r/PublicAdministration

Any school reco po na nag-offer ng Master in Public Administration (non thesis) na online or distance learning aside from PCU?

I am very interested in going to graduate school for an MPA. I have worked in state government for the past 6 years and have worked my way up to a lower level leadership role.

I wanted to take a break between undergrad and grad school to figure out my career goals, but now I’m confident I would like to remain in state or local government.

I’m looking for some advice on my statement of purpose. My overall undergraduate GPA isn’t too bad (3.44); however, it is somewhat skewed. I had a very high GPA for most of undergrad then, after going through some personal struggles, had two semesters of very low grades (Ds and Fs). I was able to address my personal issues and save my GPA in the last semester by retaking the classes I received Fs in and finishing strong. Those Fs don’t factor into my GPA but are still on my transcript.

My question is how closely do schools look at the transcript vs just the GPA itself? If my GPA was below 3.0 I would definitely address it in the purpose statement, but since the overall number is decent should I bring it up or leave it alone?

Also, the programs I am looking at offer a GRE waiver for 5+ years of experience. I took the GRE two years ago on a whim and got a mediocre score (161 verbal, 150 quantitative, 4 writing). Would it help or hurt my application to include these scores? Would it be better to just ask for a waiver?

Any advice or input is so appreciated!

I have a job offer from a state level entity. Statewide travel is required for this job and I am assuming I will be receiving a state car. I am not going to lie, I have been smoking weed pretty heavily for the last 6-7 months. This kind of came all of the sudden so I don’t have much time before the drug test (within 1-2 weeks) and I am pretty worried about the potential test. I am wondering if anybody has used synthetic urine for a government position, or if there are any powerful detoxes anybody recommends.

Hey does anyone know the scope of getting through and possibly getting a seat at IITM for public policy with a rank of 280 ??? in any of the list

Hello fellow public servants, I was recently accepted into an MPA program and am excited to start this fall! I would love some community guidance on choosing a concentration. My options are:

1. Nonprofit Management
2. Local Government
3. Public Management (which is tailored generally to all areas of government)

To give you some context, over the last decade plus, I’ve worked my way pretty high up the advocacy and community organizing ladder. Part of the reason I decided to pursue an MPA is that I’m tired of trying to palliate deep, systemic social issues on tight nonprofit budgets. On the flip side, the bulk of my professional network is in this sector, and I know an MPA could help me transition into a executive role at a much larger organization where I could make a real structural difference.

I have never worked directly in local government, but I see a lot of potential there. I feel like I could easily translate my years of experience into developing participatory, grassroots municipal programming. Plus, landing a role in a larger municipality means handling substantial budgets that aren't nearly as constrained as what I'm used to.

The last option, Public Management, sounds like a great way to keep my options open for both nonprofits and all levels of government. However, I worry that being too broad means missing out on the detailed, specialized knowledge—which is the whole reason I'm going back to school in the first place.

For those who have been through these tracks or work in these fields, what are your thoughts? I look forward to hearing your perspective.

Best,

I just applied to the CSUF Master’s in Public Administration program and was wondering if any current students or recent alumni would be willing to share their experience, positive or negative. I’m still deciding between CSUF and CSULB, so any insight or advice would be appreciated.

I wasted my entire time working for jobs not reaching anywhere and after deciding on studying MPA, my plan is to do as best as I can to be on track and do what I am passionate about. As I have zero experience related to public administration what kind of internship would you recommend while I am doing my MPA? Whether it's paid or not, all I want is to gain experience, build practical skills and obtain beneficial network opportunities. Any insightful recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

Fire Service Administration degree — career flexibility question

Hey everyone,

I’m a firefighter/paramedic and I’m looking for some real-world career advice from people who have either promoted in the fire service, moved into prevention/emergency management, or left public safety for another government/admin role.

I’m considering finishing a bachelor’s degree in Fire Service Administration, but I’m trying to think long-term. I may stay in the fire service and pursue promotion, prevention, training, emergency management, or fire marshal-type work. But I also want to keep the door open in case I eventually leave suppression or leave the fire service altogether.

My question is:

How transferable is a BS in Fire Service Administration outside of traditional fire department roles?

I understand it fits well for fire leadership, training, prevention, community risk reduction, emergency management, and public safety administration. But I’m wondering how it is viewed by employers outside the fire service, such as:

- City/county government
- Emergency management
- Public safety analyst roles
- Safety/risk management
- Code enforcement or compliance
- State agency program coordinator roles
- Disaster recovery/FEMA-related work
- Training or education roles

For anyone who has hired for these roles, worked in them, or made a similar transition:

Would a Fire Service Administration degree limit me if I ever wanted to leave the fire service?
Or is the degree still viewed as transferable because of the leadership, administration, emergency management, budgeting, personnel, and public safety background?

I’m not looking for perfect academic advice as much as real-world opinions from people who have seen how this degree is actually viewed in hiring.

