Top-Ranked. One Year. A Direct Path to Public Service Leadership.
Master of Public Administration (MPA) Degree Program
tracks to choose from to hone a subfield specialization
areas of study help you define your focus
Certificates of Advanced Study offered. Earn one while you get your M.P.A.
Maxwell's MPA: A Degree Built Around Your Goals
The M.P.A. requires 40 credits of coursework. Every M.P.A. student builds their degree the same way: a foundation of core coursework (19 credits), a chosen track of specialization (9 credits), and room to explore through electives (12 credits). It’s a simple structure that gives students real flexibility.
This structure means each M.P.A. student graduates with expertise meaningful to their career goals. One student graduates prepared to run a nonprofit’s operations, another is ready to evaluate a state's housing policy. Both leave Maxwell with the same rigorous management and analytical foundation.
Core Requirements
Every M.P.A. student masters the same foundation: public management, budgeting and fiscal policy, statistics, economics and a capstone workshop.
Required Courses
19 credits
- Public Affairs Colloquium (1 credit)
- Budgeting and Fiscal Policy (3 credits)
- Public Administration and Democracy (3 credits)
- Managing and Leading Public Organizations (3 credits)
- Economics for Public Decisions (3 credits)
- Introduction to Statistics (3 credits)
- M.P.A. Workshop (3 credits)
Tracks (9 credits)
In addition to the required core courses, students choose a track. The M.P.A. tracks allow students to develop specialization in one of four primary fields of public administration.
Some students may not know which track is best aligned with their career goals or may wish to pursue a more generalist approach to their education. In these cases, students may choose the “Integrated Track” option, which includes selecting three courses (9 credits) from the courses required for the four tracks. One of the courses must be PAI 722 Quantitative Analysis.
Policy Analysis
9 credits
Policy Process and Design
9 credits
Public and Nonprofit Management
9 credits
Public Finance
9 credits
Electives (12 credits)
Students round out their M.P.A. degree by choosing the electives that further support their career goals. The remaining 12 credits can be selected from the department, other graduate programs in the Maxwell School or other divisions of Syracuse University.
Students also have the option of using their electives to build depth in an Area of Study or earn a Certificate of Advanced Study.
Areas of Study
Whereas tracks support field expertise, areas of study support expertise in particular topical domains. Students interested in a particular topic can choose their electives based on an area of study with this focus.
Data Analytics for Public Policy
9 credits
Environmental Policy and Administration
9 credits
International Development Administration
9 credits
National and International Security Policy
12 credits
Social Inequality and Policy
9 credits
Certificates of Advanced Study
Students enrolled in our M.P.A. programs are eligible to earn a Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in the following areas of specialization as they work toward their degree (concurrently).
Conflict and Collaboration
12 credits
Data Analytics for Public Policy
12 credits
Postconflict Reconstruction
12 credits
Security Studies
12 credits
99% Graduation Rate
A Degree Built for Public Service Careers
With foundations in leadership, management, public budgeting and analysis, alongside opportunities to build specialized skills and knowledge in specific fields and topics, Maxwell’s M.P.A. will prepare you to make an impact in ways most meaningful to you.
Maxwell graduates go on to serve in leadership, management, finance and policy roles at every level of government and across the nonprofit and private sectors, in the United States and around the world.
Real clients. Real-world skills.
In the M.P.A. workshop, students work with actual clients to collect and analyze data and formulate a plan for future action, while learning to address the very real and complex challenges that organizations face. The range of clients across sectors have included NASA, Save the Children, the City of Philadelphia and RAND Corporation, to name a few.
More MPA Degree Options
M.P.A. Dual Degree Programs
Earn two master’s degrees at once, faster than it would take to earn them separately. Maxwell’s dual graduate degree options in public administration include:
- Dual M.P.A./M.A. in international relations
- Dual M.P.A./Master of International Affairs, OR M.P.A./Master of Public Policy (Atlantis Program with the Hertie School in Berlin)
- Dual M.P.A./Master of Business Administration
- Dual M.P.A./J.D.
Maxwell undergraduates in the following majors can apply to the accelerated B.A./M.P.A. program: anthropology, economics, geography and the environment, history, international relations, policy studies, political science and sociology.
Midcareer Executive M.P.A., Online or On Campus
Designed for public service-oriented professionals with managerial and budgeting experience looking to advance in their career or make a career change, the E.M.P.A offers the flexibility and efficiency you need to take the next big leap.
I am Maxwell.
Maxwell’s curriculum taught me how to assess and translate analysis to diverse stakeholders, navigate ambiguity, foster leadership from the ground up and top down, identify leverage points, and mobilize people and policy toward meaningful outcomes.”
Rain Henderson ’00 B.A. (IR)/’01 M.P.A.
Founder, Elemental Advisors
August 13, 2026
Maxwell School – Master of Public Administration Program Curriculum Overview (Virtual Session)
Virtual
12:00PM-1:00PM
August 20, 2026
Maxwell School – Demystifying the Graduate Admission Process (Virtual Session)
Virtual
12:00PM-1:00PM
September 16, 2026
Maxwell School - Master of Public Administration Virtual Information Session
Virtual
12:00PM-1:00PM
Schedule a One-on-One Meeting
Tailor a path that’s right for you. Contact us for an in-person or virtual conversation with the associate director of admission and financial aid.
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