Program Overview

Ranked among the top 20 public affairs programs in the nation, the Rockefeller College Master of Public Administration program prepares you to excel as a government administrator, policy analyst, information technology manager, or strategic and financial leader of public and nonprofit institutions.

As you move through the 49-credit MPA curriculum and complete your professional internship, you learn how to successfully oversee projects, support and motivate teams, improve organizational performance, and monitor policy impact to help solve complex socioeconomic problems.

Substantive Public Policy Areas
Sharpen your analytic and quantitative skills to frame policy issues in institutional and political contexts and recommend changes to policy formulation, approval, implementation, or evaluation with a focus in a Substantive Public Policy area: crime and justice policy; education policy; environmental policy & politics; global affairs; social welfare policy; urban planning and policy; or women and public policy.

Crime and Justice Policy
This area prepares you to provide guidance and strategies for an improved criminal justice system. From sentencing reform to social deviance and issues in policing, you will learn about the structure of the criminal justice system and its complex policy challenges.

Education Policy
This area is prepares you to influence contemporary policy issues facing education. This includes analysis to inform educational decisions and policies, administration by state and federal governments, coordination of the varied stakeholders, and to develop skills to improve education at a fundamental level.

Environmental Policy & Politics
This program provides you with the foundation you need for a career in conservation, environmental planning, or energy and climate change. You will gain skills and knowledge in environmental science, policy analytics, and the politics of environmental policy and advocacy.

Global Affairs
The Global Affairs curriculum provides you with the foundation for a career in global policy analysis, public management outside of the United States, as well as management of international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Social Welfare Policy
This area provides analysis of social policies and programs on the state and national levels. From strategies for advocacy and social change to inequality and public policy, this coursework prepares you to examine the current policy climate for a career aimed at improving the health and welfare of society.

Urban Planning and Policy
This area provides the foundation you will need for a career focused on improving the quality of life in communities and regions. Urban policies reflect fundamental social agreements on how cities and towns develop and include the policy perspectives for strategies aimed at economic cooperation and development.

Women and Policy
Despite the many legal, political and programmatic changes that have taken place over the past few decades, women continue to experience conflicting expectations about their roles, their status, and the legitimacy of their demands in the political process. Questions of gender are often entangled with issues such as race, class, sexuality, nationality and ethnicity. This program provides you with an in-depth understanding of the complexity of these issues for a career in the policy process - whether in political, bureaucratic, research or advocacy positions.