Welcome Message

School of Public Administration & Policy
Director Arthur L. Silvers

The School of Public Administration & Policy at the University of Arizona was created in 1988. From the start we have offered cutting edge curriculum, highly motivated students and outstanding faculty.

The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) wrote, “The MPA Program at the University of Arizona deserves high commendation for the quality it has achieved.” Our program is highly innovative in its design and we strive to continually monitor changes occurring in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors so that our courses and programs keep pace.

Our programs prepare students to operate in the public and nonprofit sectors by giving them the management skills of business and the analytical and organizational skills expected of public managers. Our program does not prepare bureaucrats; we prepare public managers and leaders who are capable of operating across all three sectors. We do this through innovative programs that combine group projects involving real-world problems, rigorous classroom discussion, and internships. Our students are exposed to leaders in public and nonprofit management and have many avenues to test what they have learned in the classroom.

Our location in the Eller College of Management strengthens our programs and gives our students a distinct advantage. Our students have access to classes in management information systems, economics, finance, marketing and accounting. Through faculty joint appointments and joint programs we have links to political science, sociology, public health, law, renewable natural resources, and Latin American studies.

We have tried to build excellence into each of our programs. Our undergraduate BS program prepares students for administrative positions in government and nonprofit agencies as well as preparing them for graduate study in fields like law, public administration and public policy. Our MPA prepares our graduates for leadership positions in the public and nonprofit sectors. In addition, some of our MPAs find challenging positions in private consulting firms, bond rating agencies, and in companies that perform government work under contract. Our small and highly selective Ph.D. program trains students for placement in university teaching positions throughout the country. While quite new, we have placed several graduates at Ivy League institutions.

The School of Public Administration & Policy truly offers one of the leading programs in public management available in the U.S. We invite your application to our programs.
  

To learn more, please contact us.