Advance Your Career with a Public Administration and Policy Graduate Degree
Employers expect graduates of public administration and public policy programs to have the right combination of experience and skills. With in-depth study in policy analysis and public management, including its legal, logistical, and ethical considerations, graduates with a Master of Public Administration and Policy can bridge this gap by gaining the core competencies of each degree and become better candidates for jobs in the field.

Analytical Skills and Expertise
Policy analysis is one of the most important skills a person working in public service needs to have. Many people who work in public administration and policy start as policy analysts, gathering information, analyzing the potential or actual effects of legislation, and relaying findings to elected and appointed public officials. Policy analysts must have a thorough understanding of technical subjects such as statistics, finance, data analysis, and other budgetary concerns. They also have to be able to evaluate the social and political effects of current and proposed policies.

This allows them to make recommendations about changes to policies and the ways they are carried out. With the additional organizational knowledge gained from a Master of Public Administration and Policy, graduates know how to analyze effects of policy from a managerial perspective. This puts them in a better position to take on administration roles in public policy.

Public Administration and Management Experience
Many managers in public administration got their start in the field as policy analysts. They progressed in their careers once they proved that they had the necessary skills in public management, including such qualities as:

• Managing human capital assets
• Management of microeconomics
• Employee development

The ideal candidate in public administration will have a combination of technical skill in public policy and solid leadership skills.

Some have strong analytic skills they bring to the discipline, while others have skills that focus much more on team-building and working strictly on policy language and initiatives. To build successful policy organizations both approaches have a role.

Graduates must also know how to supervise, teach, and inspire others working under them to excel. These are skills that are more efficiently provided with a degree program that combines public policy and public administration.

Legal and Ethical Leadership Skills
Public administrators must act within a legal and ethical context within every facet of their roles as builders and enforcers of public policy. This requires a very firm grounding in the constitutional and legal dimensions of their designated policy fields.

At times, they must take on the role of management analysts, who can analyze the practice of leadership in a public administration context and make adjustments for a more ethical, efficient framework. A master of public administration and policy gives graduates the ability to deftly and thoroughly analyze a suggested policy and present ideas on the ways managers can carry out legislation.

This knowledge leads managers in public administration to take a position of greater relevance in the role of government. In 2012, the Journal of Public Affairs Education published an analysis showing how a public manager with policy analysis experience shapes the creation of public policy indirectly. Elected officials often lack experience in policy analysis and public administration.

They may not have the organizational knowledge they need to make their proposed legislation useful, practical, and likely to succeed. This forces them to rely on experts in hired positions who can guide them as consultants in the proposal, creation, and carryout of public policy initiatives. Managers with a master’s in public administration and policy have these skills for any of these roles.

Building a career in public administration requires extensive study in public policy analysis, knowledge of organizational dynamics and leadership skills in the context of public administration. Since they have a combination of these skills, students in a Master of Public Administration and Policy program are ready to meet all of these needs in their future careers.

To learn more about how American University’s online Master of Public Administration and Policy can advance your career, request more information or call us toll free at 855-725-7614.