The purpose of the Florida Atlantic University Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is to provide professional education for leadership and management by offering a broad-based core curriculum that covers the essentials of both leadership and management in social, economic, and political contexts. We value professional competence, inclusivity, accountability, and ethical competence. Our MPA program mission is:
- We prepare pre-service and in-service students in southeast Florida to be leaders, managers, and analysts for all levels of government by providing intellectual, analytical, technical, and practical education via a curriculum that students can customize to meet their professional goals.
- We value the diversity of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community and we foster inclusiveness, participation, and cultural competence in our MPA courses and other educational activities.
- We advance the state of knowledge in public administration through research activities and collaborations with internal and external partners that examine and address local, regional, state, national, and international matters of public concern.
- We enhance ethical public service by encouraging ethical deliberation and decision-making in our MPA courses and through other educational activities.
The majority of FAU MPA current students work in local (35%) and state (17%) government, and others work in the nonprofit sector (4%), and the private sector (9%). Most of the current MPA students are employed full-time (82%). The majority of FAU MPA current students (75%) are part-time students who take 1-2 classes a semester, so on average, they complete the program in 7-9 semesters (2.5 - 3 years). Based on our AY 2014-2015 cohort of 66 initially MPA enrollees, 82% graduated within 3 years.
The majority MPA students who graduated in AY 2018-2019 either started to work or already worked in local government (42%) and state government (21%) government. Others started to work or already worked in the nonprofit sector (6%), and the private sector (6%).
Based on our 2019 alumni survey, the majority of FAU MPA alumni (61%) remained in the same public sector job after they graduated, 3% remained in the same nonprofit job, and 3% remained in the same job in the private sector. Thirteen percent obtained their first job in the public sector while they were in the MPA program, 7% obtained their first job in the public sector within six months of completing their degree, and 8% started their first public sector job after six months of earning their MPA degree.
Sixty-two percent of the FAU MPA alumni indicated that they were very satisfied with their FAU MPA experience and 29% were satisfied with their FAU MPA experience.
The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation originally accredited the FAU MPA in 1986 and re-accredited the program in 1993, 2000, 2007, and 2014.
For any questions regarding the Master of Public Administration degree program, please contact Dr. Robin Larson (Program Coordinator) via email at rlarson2@fau.edu.