A comparative analysis of U.S. MPA programs: current trends

Área temática Perspectivas, desafíos e innovaciones en la gestión pública" Panel: Nuevos paradigmas de gestión y formación en el sector público A comparative analysis of U.S. MPA programs: current trends Introduction Maria-Eleni Pahigiannis Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey Public administration education in the United States is ever-changing as the debate over what produces the best public administrator and what is most effective at attracting top-level students continues. Furthermore, there are other professional degrees, such as Maters of Public Policy (MPP) or Masters of Business Administration (MBA), that share similar curricular characteristics and even to some degree missions and objectives. It is thus important to define what public administration education is and how it is distinct from other professional programs. The various dichotomies within public administration theory versus practice, policy versus management, qualitative versus quantitative (Barth, 2002) contribute to the diversity found in MPA curricula and to the broad definition of the field. Are public administrators to be implementers of policy or shapers and initiators of it? (Breaux, Clynch and Morris, 2003). There have been a number of attempts to reconcile these differences. Experiential learning, in the form of internships and capstone experiences, for instance, attempts to bridge the theory and practice dichotomy (Roberts and Pavlak, 2002), allowing students to not only put to use what they have learned in the classroom but also gain a deeper understanding of what public service means (Whitaker and Berner, 2004). To understand how these different issues come into play when developing an MPA program, this paper examines nine of the top MPA programs in the country as rated by U.S. News & World Report. Current educational trends are uncovered by looking at such program structure aspects as core course requirements, concentration/specialization options, and real-life applications. Mission statements and admissions requirements are also briefly examined. The 2004 edition of U.S. News & World Report s America s Best Graduate Schools ranks among other things the top public affairs programs as well as the universities with the top public management specialties. The selection below was compiled by taking the top ten programs from each ranking and eliminating the schools that only appeared in one of the lists. Consequently, public affairs programs that were not focused toward public management, such as Berkley s MPP program, were eliminated. This resulted in 7 Masters of Public Administration (MPA) programs and 2 Masters of Public Affairs (MPA) programs. These programs represent a selection of programs that are regionally diverse and represent both private and public higher education institutions: American University Harvard University Indiana University-Bloomington SUNY--Albany Syracuse University University of Georgia University of Kansas University of Southern California University of Texas-Austin 1

All program information used for this comparative analysis was obtained from the university websites, listed at the end of this paper. NASPAA Standards The National Association for the Study of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) is the accreditation organization for all public affairs programs, and sets the standards from which MPA programs are evaluated. These standards seek to maintain the educational quality of public administration programs while allowing programs to preserve their own missions and approaches to public administration education. Variations from the standards are thus allowed but only if necessary to successfully fulfill a program s mission, which should be clearly stated. There are nine areas for which NASPAA has created standards; this paper focuses primarily on the core curriculum components, specialization standards, internship requirements, and mission statements. Section 4.21 of the NASPAA 2005 standards state that: The common curricular components shall enhance the student s values, knowledge, and skills to act ethically and effectively: In the Management of Public Service Organizations, the components of which include: Human resources Budgeting and financial processes Information management, technology applications, and policy In the Application of Quantitative and Qualitative Techniques of Analysis, the components of which include: Policy and program formulation, implementation and evaluation Decision-making and problem-solving With an Understanding of the Public Policy and Organizational Environment, the components of which include: Political and legal institutions and processes Economic and social institutions and processes Organization and management concepts and behavior However, NASPAA does not prescribe any specific courses, allowing universities flexibility in the design of their programs. Specializations must be stated in the statement of objectives and shall not be substitutes for common curriculum components. Furthermore, internship opportunities must be available for students and are highly recommended for those students with little or no public service experience, but are not required (NASPAA, 2005). Mission Statements Although NASPAA standards require that programs clearly state their educational philosophy and mission, of the nine programs reviewed only five do so. American University, SUNY, University of Kansas, USC, and University of Texas clearly label their missions and philosophies as such. The other four universities also state program aims, goals and purposes, however, since these statements are found in differing locations on the programs websites, it is unclear whether they are the actual mission statements of the program. Reviewing all of these missions, philosophies, aims, goals and purposes, however, made one thing stand out as a consistent theme, that is, the goal to educate and prepare students for 2

