Master of Public Administration and Policy

Building Leaders to Tackle Societal Challenges: The MPAP degree

Do you want to play a key role in creating an equitable society where individuals can flourish and communities can prosper? Are you driven by a desire to serve the public? Would you like to lead institutions that motivate people to achieve excellence in pursuit of the collective good? Are you ready to do the heavy lifting of crafting and implementing public policies that improve people's lives? If your answer is yes, our MPAP program may be right for you.

Our MPAP program serves a diverse student body representing a variety of public service organizations. MPAP students are mainly mid-career professionals working in government or nonprofit organizations and committed to learning and developing as individuals, administrators, and policymakers. Our seminars are conveniently offered to accommodate full-time jobs. 

The MPAP curriculum emphasizes the integration of practical skills and knowledge with an understanding of the concepts and theories that help leaders adapt those skills in an ever-changing environment. Our classes will develop and improve your skills in policy development and implementation, as well as leadership, personnel, strategic management, fundraising, and program evaluation. You will engage with your peers coming from various backgrounds, learn from each others' professional experiences, and master your ability to work in different organizational settings with diverse groups of individuals. You will engage with faculty whose research, academic training, and professional experience covers a wide array of public administration and policy areas and whose primary goal is to build a cadre of high caliber public and nonprofit leaders to enable our region, state, and nation to address contemporary and future challenges successfully.

Mission:

UM-Dearborn MPAP program’s mission is to empower individuals to tackle the challenges of public and nonprofit leadership so their organizations can thrive and advance the public interest. To accomplish this, we build on the public service commitment of our students by equipping them with the theoretical and practical knowledge, skill-base and network to advance transformative change on behalf of their communities.

Vision for the program:

We are the destination of choice for public administration and policy students from diverse backgrounds in Southeast Michigan. Governmental and nonprofit employers clamor for our graduates as exceptional leaders who develop the public policy to drive our region forward. Public service providers compete to create partnerships with our students and faculty to address critical organizational challenges and opportunities. We are a source of prominent scholarship that advances understanding and effectiveness of public administration and policy.

Vision for Graduates:

UM-Dearborn’s MPAP graduates work in Southeast Michigan and beyond to move their communities in new and exciting directions. Our graduates excel in their careers and continuously seek new opportunities to enhance their expertise, as well as the expertise of those around them. They lead highly effective organizations and drive policy to advance the public good. They create new solutions, tackle new challenges, build new alliances, and expand expectations for governmental and nonprofit excellence.

Vision for the Sector:

The governmental and nonprofit sector is vibrant and provides professional opportunities and personal fulfillment for those pursuing careers within it. The sector is a vital source of innovation and excellence that collaborates with essential partners to build opportunities for all. It is continuously reinvigorated with dynamic, ethical, and talented individuals who blend a passion for public service with bold and creative ideas to deliver exceptional service that enhances the lives of all.

Michigan Nonprofit Association Scholarship: Provides a scholarship valued at 20% of tuition and fees for the employees of Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) member organizations.  This scholarship is available for degree-seeking students and can be used for undergraduate and graduate programs.

What will I learn?

1. Decision-Making to apply critical thinking skills to make decisions that enhance performance of governmental and nonprofit organizations or improve public policy and reflect awareness of key elements in these organizations’ external and internal environments
2. Human Resource Management to effectively manage human resources within governmental and nonprofit organizations
3. Financial Resource Management to effectively manage financial resources of governmental and nonprofit organizations
4. Leadership to understand and exhibit behaviors that enable effective leadership of governmental and nonprofit organizations
5. Effective Communication to communicate proficiently orally and in writing in a manner that facilitates shared understanding, growth, and high performance
6. Ethical Standards to act in a manner that exemplifies professional ethical standards for governmental and nonprofit administration
7. Appreciation for Diversity to demonstrate respect for the diverse cultures, values, and perspectives in society in the development, administration, and provision of public services
8. Equity to uphold professional standards of equity in the development, administration, and provision of public services
9. Theory-Practice Links to appreciate the role of political, administrative, policy, and organization theory in understanding and structuring practice in public and nonprofit administration and a continuously strive to improve practice through the application of theory

1. Core & Capstone: 21 credits. 18 in core courses and 3 in capstone seminar (taken at the end of the program).
2. Electives: 15 credits in elective courses.
3. Internship: 3 credits (additive). For students who do not have at least one year of administrator-level work experience with a nonprofit or governmental organization. 
4. Concentrations (optional): 12 credits in the area of Public Policy or Human Resources or Evaluation & Assessment completed as part of fulfilling core and elective requirements. 

Master of Public Administration and Policy Program Director

Vadym Pyrozhenko, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Public Administration