Thanks in advance.

Well, myself and three others made it to the finalist interviews for a City Administrator position with a small city in Southwest Kansas. After interviewing each of us in stages this afternoon, the City Council opted to turn down all of their finalists and repost the job saying that they didn’t get the candidate pool they wanted.

I am livid at the moment. Why would you take the time to set up cross country travel for finalist interviews, waste taxpayer money, their time, and your own time; just to not hire any of them?

I’m just under 40 years old and have worked in the public sector for about 12 years. I currently serve as a capital project manager, and I have two bachelor’s degrees: one in environmental science and one in civil engineering. I’m also working toward becoming a licensed Professional Engineer.

Recently, I was nominated for my organization’s leadership academy but was not selected by upper leadership. I’ll be honest, it was discouraging. I’ve been trying to focus on long-term growth and the best way to continue developing professionally.

I’m now considering going back to school for a Master of Public Administration. For those who have taken a similar path, do you feel the MPA was worth it? How has it benefited your career, your leadership ability, or your organization?

I’d also be interested to hear whether there are scholarships, grants, employer reimbursement programs, or other funding options that helped make the degree more affordable.

Thank you in advance for any advice or perspective.

I am just looking for thoughts and input on how I should approach this.

Graduating next spring with a bachelors in Org management and Public Administration. I really enjoy the topic and would like to work in the public sector someday. Trying to make plans for graduate school.

Should I do a double dip and look for a MPA/MPP, or aim for a more diversified foundation and look for something in Business Admin, Supply Chain Management or org management? Most of my upper division focuses have been economics, finances, and management and leadership along with the 6 PA major requirements, so I could theoretically get into most types of business or HRM degrees as well.

My specific interests are in emergency and environmental management, urban design and regional planning, and public policy analysis. Lately I have been reading and doing research in co-governance and co-production frameworks between citizens and local governments, and how can we implement these locally to transform folks into citizen-stakeholders in the delivery of specific services, and how these avenues can be both more efficient and effective with proper oversight. I don't know that this neatly fits into a particular subfield though. I would also consider getting into governmental relations in the private/nonprofit sector as well. The last thing I want to do is be some nameless bureaucrat stuck approving permits, or something.

1. Should I pursue an MPA/MPP after I graduate, or would I be better served by diversifying into an adjacent field like SCM, business admin/analytics, or organizational management?
2. Which path bests fits my interests: emergency, environmental management, urban/regional planning, policy analysis; cogovernance/coproduction in public service delivery? Potential jobs or roles with these interests in mind?

TLDR: Graduating next spring with degree in org management and public admin, trying to decide where to double focus on PA: MPA/MPP, or diversify my credentials through business, supply chain management, org management. Interests listed above. Looking for career path to work on policy, community implementation, and institutional design rather than a narrow SLB role.

I am interested in starting an MPA (maybe MPP?) with an end goal of working at an environmental or animal focused organization (nature conservancy, WWF, ASPCA, nat geo society etc) are there any colleges with strong ties to this industry??

I'm looking into getting an MPA and would love to take some classes or have an international concentration. I worked at a NGO that administered international scholarships before and would love to go back to that company or similar sort of work in DC. I'm thinking an MPA rather than an IR degree so I can work in other places if I move away from the city and need to change jobs. For example, Colorado State University has an international concentration but it isn't NASPAA accredited and that accredidation seems a worthwhile priority.

Hello everyone! I am a local government worker with an MPA. I am considering going back to school for a DPA because of my passion for the public sector, and I was wondering if any of you had thoughts or reviews on the West Chester University DPA online program. It's important to me that I am able to work full-time and take classes part-time. So another question I had is how manageable will the workload be? I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the program. Thank you!

Hi everyone. A little background on me- bachelors in psychology, worked in people ops/HR/payroll, currently work at a healthcare lab. I am doing a wildlife rehab externship this summer and I volunteer doing equine assisted therapy. I have many additional years of non profit volunteer experience, mainly all focused on animal welfare and environmental conservation. I am interested in changing my career to nonprofit work as I’m very mission driven

Would an online MPA be advised? are there any programs that focus on animal behavior/welfare/rehabilitation or wildlife/environmental/ecological conservation? Is it possible to make meaningful connections when doing an online MPA? Also, are you able to work in policy with an MPA?

so I recently got fully employed with the local city government and I’m actively looking to engage with an MPA program in the fall of 2026.

I guess I’m just a bit concerned that I’m pigeonholing myself by solely going for an MPA rather than an MBA. But my future career prospects that I would like to pursue would always be in the capacity of public service in particular like I would prefer to be a policy analyst or some form of a policy analysis role.

so I guess I’m just kind of curious because as of right now I’m working on the constituent side of things, but I would like to pursue policy after the fact like which next steps would be most appropriate? Especially as in pursuing my MPA.