Key Takeaways:
- MPA programs require “Management Communications with Technological Tools,” focusing on communication methodologies and research writing.
- “Urban Planning and Redevelopment” courses teach designing and regulating urban spaces for economic and social impacts.
- “Business Ethics and Social Responsibility” covers ethical dilemmas in public administration, teaching how to navigate them legally and ethically.
Today’s master’s of public administration is designed to prepare any student for the ins and outs of the management of various public holdings and affairs. This is done through a progressive arrangement of courses custom-built around the profession. Want to know more about what this particular degree entails? Read along for a look at some of the coursework to expect in the MPA.
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1. Management Communications with Technological Tools
Communication is a critical, core component to virtually any profession, and in many vocations, like in many public administration jobs, technology has become an integral part of much of that communication. As a result, courses like Management Communications with Technological Tools are required of all students. Here, one can expect to learn about a range of subjects in this area such as qualitative communication research methodologies, research writing, and communication theory.
2. Contemporary Issues in Organizational Leadership
Leadership, in an organization specifically, is a complicated concept when looked at under a scientific scope. As such, Contemporary Issues in Organizational Leadership is one course meant to prepare MPA grads for the task of mastering it all. Here, one will learn all about the various facets of leading – theory, models, concepts, vocabulary, and more. Contemporary and historic leadership issues are compared here, and the student will learn all the “dos” and “don’ts” therein.
3. Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior is the study of how people act in groups or organizations. Investopedia elaborates on specific research areas within this study including job performance effects, job satisfaction, and the associated potential for promotion of innovation and leadership in the organization. This course, Organizational Behavior, is all about this important area of MPA knowledge.
4. Urban Planning and Redevelopment
In many areas of public administration work today, urban planning and development matters are an ever-present contention. Defined quite well by the Encyclopedia Britannica, urban planning is the “design and regulation of the uses of space that focus on the physical form, economic functions, and social impacts of the urban environment and on the location of different activities within it.” By understanding this area of knowledge, MPA grads can then play a vital role in planning in the urban environment.
Business Ethics and Social Responsibility is an MPA course that covers the social and ethical sides to MPA work most often encountered today. What ethical dilemmas can this professional face? How can these be abated? What can happen if these dilemmas are not properly dealt with? Learn how to stay ethically and legally clear in all business dealings in this required MPA course.
With an MPA degree in hand, grads are ready for any number of public administration and other jobs across the job market. While earning this degree, all students can expect certain, required courses along the way. These five MPA courses are among some of those required learning benchmarks today.