The Master of Public Administration prepares students from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds to excel in careers with a public policy, public management, or nonprofit management orientation. The MPA provides students with an academic credential appropriate for employment in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.
The MPA program has two key objectives. First, through a set of core courses, the program provides a strong foundation of practical and theoretical training for professional work in public service. Second, through free electives or the selection of a concentration, the MPA program offers students the opportunity to fashion a curriculum linked directly to their individual career and academic interests.
The Baruch MPA is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). Baruch's Marxe School of Public and International Affairs is the only nonprivate school of public affairs in New York City.
All students in the MPA program complete seven required courses and are required to earn a minimum grade point average of 3.0. This ensures that all students achieve a basic understanding of fundamental public administration principles and practices together with a foundation in communication skills, economic analysis, and statistical analysis. In addition to the required courses, students complete six elective courses chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor. Students without prior professional experience will also complete an internship in a public, nonprofit, or private-sector organization. In their final semester, all students take the Capstone Seminar, which emphasizes the application of students knowledge and skills to specific professional situations.
Full-time and part-time MPA students (but not students in the NUF or Executive MPA programs) may choose to focus 12 of their 18 credits of elective course work in one of the five specializations: urban development and sustainability, nonprofit administration, public management, policy analysis and evaluation, and health care policy. All five specializations participate in the shared MPA core, which does not vary from specialization to specialization. Specializations must be chosen in consultation with a Marxe School of Public and International Affairs advisor.
Selection of a specialization is not required. Students who choose not to take a specialization must structure their 18 elective credits in consultation with an advisor.
Upon graduation, students within the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree programs at Marxe are expected to obtain knowledge and demonstrate skills associated with the following Program Learning Goals approved by the faculty and fall under five Universal Competencies established by NASPAA.
Note: These goals are taught at varied levels within the core courses and will be addressed in further detailed throughout the program.
NASPAA Competencies and Master of Public Affairs (MPA) Program Learning Goals:
*Competencies were revised by NASPAA FA19; revisions are reflected.
Competency #1: To lead and manage in the public interest.
Learning Goal A: Understand and distinguish among concepts of management, leadership, and governance of public and nonprofit organizations.
Learning Goal B: Use management and leadership theories to analyze the design, operation, and governance of public and nonprofit organizations.
Learning Goal C: Develop recommendations to improve the management of public and nonprofit organizations based on multiple analytical frames. (revision - pending approval)
Competency #2: To participate in, and contribute to, the policy process.
Learning Goal A: Distinguish and effectively employ the steps in the policy process: problem/goal identification; stakeholder identification and analysis; financing; approval; implementation and evaluation.
Learning Goal B: Identify alternative policy options; assess their potential feasibility and effectiveness; describe how the policy options are expected to affect outcomes (mechanisms).
Competency #3: To analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment.
Learning Goal A: Analyze, evaluate, and draw valid conclusions from social science research such as policy, applied, or evaluation research.
Learning Goal B: Design social science research such as policy, applied, or evaluation research using qualitative or quantitative methods
Learning Goal C: Conduct social science research such as policy, applied, or evaluation research.
Learning Goal D: Apply social science or evaluation research findings to public policy questions and decision making situations.
Competency #4: To articulate, apply, and advance a public service perspective.
Learning Goal A: Identify varied and conflicting values or needs within the public sphere and understand the implications they have on management and/or policy decisions.
Competency #5: To communicate and interact productively.
Learning Goal A: Prepare clear, concise, well-organized, accurate and persuasive written materials that are tailored to an audience’s level of experience and needs.
Learning Goal B: Prepare clear, concise, well-organized, accurate and persuasive oral presentations that are tailored to an audience’s level of experience and needs.
Learning Goal C: Recognize and value the diversity of organizational structures and cultures, as well as organizational complexity, in order to communicate effectively.
