MPA Public Administration (online)

Course content

Our MPA will develop you as a professional public service manager. You'll develop your skills in analysis, decision-making and accountability. You will deepen your understanding of the ethos, culture, opportunities and constraints that govern public service delivery. You will develop your ability to lead and manage people through successful strategic and organisational change. You'll learn how to influence policy decisions to shape future service delivery and enhance your organisation's learning and performance.

As you progress through this two year course you will apply your learning in the workplace. We'll encourage your development as a reflective practitioner throughout this process.

Towards the end of the course you will start to prepare for your dissertation which will allow you to explore an area of particular interest.

You can also study for a shorter period of time and graduate with a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma.

Modules

To graduate with an MPA degree you will need to take 140 credits of taught modules and complete a dissertation worth 40 credits.

You will study these modules to a schedule. This will allow you to participate online with academics and fellow students from around the world.

Year 1: foundation

In the first year you'll complete 80 credits of study:

• Public Management and Delivery (20 credits)
• Strategic Planning (20 credits)
• Policy Analysis and Process (20 credits)
• Reflective Practice for Professional Development - Part One (10 credits)
• Digital Capabilities for Global Citizenship (10 credits)

Year 2: specialisation and dissertation

In your second year you will study a combination of taught modules and work on your dissertation. You will start the year by studying one core module:

• Leading and Managing Organisational Change (20 credits)

You will then choose one of the following modules:

• Project Management (20 credits)
• Public Finance (20 credits)
• Public Service Reform: Economic and Political Perspectives (20 credits).

You will also need to complete a dissertation, as well as modules designed to develop your professional and research skills:

• Reflective Practice for Professional Development - Part Two (10 credits)
• Dissertation Workshop (10 credits)
• Dissertation (40 credits)

Dissertation

• Dissertation (40 credits)

Throughout your studies your assignments will help you to apply theory to practice and to combine academic work with case studies or examples relevant to your work.

One of your taught modules, the Dissertation Workshop, will help you prepare for your dissertation. You'll learn how to plan and schedule your independent literature-based research project. With the help of your dissertation supervisor you will work on finding the appropriate scope and focus for your project, and develop a workable structure. You will also receive feedback on draft chapters and guidance on conducting your literature review and any further research.
Your dissertation is worth 40 credits and will be 12,000 words long.
Previous dissertation titles have included:

• The role of culture in organisational learning: an evaluation of the culture change programme in [specified] organisation
• To what extent can the Local Authority Trading Company model of service delivery overcome unintended consequences associated with traditional private sector outsourcing?
• Is good governance achievable in fragile states? The role of civil society organisations in promoting good governance in South Sudan
• Planning for stability or learning to innovate? A critical evaluation of strategic planning within [specified] council
• Has engagement with communities in Ghana had a positive effect on the health of the targeted population?
• How successful has public and patient stakeholder engagement been under New Public Management reforms for the UK National Health Service?
• The enabling and constraining factors that influence knowledge sharing in public organisations