M.P.A. Program The two-year Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program consists of sixteen courses, students typically take four courses per term for four semesters. The M.P.A. program offers a basic structure for study, however, each M.P.A. student designs an individualized program based on the student's specific area of interest. Elective courses and research opportunities may be taken through the program in relevant departments or colleges at the university. Students have eight areas they may concentrate their studies in: Environmental Policy, Economic and Financial Policy, Government, Politics, and Policy Studies, Human Rights and Social Justice, International Development Studies, Public and Non-Profit Management, Science, Technology and Infrastructure Policy, Social Policy
The Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy offers students the opportunity to study public policy and program management from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Students gain an understanding of the political processes through which issues, problems, and policies are formulated, the economic basis for government action in a market economy, and the comparative and historical contexts of governmental programs. Students study public budgets, finance, and regulatory processes, as well as the behavior of both public and private organizations and their management. Students also gain competence in the qualitative and quantitative methods needed to analyze programs and policies, and develop sensitivity to the moral and ethical dimensions of policy issues.
M.P.A. students are expected to engage in public affairs work related to their respective areas of concentration during the summer between their first and second years of study. As a culmination of studies in the M.P.A. program, all students are required to develop and complete a professional writing project. This professional writing requirement may be fulfilled by writing a research thesis, a professional report based on work done during the summer internship, or by completing the MPA Capstone.
MPA Fellows concentrating in Human Rights and Social Justice focus on rights often assumed to be universal. They are not, and remain controversial in domestic and world politics. Students study policies that support the expansion of human rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination, such as those based on gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity, caste, sexual orientation, disability or marital status both domestically and internationally. Students work toward advancing policy that ensures equal opportunities before the law and in society-at-large. Students also analyze the political and economic constraints to the full realization of human rights and they learn to serve as advocates for alleviating political, economic, and social inequality.
