Public Administration

What it’s about:

Public administration majors study the management of public and non-profit organizations and the many aspects of public service and governance. Topics include political issues, group dynamics, public policy, health care delivery, economic development, human resources management, philanthropy, voluntarism, budgeting, public finance, information technologies, and neighbourhood analysis.

What the study of this major is like:

In this major you explore the ways that public administration professionals achieve managerial efficiency, program effectiveness, legal accountability, client-driven responsiveness, political representation, and organizational reform. You acquire practical skills, including analysing agency budgets, supervising staff, designing Web Pages and evaluation surveys, and writing grant proposals. You learn to recognize the moral, social, political, economic, and technical issues to consider as you design and lead programs in the public interest.

Upper-level course deal with budgets, accounting, and financial management, as well as with specific executive and personal skills such as strategic planning, leadership, and ethical sensitivity. Majors are strongly encouraged to take a broad range of liberal arts courses, including English, history communications, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Courses frequently use case studies, simulations, and other activities to provide a sense of what real-world public administration is all about. Most programs require you do an internship, perhaps in Washington, D.C., or in a state capital, to gain experience in public or non-profit agencies. At some institutions, cooperative programs allow you to alternate semesters (first studying in the classroom, then working in a government agency).

Programs at different colleges may vary in their organization, approach to public policy, or the level of government they emphasize. For example, some programs focus on local politics, economic and community development, and city management. Other programs prepare you for a career in state government or in the federal government. A few programs specialize in environmental policy, international development, regulatory policies, social policy, or other areas. A growing number of programs provide courses in non-profit administration, including grant writing, volunteer management, fund-raising, and philanthropy.

A bachelor’s degree opens doors to a variety of public service careers with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private sector firms. It also offers a good background for many graduate programs. You can enhance your marketability by taking part in paid or volunteer internships; gaining valuable skills in information technology, public relations, or planning; joining professional organizations; and developing your oral, written, and visual communication skills. The most successful students combine classroom study with real-world experience, and they network, or make contact, with professionals in the field. Increasingly, international study is playing an important role in public affairs, and you are encouraged to participate in study-aboard programs.

Career options and trends:

City manager; assistant city manager*; budget/financial officer, human resource manager; policy analyst; grant coordinator; program evaluator; volunteer coordinator; neighbourhood planner; economic development coordinator.

The retirement of the baby boom generation should open up job opportunities, even at the covered federal level. For example the Office of Personnel Management projects that 282,000 of the executive branch’s full-time civilian employees will leave within a few years.

Non-profit organizations (neighbourhood associations, religious organizations, schools, chambers of commerce, etc.) provide a good employment entry point because they offer many volunteer and internship positions through which you can acquire experience.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors