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The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree is a professional degree that prepares students for a career in public and nonprofit service, including the development of technical skills and specialized expertise required of individuals working with public resources in the public or nonprofit sector.  This includes a grounding in the theories and principles of public administration as well as applied and hands-on learning in public policy and management topics.

The curriculum is developed to include topics related to those working as a part of the policy process as well as the implementation of public policy with competencies in policy analysis, program evaluation, public budgeting and financial management, organizational behavior and management, human resources management, and ethics for public service. As such, it is tailored  leaders and managers in public/governmental entities as well as nonprofit organizations who are major players in the delivery of public services and operate with similar missions, values, and purposes as their governmental counterparts and whose successful operation requires many of the same skills and competencies.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of their degree, an MPA has prepared students for upper-level management or policy positions in public and/or nonprofit service.  This could include employment in governmental agencies, nonprofits, or private companies with social missions (such as benefit corporations or social enterprises), in positions such as policy analyst, executive director, city or county manager, budget analyst or development director.  Therefore, upon graduation of the MPA program, students will have the ability to:

1. synthesize the major theories of the field to articulate how they inform a public service perspective;
2. collect, manage, evaluate, and apply data to make decisions and solve public and nonprofit problems;
3. utilize core budgeting and financial management skills to effectively advance the mission of public service organizations;
4. effectively and ethically communicate and interact with a diverse and changing workforce through the application of leadership and management theories and behaviors; and
5. embed leadership and management with the core values of the field which include social equity, inclusion, democratic accountability, professionalism, and ethics.