Public administration courses often use the pillars of public administration (e.g., efficiency, effectiveness, equity, economy, accountability, responsiveness) as foundational concepts across our core curriculum. However, our public administration curriculum is alarmingly absent of conversations about emotional labor. Put simply, emotional labor…

This paper aims to analyze the main competences developed by graduates of a professional master's degree in Brazilian public administration. For this purpose, the research developed (i) a theoretical framework to present the main competences for public sector professionals, (ii) a bibliometric analysis with the scientific publications about…

Research has documented that applied projects that are experiential and grounded in the course contents offer effective hands-on experience to students to understand the course materials and apply their learnings in a meaningful way. Experiential learning is particularly relevant to Master of Public Administration Programs (MPA), which are usually…

This paper reported the findings from 18 qualitative interviews of students across two sections of an elective, standalone ethics course in a Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) accredited Master's of Public Administration (MPA) program at a northeast university. The findings suggested that a survey of…

Aspects of public service often involve tasks sometimes considered taboo, including working with grit, grime, blood, guts, grease, and stigmatized populations. Yet scholarship in our field directly incorporating dirty work remains limited yet growing. Importantly, if MPA students are not trained in how to work with and manage public sector…

Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is feelings of inadequacy and inauthenticity in settings where achievement is emphasized and valued. This exploratory study employs a survey to investigate the prevalence and underlying factors of IP among Master of Public Administration (MPA) students at seven US universities with varying institutional characteristics.…

Case study analysis has been used for many years across a variety of disciplines. One of the primary advantages of case study analysis is its ability to illustrate the nexus between theory and practice. This paper explores the use of case study analysis as a culminating experience in a large Master of Public Administration (MPA) program in the…

This paper aims to examine the limited area of public management education program of more than 70 institutions of higher education learning in the Philippines. The examination focused on distinguishing the variations of experts, college/university administrators, teachers, and students towards developing the public sector/administration…

The civil service has seen dramatic changes over the last 50 years, symbolized by the shift from Traditional Public Administration, to New Public Management and now New Public Governance. Likewise, the role and nature of people management functions has changed with the development of Strategic HR and Human Resource Development (HRD). Finally, the…

This paper describes the pedagogical efforts of 67 NASPAA programs offering a specialization in global/comparative administration and policy. A web content analysis of course and concentration titles, course descriptions and syllabi of 67 programs with this specialization showed that across all programs, 52 unique concentrations were offered, and…

This study investigates the question of whether there are gender differences in the choice of specializations/concentrations by students enrolled in Master's Programs in Public Administration (MPA), and considers potential implications for MPA students and the broader field of public administration. We analyzed data provided by NASPAA-accredited…

Considerable scholarly attention has been paid to various efforts aimed at preparing graduate students for careers as practitioners of public administration. One such approach is hiring practitioners-in-residence (PIR) or employing professors of practice. This paper first reports results of a web content analysis of 355 NASPAA programs that…

The emerging complex challenges confronting public administration (PA) leaders are used as reasons for rethinking the quality of PA education throughout the world. However, it is not clear what PA scholars mean when they use the word 'challenge' when rethinking the curricula of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programmes globally. The…

Purpose: Public administration, or the implementation of public policies by civil servants, will be central to implementing the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. And yet, few American master of public administration (MPA) programs explicitly focus on sustainable development or sustainability literacy. This study asks whether it is…

In this article, I describe the process and importance of branding a graduate public administration program. Written from the perspective of a participant-observer, I describe how with the assistance of my department we have given our program a more distinctive identity and therefore a more identifiable brand. That brand is one that focuses on…