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The Degree for Careers in Public Service

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree is the professional degree for those seeking a public service career. The UNO MPA program develops the skills used by managers to implement policies, projects and programs. MPA program alumni work in all levels of government; in nonprofit organizations delivering services in health care, youth and human services, and in housing and community development, in international development, and in public service-related private businesses.

  

Go Global: MPA/ MPP Degrees that
Make a World of Difference

Most Lincoln, Omaha and online MPA students work in the government and nonprofit sectors. In addition, many people working in for-profit organizations—especially those providing services for federal, state or local governments—find the MPA degree to be a significant benefit for their career.
The outlook for public services remains strong. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook:

  • Between 2002 and 2012, government employment is expected to increase by 11.8 percent
  • Healthcare and social services—including hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and individual and family services—will grow by 32.4 percent from 2002-2012.

In addition, the value of an MPA degree is high. The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NSAPAA) states that graduate education is expected to continue to give persons working or seeking careers in the public and nonprofit sectors a competitive edge. Not only are opportunities greater, but salaries can be higher. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, in 1998, the mean annual income of individuals holding a Master's was approximately $51,100--$9,108 higher than with a Bachelor's degree. When looking at a 35 year career, this can translate into an additional $318,000 in earning power.

Outstanding Teaching

The School of Public Administration stresses a teaching “portfolio” approach for its entire faculty. The result is that the School's faculty members have for many years utilized active and service-learning teaching strategies; multiple assessment tools; participated in extended education on improving teaching and learning; and published research on teaching in a public service degree program.
A number of School of Public Administration faculty members have won teaching excellence awards. The mean rating for School faculty on Question 8 of UNO's teaching evaluation instrument is 1.59 for graduate courses, with a “1” indicating a “Superior” rating.

Concern for Quality and Relevance

Among MPA students taking the comprehensive exam option (approximately 50% take the exams), almost 90 percent pass the exam on their first attempt. In recent years, faculty have provided leadership to the University Committee for the Advancement of Teaching; the Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtable; and studied instructional issues such as distance learning outcomes, approaches for fostering effective class group projects, and led a national study of Generation X and its implications for public service education.

For many years the UNO MPA Program has conducted exit interviews of its graduates. The exit interviews show very high levels of satisfaction with the quality of instruction, the advising process, the amount of attention paid to students, and the ease with which the students interact with School personnel and procedures.

The School of Public Administration also surveys its MPA alumni about the quality of the instructional programs. The results consistently show high levels of alumni satisfaction. For example, 82 percent of alumni that responded to the January 2005 survey rated the academic preparation they received in the MPA program as “excellent/good,” and 66.0 percent responded that the MPA degree provided greater advancement opportunities; this is significant considering that many alumni already had public service positions when they entered the program. The results of the exit interviews and the alumni surveys are used in the School's on-going strategic planning process. The strong support for the MPA program by its alumni contributes directly to the strong esprit de corps found within the SPA.

Graduates of the MPA program report working in occupations and industry groups related to their academic preparation. For example, the January 2005 MPA alumni survey found 89.0 percent of those responding worked in professional or managerial/administrative jobs. Sixty-four percent of respondents earned more than $40,000 annually, and 84 percent worked in a governmental or nonprofit organization.

last updated 3/27/2008 by Melanie Kiper, webmaster