A public administration master’s degree can help position you for a public administration career in settings like healthcare organizations, government agencies, for-profit businesses, nonprofits, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
With a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree, your choice of public administration jobs may include roles in emergency management, public health administration, city management, social services, and public policy, to name just a few.
But within these career settings and job roles, what are the challenges ahead? And how can enrolling in an online master’s in public administration program help? Public spirit-oriented professionals are needed to help build healthy, resilient, and equitable communities. Here are three key areas of opportunity, and how an MPA program can help prepare you for the work ahead.
Fostering Social Equity1
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) calls social equity “a key pillar of public administration” and appropriately includes it on its list of “12 Grand Challenges in Public Administration.”2
There are many job roles for public administration degree-holders who want to focus their careers on addressing disparities embedded in all aspects of daily life. NAPA highlights a few of these areas, including healthcare, criminal justice, education, housing, social services, and transportation.1
Earning an MPA with a diversity and social justice focus can provide the tools you need to create public policies and run programs that knock down barriers and help build equity, diversity, and inclusion. You also may want to consider a law and public policy specialization to explore how laws and court rulings impact public policy.
Building Resilient Communities3
Building resilient communities is another one of NAPA’s Grand Challenges. NAPA defines resilient communities as those that are prepared to “respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations.” Adverse situations include natural disasters like floods, wildfires, and heat emergencies. But there are many other factors that test a community’s resilience, including economic dislocations, health epidemics, and unaffordable housing.3
It takes professionals from a range of public administration job fields to build communities prepared for adverse conditions. Earning an MPA degree can prepare you to join professionals like public administrators, chief executive officers, and city managers to achieve these goals.
Depending on your public administration career goals, you might choose to focus your MPA studies on emergency management, where the curriculum covers such topics as risk assessment, preparedness, and disaster mitigation.
Leading Social Change
With a master’s in public administration, you can put your education and experience to work as a social service or community service leader. Social and community service leaders are in demand, with much-faster-than-average job growth expected through 2031, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.4
With a public administration master’s degree, you’ll find lots of ways to work for the greater good. You may choose to focus your career on addressing issues like homelessness, food insecurity, or job training. You can also choose the setting. Will you join a government agency, private business, community charitable organization, or NGO?
If you’re interested in a nonprofit career, you may want to choose an online MPA degree program with a nonprofit management and leadership specialization. A well-rounded curriculum will help you learn best practices in areas like funding, budgeting and finance, cultivating relationships, and strategic planning.
To learn more about the Grand Challenges agenda, visit 12 Grand Challenges in Public Administration.
Find Your MPA Career Passion
Walden University’s online Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree program can help prepare you to build a career that meets your goals and objectives.
In Walden’s public administration degree program, you’ll build policy analysis, program evaluation, and strategic planning skills that you can use to design and deliver effective public services. You’ll learn how to balance budgets, negotiate contracts, and build collaborations.
This online MPA program is a blend of cutting-edge curriculum and innovative learning tools like Walden Heights. Within this virtual city, you’ll visit various locations, like City Hall, to gather resources and complete assignments.
When you enroll in Walden’s master’s program, you can choose the General Program or select one of these optional specializations: Diversity and Social Justice, Emergency Management, Law and Public Policy, and Nonprofit Management and Leadership.
Walden’s online MPA program gives you the flexibility to earn a public administration degree while balancing your professional and personal responsibilities. With online coursework, you can log in and participate on your schedule, wherever you have an internet connection.
With an MPA degree, you can find your niche in a public service job that offers the challenges and opportunities you seek. What can you do with a public administration master’s degree? The choices are many. And the choice is yours.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering an online Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree program. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.
1Source: https://napawash.org/grand-challenges/foster-social-equity
2Source: https://napawash.org/grand-challenges/the-12-grand-challenges
3Source: https://napawash.org/grand-challenges/build-resilient-communities
4Source: www.bls.gov/ooh/management/social-and-community-service-managers.htm
Walden University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.