Most graduate programs in public policy require students to choose between the analytical and the administrative sides of the discipline. Northwestern University’s part-time MA in Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) degree program encompasses both. While instilling leadership skills, the program develops students’ administrative as well as analytical competence to enable them to rise in the field and drive change at the local, national and international levels. The program encompasses a range of specialized areas—public administration, public policy, global policy, global health, and data analytics—all grounded in the perspective that policy challenges are fluid, interconnected and global. Students learn to think across diverse groups and boundaries.

Northwestern’s MPPA—offered online and on campus—is a versatile degree that applies to a variety of areas across all career sectors, private as well as public. MPPA graduates achieve leadership roles in government at the local, state and federal levels, in nonprofit organizations, and in the private sector. MPPA graduates pursue rewarding careers in health service, community service, in management consulting jobs, with financial institutions, in social entrepreneurial organizations, urban and regional planning, political science research and foreign affairs.

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