leadership positions in government. Each university may have a slightly different approach, but all of them believe that their students are to be future leaders in the public sector. Admission Requirements All of the programs reviewed had similar admissions requirements since NASPAA does require a baccalaureate degree, GRE or GMAT scores, personal essays and an evaluation of grade point averages and professional experience for consideration into an MPA program. Indiana, however, also requires prior coursework in mathematics, statistics, government, and computers; SUNY, in mathematics only; and the University of Texas, in calculus, statistics, government and economics. USC requires at least 12 units in social sciences, as well as a course in statistics. Harvard requires that entering students have at least three years of significant professional experience as well as prior graduate-level coursework. Common Curriculum Components All nine universities have a core curriculum component, the smallest core consisting of three courses (Harvard) and the largest of nine (Georgia and Syracuse). Harvard, however, does not specify any courses, but rather that students select at least one course from each of the school s methodological areas, which are analysis, management and advocacy. Students must also select at least two courses from one of the school s policy areas. These courses, however, have been categorized as specialization courses and not part of the core since that would allow for too much variation. The Harvard MPA degree is definitely unique from the rest. The program requirements are few, as stated above, giving students a lot of flexibility in tailoring their degree to their career goals and needs. Harvard students, unlike from other programs, are also expected to have a minimum of three years of significant professional experience as well as prior graduate-level coursework. They must also make a strong case for the program they design. Harvard has therefore been excluded in the following comparison since no specific courses are prescribed by the curriculum. Course descriptions were used to analyze the core course offerings from each university (except Harvard) and categorize each by its basic content. While the average number of core courses is seven, the current trends show that there is an inner core of five courses: Policy Analysis, Law & Public Administration, Budgeting and Financial Management, Quantitative Analysis & Research Methods, and Public Management. Policy Analysis (8 out of 8 programs) All eight of the programs compared contain a policy analysis component in its core. Most of these courses are heavily focused on economics, which can be seen from such course titles as Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis, Public Managerial Economics, Managerial Economics for Public Managers, Political Economy, Public Economics and Finance, Public Management Economics, and Public Sector Economics. The University of Kansas offers a course called Budgeting and Policy Analysis, which sounds slightly different from the rest, but regardless of the differences in course titles, all of these courses emphasize the application of economic and financial principles in the analysis of policy problems. The teaching of analytical tools is also a consistent aspect of these courses. 3

Law & Public Administration (8 out of 8 programs) The second inner core course deals with administrative procedures, rule making, and the relationship between courts, agencies and the legislature. All eight programs contain at least one course covering the above themes. Course titles vary from Law, Ethics & Professionalism in Public Administration, Law and Public Affairs, Legal Basis of Public Administration, Law & Public Management, Institutional Foundations of Public Administration, Public Administration and Democracy, and Public Administration and Society. Budgeting & Financial Management (7 out of 8 programs) This area covers topics in taxation theory, debt administration, financial accountability, the budgetary process, financial planning and management to name a few. All universities except for American University include a course like this in their core. Course titles pertaining to this inner core course are: Public Financial Administration; Public Finance and Budgeting; Public Economics and Finance II; Finance; Public Budgeting; Public Financial Management; and Public Finance. Quantitative Analysis & Research Methods (7 out of 8 programs) Like Budgeting & Financial Management, all universities except for American University have a core component in Quantitative Analysis & Research Methods. This core component delves into such research method topics as experimental design, sampling, interviewing and questionnaire construction as well as such statistical techniques as optimization, measuring central tendency and dispersion, crosstabulation, difference of means testing, and regression analysis. Furthermore, SUNY, Syracuse, University of Georgia and University of Texas actually include two of these courses in their core curriculums. Sample course titles are: Research Methods; Data Applications in Public Administration; Data, Models & Decisions; Quantitative Analysis; Introduction to Statistics; Analytic Methods; and Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making. Public Management (5 out of 8 programs) This is the final course included in the inner core. Only five of the universities include a Public Management course in their course curricula, that is, all universities except for Syracuse, University of Kansas, and USC. While this result is not as strong as those for the aforementioned courses it is still significant. The courses that fell into this category include: Public Administration & Democracy; Public Management; Foundations of Public Management; Public Administration in the Policy Process; and Public Administration and Management. Topics covered by the above courses include but are not limited to: the history and development of public administration; the meaning of public service; major administrative issues facing public agencies; the significance of governmental bureaucracy; inter-organizational relations; political environment; management issues and processes; managerial psychology, managing diversity; leadership; and strategic planning. Concentrations and Specializations One of the most important distinctions between the common curriculum component and the specialization component of an MPA degree, as defined by the NASPAA standards, is that areas of specialization are not to replace any of the core areas. Concentrations are 4

