Overview
Are you ready to take the next step in your central, regional or local government career? This 2-year MPA Public Administration Master’s degree apprenticeship allows you to build your skills and get your MPA qualification while you work full time.
The course is work based, with teaching delivered online. You'll typically spend about 20% of your working week studying via distance learning. You'll also need to do some study outside of work time, with occasional visits to the University. The Government or your employer pay your tuition fees – so it doesn’t cost you anything.
You’ll develop your strategic leadership and management capabilities and get the knowledge you need to take on ambitious new roles. You'll cover public policy, service and administration from inter-cultural, inter-professional and inter-organisational perspectives.
You'll also study specialist areas relating to public administration, such as the legal system and corporate governance, and learn transferable skills that will be valuable throughout your career. You’ll have many opportunities to put what you learn into practice, as you’ll be completing the course alongside your job.
When you finish the course, you'll have the confidence to take on more challenging leadership roles in the future and become more effective in your existing role.
What you'll experience
- Critically examine how public policies are made and implemented
- Gain specialist knowledge in fields that match your career aspirations
- Learn how to solve complex issues with a creative approach
- Boost your ability to lead and manage strategically
- Cover topics such as citizenship, the legal system and corporate governance
- Compare policy processes and outputs in specific fields, including health, education, welfare, economic development, defence, policing and European integration
- Examine public policies, management systems and administrative systems from an international perspective
- Assess the effectiveness of public organisations
- Complete a personal project on a topic of your choice
- Get a learning manager from the University and a workplace mentor
- Tap in to our Library’s electronic resources, which you can access from anywhere with a Web connection
- Have access to the University's student support services and community including study support and the Students’ Union
- Work at your own pace, in your own time, in any location, with interactive online learning materials
- Take part in live Web-based chat forums to discuss your work with lecturers and other students
Careers and opportunities
You can put the skills you’ll learn on this course to use wherever your public administration career takes you.
Previous Portsmouth Public Administration students have gone on to take up senior roles in local and central governments, and with United Nations and other non-governmental organisations.
After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.