Core (21 credits) | ||
Introduction to Public Affairs | 3 credits | |
Communication in Public Settings | 3 credits | |
Public and Nonprofit Management I | 3 credits | |
Economic Analysis and Public Policy | 3 credits | |
Budgeting and Financial Analysis I | 3 credits | |
Research and Analysis I | 3 credits | |
Research and Analysis II | 3 credits | |
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Community Development: History, Present, and Future | 3 credits | |
Housing Policy | 3 credits | |
Greening and Growing Cities: Sustainability and Public Policy Choices | 3 credits | |
Elective Courses in Urban Development and Sustainability (6 credits; select two from the following) | ||
Ethics and Public Decision Making | 3 credits | |
Urban Transportation Policy | 3 credits | |
Urban Economic Development | 3 credits | |
or or | Community Development: History, Present, and Future or Housing Policy or Greening and Growing Cities: Sustainability and Public Policy Choices | 3 credits |
Administration of the Nonprofit Sector and Voluntary Agencies | 3 credits | |
Fund Raising and Grants Administration in Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations | 3 credits | |
Budgeting and Finance for Nonprofits | 3 credits | |
Public and Nonprofit Management II | 3 credits | |
Program Evaluation | 3 credits | |
Comparative Public Policy and Administration | 3 credits | |
Environmental Policy | 3 credits | |
Map Making for Public Policy | 3 credits | |
Selected Topics in Nonprofit Management | 3 credits | |
Free ElectivesStudents must complete 6 additional elective credits of their choice. These may be any two electives consistent with a students academic program for which the student has satisfied prerequisites. All courses must be selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. Specialization in Nonprofit AdministrationStudents who wish to concentrate their MPA studies in nonprofit administration must take 12 credits (four courses), 6 of which (two courses) are required. Mandatory Courses in Nonprofit Administration (6 credits) | ||
Administration of the Nonprofit Sector and Voluntary Agencies | 3 credits | |
Budgeting and Finance for Nonprofits | 3 credits | |
Elective Courses in Nonprofit Administration (6 credits; select two from the following) | ||
Ethics and Public Decision Making | 3 credits | |
Urban Economic Development | 3 credits | |
Communication Strategy | 3 credits | |
Community Development: History, Present, and Future | 3 credits | |
Housing Policy | 3 credits | |
Greening and Growing Cities: Sustainability and Public Policy Choices | 3 credits | |
Fund Raising and Grants Administration in Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations | 3 credits | |
Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery | 3 credits | |
Introduction to Philanthropy | 3 credits | |
Public and Nonprofit Management II | 3 credits | |
Program Evaluation | 3 credits | |
Comparative Public Policy and Administration | 3 credits | |
International Nonprofit Organizations | 3 credits | |
International Institutions and Global Governance | 3 credits | |
Selected Topics in Nonprofit Management | 3 credits | |
Global Economic Governance: Pacts, Actors, and Regimes | 3 credits | |
Diaspora, Migration, and Transnational Life in the Western Hemisphere and Beyond | 3 credits | |
Health and Health Care | 3 credits | |
Boards, Governance, and Leadership within Entrepreneurial, Family, and Social Enterprises | 3 credits | |
Social Entrepreneurship: Concepts and Cases | 3 credits | |
Free ElectivesStudents must complete 6 additional elective credits of their choice. These may be any two electives consistent with a students academic program for which the student has satisfied prerequisites. All courses must be selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. Specialization in Public ManagementStudents who wish to concentrate their MPA studies in public management must take 12 credits (four courses), 6 of which (two courses) are required. Mandatory Courses in Public Management (6 credits) | ||
Public Personnel and Human Resources Management | 3 credits | |
Public and Nonprofit Management II | 3 credits | |
Elective Courses in Public Management (6 credits; select two from the following) | ||
Ethics and Public Decision Making | 3 credits | |
Intergovernmental Relations | 3 credits | |
Communication Strategy | 3 credits | |
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery | 3 credits | |
Program Auditing and Performance Measurement | 3 credits | |
Program Evaluation | 3 credits | |
Comparative Public Policy and Administration | 3 credits | |
Free ElectivesStudents must complete 6 additional elective credits of their choice. These may be any two electives consistent with a students academic program for which the student has satisfied prerequisites. All courses must be selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. Specialization in Health Care PolicyStudents who wish to concentrate their MPA studies in health care policy must take 12 credits (four courses), 3 of which (one course) are required. Mandatory Courses in Health Care Policy (3 credits) | ||
Health and Health Care * | 3 credits | |
Elective Courses in Health Care Policy (9 credits; select three from the following) | ||
Political Analysis | 3 credits | |
Health Care Policy | 3 credits | |
Population-Based Health Planning | 3 credits | |
or | Health Program, Policy, and Performance Evaluation or Program Evaluation | 3 credits |
Comparative Health Systems | 3 credits | |
Health Politics and Policymaking | 3 credits | |
Health Care Costs and Financing | 3 credits | |
Selected Topics in Health Policy | 3 credits | |
Other courses relevant to the track offered at other schools of Baruch College and/or other CUNY campuses, with advisor approval | ||
Free ElectivesStudents must complete 6 additional elective credits of their choice. These may be any two electives consistent with a students academic program for which the student has satisfied prerequisites. All courses must be selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. Specialization in Policy Analysis and EvaluationStudents who wish to concentrate their MPA studies in policy analysis and evaluation must take 12 credits (four courses), 6 of which (two courses) are required. Mandatory Courses in Policy Analysis and Evaluation (6 credits) | ||
Economics of the Public Sector and Public Finance | 3 credits | |
Policy Analysis | 3 credits | |
Elective Courses in Policy Analysis and Evaluation (6 credits; select two from the following) | ||
Ethics and Public Decision Making | 3 credits | |
Urban Transportation Policy | 3 credits | |
or | Community Development: History, Present, and Future or Housing Policy | 3 credits |
Poverty and Social Policy | 3 credits | |
Business and Public Policy | 3 credits | |
Program Auditing and Performance Measurement | 3 credits | |
Program Evaluation | 3 credits | |
Advanced Quantitative Methods | 3 credits | |
or | Environmental Policy or Greening and Growing Cities: Sustainability and Public Policy Choices | 3 credits |
Mapmaking for Public Policy | 3 credits | |
Educational Policy | 3 credits | |
Higher Education, Politics, and Public Policy | 3 credits | |
Selected Topics in Public Policy | 3 credits | |
or or | Health Care Policy or Health and Health Care or Health Care Costs and Financing
| 3 credits |
Free ElectivesStudents must complete 6 additional elective credits of their choice. These may be any two electives consistent with a students academic program for which the student has satisfied prerequisites. All courses must be selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. Internship (3 credits) | ||
Public Affairs Internship (required of students without prior professional experience) | 3 credits | |
Capstone (3 credits) | ||
Public Affairs Capstone Seminar (Completion of the MPA core plus 15 additional credit hours or permission from the Office of Graduate Admissions and Student Services) | 3 credits |