considered additional coursework that can contribute to the overall mission of a program but that cannot, on their own, uphold the fundamental principles and objectives of the program. As Barth states, concentrated areas of study, such as finance or human resources, are niche-driven approaches to public administration education used primarily as marketing tools to attract students who would otherwise go to other, more specialized degree programs (Barth, 2002). Barth further emphasizes that it may be difficult to identify exactly what a degree in public administration is, but it is easy to define what it is not it is not a Master of Finance, nor a Master of Human Resources, and it is certainly not a Master of Environmental Policy (Barth, 2002). Nevertheless, six of the nine programs reviewed offer areas of concentrated study, with an average offering of 8.8 concentration areas among these schools. The Universities of Kansas and Texas do not offer any specializations, and Harvard offers a number of policy areas, but as mentioned in the previous section, there are no specific requirements. Harvard students need only pick two courses, out of the 16 total needed for degree completion, within one of the school s policy areas. This certainly cannot be considered a specialization. Below is a list of the various concentrations offered and the number of programs that offer them: Budgeting & Financial Management 5 Information Systems 5 Local Government (including Urban Management) 5 Non-profit Management 5 International Affairs 4 Policy Analysis 4 Public Management 4 Environmental Policy 3 Human Resources/Personnel 3 Economic Development 2 Health 2 Public Policy 2 Specialized 2 Arts Management 1 Intergovernmental Management 1 International & National Security Policy 1 Higher Education Administration 1 Human Services Administration 1 Management Consulting 1 Planning 1 Real-life Applications Real-life applications come in various forms, from internships to 24-hour policy papers to capstone experiences; and one marked trend in public administration education today is a shift toward including some type of or some opportunity for experiential learning. Traditional thesis components and comprehensive exams are more often than not being replaced by capstone experiences, and internships are almost always required unless the student has a minimum of two years of relevant work experience. 5

Internships Syracuse and Harvard are the only two programs that do not require internships, but for different reasons. Syracuse highly encourages students to participate in an internship, but because the program has an intense 12-month schedule, little time is left for a required internship component. Most programs that offer or require internships usually suggest that students fulfill this requirement in the summer between the two academic years, but Syracuse students are busy with coursework over the summer as well. Harvard, on the other hand, requires that entering students have a minimum of significant professional experience. Thus, internships are not considered a necessary part of the degree requirements. Of the seven programs that require internships, five will exempt students who have a minimum of two years of prior, relevant work experience. American University and the University of Texas are the two universities that do not exempt students from their internship requirement based on prior work experience. Capstone Experiences Only three of the nine programs evaluated do not require a capstone experience (Harvard, University of Georgia, and USC). Georgia, however, does offer a capstone course as part of the elective course offerings. In the description of this course it states that students must prepare a formal report for an agency on a policy or management issue. Through this report, students are expected to gain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand and are to utilize the analytical skills gained through the other MPA courses. Despite offering this course, which is a sign that it recognizes the value of capstone experiences, the University of Georgia has not moved away from the comprehensive exam as its final assessment of its students. Interestingly, USC does not require a capstone experience, comprehensive exam or a thesis component. American University and the University of Kansas, on the other hand, require both a capstone and a comprehensive exam. Other Degree Requirements Overall, no two programs are alike, but all remained within fairly close parameters with regard to the number of total courses, total required credit hours, and total duration to complete the degree. The average number of courses required for graduation is 13.6, which are taken over two academic years for all programs except for Syracuse, which has a 12 month long program. Although most of the 2 year programs do not have course requirements over the summer, they do encourage students to use the summer between the academic years to complete their internship requirement; consequently, the summer months should be included in the total program duration. The average number of credit hours required to graduate, excluding Harvard since the credit hours assigned to Harvard classes are significantly different from those of other universities, is 43.9 credit hours. The detailed program information is summarized in the table below. 6

