - Accrediting body for MPA programs in Europe
• Global MPA web portal - the most extensive database of available MPA programs on the web