Master's of Public Administration at Cornell University

42°26′57″N 76°28′42″W / 42.4492°N 76.478276°W / 42.4492; -76.478276Websitewww.publicpolicy.cornell.edu/masters/mpa/

The Master’s in Public Administration at Cornell University is an academic program affiliated with the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York.

MPA degrees have been offered at Cornell University since 1946. They were originally offered through the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs. In fall 2021, when the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy was founded at Cornell, the program was renamed and became a major component of new school.^[1]

The MPA Program in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy offers two options:

• a residential, two-year Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree
• an 18-month, online Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) degree program.

Brooks MPA students complete foundation courses and then choose from eight areas of concentration:

• Economic and Financial Policy
• Environmental Policy
• Government, Politics and Policy Studies
• Human Rights and Social Justice
• International Development Studies
• Public and Nonprofit Management
• Science, Technology and Infrastructure Policy
• Social Policy

Experiential learning is a component of the MPA Program and it serves as a practical complement to formal academic study. Students are expected to gain practical work experience in an area related to their concentration. There are several options for meeting this requirement including an internship in the summer after their first year of study, off-campus study, or the Consulting for Government and Nonprofit Organizations course offered on-campus.[6]

Students can participate in the Brooks School State Policy Advocacy Clinic, a two-semester course in which students work with faculty throughout Cornell to develop actionable state policy.

As a culmination of the MPA program, must produce a professional writing project. There are three options for fulfilling this requirement:

• Capstone Project
• Professional Report
• Thesis

The Executive MPA consists of 22 five-week, online core courses, and four online electives. The degree includes two one-week residential sessions in Ithaca and a substantial capstone project that unfolds over the duration of the program and culminates in a final presentation.

The program trains students in five main areas: communication skills; research and analytical problem-solving skills; institutional knowledge and organizational financial management; values; and specialized policy expertise.

The program offers two concentrations:

• Public and Nonprofit Management, with elective courses in managing technology, managing personnel, decision analytics, and leadership and strategy
• International Policy, with elective courses in frontiers of international policy, human rights, international management, and leadership and strategy

As a culminating experience, EMPA students undertake a capstone project where they apply management skills to a project deemed to be a strategic priority by their current employer. Throughout the program, Executives-in-Residence provide general guidance and mentorship and serve as a resource for capstone projects.

MPA and EMPA students produce Cornell Policy Review (CPR), an online academic journal focused on issues surrounding the field of public policy.^[2]

Additional official student-operated co-curricular activities include:

• The Cornell Policy Review
• The Cornell Public Affairs Society (CPAS)
• Women in Public Policy (WIPP)

• Official website