University No. of Total Courses No. of Credit Hrs Duration American University 13 courses 42 2 years Harvard University 16 courses 16 2 years Indiana University-Bloomington 12-14 courses 48 2 years SUNY-Albany 13 courses 49 2 years Syracuse University 14 courses 40 12 months University of Georgia 15 courses 41 2 years University of Kansas 12 courses 37 2 years University of Southern California 10 courses 40-41 2 years University of Texas-Austin 16 courses 53 2 years Comprehensive Exams As mentioned above, only three universities require a comprehensive exam, those are: American University, University of Georgia, and the University of Kansas. Mid Career Options In addition to the regular MPA, three universities offer mid career options. Harvard, for instance, offers a one year MPA program, and Syracuse a one year MA in public administration for students with mid-level professional experience, usually over 8 years. The University of Texas offers a 35 credit MPA that can be completed within a year including a summer session for students with an average of ten years of work experience, and with at least five of those years in a substantive policy-level or administrative position related to the public sector. Indiana, on the other hand, does not have a separate program for mid career students but will give up to 12 credits for professional experience. Conclusion So what are the current trends in public administration education today? After a detailed look at some of the top programs in the United States it is clear that a lot of diversity exists among programs; however, the NASPAA common curriculum standards have succeeded in focusing the educational content of these programs, creating an inner core of five areas: Policy Analysis; Law & Public Administration; Budgeting and Financial Management; Quantitative Analysis & Research Methods; and Public Management. These results differ slightly from two earlier studies. In 1990 Robert E. Cleary surveyed 215 public affairs masters programs and found that the most common courses were: Public administration, administrative theory or behavior (96.5%); Research methods or quantitative analysis in public administration (95.4%); Public finance, financial management or governmental budgeting (82.7%); Policy analysis and policy making and administration (71.7%); Personnel administration or human resource management (58.4%); American politics or politics and administration (57.2%); Economics or economics and public policy (34.1%); Information systems or computer science (26.0%); and 7

Legal processes (23.7%). In 2000, a decade later, Leonardo Santana Rabell analyzed the top 19 public affairs programs in the United States as ranked by the 1999 Gourman Report, and reported that the most common courses were: quantitative methods; economics; public policy; and budgeting and finance. It is evident that quantitative analysis, research methods, budgeting and finance have been the most consistent areas of study. This may also be because it is easier to define the above subjects as courses. Law and Public Administration, Policy Analysis and Public Management, for instance, can be categorized differently by different people. It is thus difficult to compare the results of this study with that of others. Santana Rabell, for instance, defines economics as a major area of study in public administration. In this analysis, however, the economics courses are categorized as policy analysis courses since course descriptions maintain that the purpose of learning economic principles is to apply them in the analysis of policy issues. Nevertheless, one trend is certain: all of the topics mentioned as being part of the inner core are also represented in the NASPAA standards for common curricular components. Despite the diversity of course selections, course titles and content organization, all of the programs reviewed maintain a firm adherence to NASPAA guidelines. Taking the difficulty of categorizing courses into subject areas into account, the core areas of studies have seemingly stayed the same over the past fifteen years. What has changed, however, is the method of instruction. A movement toward experiential learning, both in the form of internships and capstone experiences, is definitely a major trend in public administration education today. Most programs have moved away from comprehensive exams as a tool for student assessment and have replaced the traditional thesis component with opportunities to apply their new-found skills and knowledge to real-world situations. Furthermore, notably missing from the core curriculum of most programs is a course in ethics. Only the University of Georgia, the University of Kansas, and USC have specific courses within the core curriculum devoted to the topic of ethics in public administration. The NASPAA standards state, the common curriculum component shall enhance the student s values, knowledge, and skills to act ethically and effectively (NASPAA, 2005: 9). Acting ethically was important enough to emphasize in the standards, however, only three of the nine schools reviewed require its students to take a specific core course in ethics and values. It is assumed that other schools integrate these topics into the curriculum of other core courses. For example, Syracuse requires a summer seminar in Executive Leadership which explores topics such as power and political leadership, the temptations of power, political duties and virtue, integrity and prudence, which are obviously related to ethics and morality in public service. By and large, however, this area is poorly represented in public administration curricula. Theory versus practice, policy versus management, quantitative versus qualitative where has the debate over these dichotomies left public administration today? Overall, the major trends in public administration education aim to graduate students with strong analytical skills and to expose them to both the political and administrative context of public service, while also providing them with real life experiences. Despite these trends, quite a bit of diversity still exists, allowing students to choose a program that best meets their specific needs. But perhaps, looking for the appropriate balance between these dichotomies is not the approach 8

