Executive MPA

The Executive MPA is for experienced professionals who want to gain administrative leadership skills through a convenient course schedule and accelerated program of study. Classes focus on current issues confronting administrative professionals in New York City. Skills are developed in budgeting, communications, economics, management, and research methods. Baruch College’s distinguished faculty are joined in the classroom by expert practitioners as either instructors or guest speakers in order to bring real-world knowledge to pedagogy.

Established in 1984, the Marxe School’s Executive MPA is one of the original executive public administration programs in the nation. The program develops confident, innovative, ethical, and strategic leaders with the capability to make a difference in government and nonprofit administration. Students become a part of an alumni network that includes high-level administrators at such organizations including: Con Edison, Association for a Better New York, New York Cares, the Roundabout Theater Company, New York-Presbyterian, Maimonides Medical Center, NYC Office of Management and Budget, NYC City Council, NYC Department of Finance, NYC Parks Department, and the American Federation of the Arts.

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The Executive MPA Student Experience

Executive MPA classes are taught from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on 35 Saturdays from September to June. Students complete the 42-credit curriculum in two years as a cohort. The shared cohort experience offers students the opportunity to learn from each other during the program and make lifelong connections after graduation.

The program offers exclusive amenities and unique learning opportunities which include:

Cohort model
Small classes
Academic/practitioner instruction for many classes
A dedicated advisor to assist with course planning, registration, and navigating college systems
Leadership orientation and professional development led by Coro
Books and other supplies for all classes
Breakfast and lunch on-campus
An Academic Services Specialist for economics and statistics courses, that works individually with students
A 5-day international study away immersion program
Networking and team-building events

Executive MPA Faculty

The Executive MPA’s faculty helps professionals develop individual goals and apply them to the complex scope of today’s public service organizations. Engaging, accessible, and seasoned, the program’s faculty is composed of full-time professors, distinguished scholars, and management experts, who teach alongside practitioners, including senior executives, from a range of city agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Hear From Some of Our Alumni

MPA Learning Goals

Upon graduation, students within the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree programs at Marxe are expected to obtain knowledge and demonstrate skills associated with the following Program Learning Goals approved by the faculty and fall under five Universal Competencies established by NASPAA.

NASPAA Competencies and Master of Public Affairs (MPA) Program Learning Goals

*Competencies were revised by NASPAA FA19; revisions are reflected

Competency #1: To lead and manage in the public interest.
Learning Goal A: Understand and distinguish among concepts of management, leadership, and governance of public and nonprofit organizations.
Learning Goal B: Use management and leadership theories to analyze the design, operation, and governance of public and nonprofit organizations.
Learning Goal C: Develop recommendations to improve the management of public and nonprofit organizations based on multiple analytical frames. (revision – pending approval)

Competency #2: To participate in, and contribute to, the policy process.
Learning Goal A: Distinguish and effectively employ the steps in the policy process: problem/goal identification; stakeholder identification and analysis; financing; approval; implementation and evaluation.
Learning Goal B: Identify alternative policy options; assess their potential feasibility and effectiveness; describe how the policy options are expected to affect outcomes (mechanisms).

Competency #3: To analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment.
Learning Goal A: Analyze, evaluate, and draw valid conclusions from social science research such as policy, applied, or evaluation research.
Learning Goal B: Design social science research such as policy, applied, or evaluation research using qualitative or quantitative methods.
Learning Goal C: Conduct social science research such as policy, applied, or evaluation research.
Learning Goal D: Apply social science or evaluation research findings to public policy questions and decision making situations.

Competency #4: To articulate, apply, and advance a public service perspective.
Learning Goal A: Identify varied and conflicting values or needs within the public sphere and understand the implications they have on management and/or policy decisions.

Competency #5: To communicate and interact productively.
Learning Goal A: Prepare clear, concise, well-organized, accurate and persuasive written materials that are tailored to an audience’s level of experience and needs.
Learning Goal B: Prepare clear, concise, well-organized, accurate and persuasive oral presentations that are tailored to an audience’s level of experience and needs.
Learning Goal C: Recognize and value the diversity of organizational structures and cultures, as well as organizational complexity, in order to communicate effectively.