we should take. In 1996 King, Britton and Missik surveyed a group of MPA alumni from two philosophically contrasting programs to understand what MPA graduates felt they gained from their programs and what they felt was important for their careers, once working in the public sector. This survey revealed that alumni from both programs responded in very similar ways. While the what they gained question produced more variations in the responses, both groups ranked personal and intellectual growth as the top two things they gained through their program. Furthermore, when asked to rank what skills, knowledge, and values were most important for their careers, the two sets of alumni produced strikingly similar results. Eight of the top ten responses for each group were the same. They responded that writing skills, oral communication skills, intellectual growth, creative thinking, self-confidence, improve credibility, personal growth, and the ability to manage change were the most important. Skills such as budgeting and finance, computer and policy analysis skills were all ranked way below the above responses. It is important to note that these results cannot be generalized; however, they do speak to the question of what public administrators are and what public administration education should focus on. Perhaps better questions to ask are: how can intellectual and personal growth be fostered in the context of public administration education? How can public administration programs build a commitment to ethics and public service while at the same time improve a students written and oral communication skills? Perhaps the question of how to teach public administration rather than what to teach is a more useful and productive approach to developing a solid public administration program. References Barth, Thomas J. (2002), Reflections on Building an MPA Program: Faculty Discussions Worth Having, in the Journal of Public Affairs Education, Vol. 8, No. 4, Washington DC. Breaux, David A., Clynch, Edward J. and Morris, John C. (2003), The Core Curriculum Content of NASPAA-Accredited Programs: Fundamentally Alike or Different?, in the Journal of Public Affairs Education, Vol. 9, No. 4, Washington DC. Cleary, Robert E. (1990), What Do Public Administration Masters Programs Look Like? Do They Do What Is Needed?, in Public Administration Review, Vol. 50, No. 6, Boston. King, Cheryl Simrell, Britton, Kathleen and Missik, Eugenia (1996), MPA Alumni Assessment of Perceived Educational Outcomes The "Value" of the MPA, in the Journal of Public Affairs Education, Vol. 2, No. 2, Washington DC. NASPAA (2005), Standards for Professional Masters Degree Programs in Public Affairs, Policy, Administration, Washington DC. http://www.naspaa.org/accreditation/seeking/reference/standards.asp, 05/2005. Roberts, Gary E. and Pavlak, Tom (2002), Designing the MPA Capstone Course: A Structured-Flexibility Approach, in the Journal of Public Affairs Education, Vol. 8, No. 3, Washington DC. Santana Rabell, Leonardo (2000), Tendencias Curriculares en la Enseñanza de la Administracion Pública en los Estados Unidos, in Revista del CLAD Reofrma y Democracia, No. 17, Caracas. U.S. News and World Report (2004). America s Best Graduate Schools: Public Affairs Rankings, http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/pub/premium/pad.php, 05/2005. Whitaker, Gordon P. and Berner, Maureen (2004), Learning Through Action: How MP Public 9

Service Team Projects Help Students Learn Research and Management Skills, in the Journal of Public Affairs Education, Vol. 10, No. 4, Washington DC. University Homepages American University Harvard University Indiana University - Bloomington SUNY - Albany Syracuse University University of Georgia University of Kansas University of Southern California University of Texas - Austin http://spa.american.edu/program.php?id=14 http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ http://www.iu.edu/~speaweb/public/ http://www.albany.edu/rockefeller/pad/ http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/ http://www.uga.edu/spia/home/index.htm http://www.ku.edu/%7ekupa/ http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/programs/masters/mpa/ http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/ Biography Maria Pahigiannis is a current MPA student at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey. As part of her program, she spent the 2004-2005 academic year in Havana, Cuba working with the University of Havana s Center for Studies in Public Administration. While in Havana she primarily contributed to the Center s redesign of its MPA curriculum and program structure. Address: 4601 N. Park Ave, Apt. 407 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 USA Email: mpahig@camden.rutgers.edu 10