MPA的迷思

VicrenUID：177362

MPA的申请似乎在热起来, 该专业的PH.D却似乎少有重视.也许申请者都有有很强的职业倾向,不愿意再作研究.
      但是,MPA毕竟不同于MBA,职业性并不强,美国政府也不可能吸收该专业的国际学生. 从美国的情况来看,本人建议大家侧重该专业的PH.D.原因如下:
1\MPA奖学金少于PH.D,如此申请将人为的增加获奖难度;
2\MPA的学生找工作面很窄,在读书的第二年就将面临就业还是申请博士的问题.绝大多数情况下,还是要二次革命申请博士,压力很大.
3\如果有F2,的话,时间过短不利于F2转F1.
4\该专业的PHD,比人文学科相对容易,一般四年可以读完,甚至有三年读完的.付出成本相对比较小.
5\该专业的PHD找工作比MPA容易,至少可以考虑研究岗位及公共组织.
   当然,以上讨论的前提是要有学习兴趣.否则,学习将会很枯燥乏味,收获很小.

youccUID：95474

多谢多谢！有兴趣的同志们可以考虑一下哈

ggxinxinUID：161010

mpa will cost big money.......

youccUID：95474

楼主推荐的是PhD in Public Administration

ggxinxinUID：161010

yeah, right, I just say mpa will cost big money to support her attitude. hehe.
And you can not find a part-time job in the US,during the summer and winter vocation, if you apply for the MPA.
Unless you want to wash dishes.

alfzyUID：158513

For international students who are MPA majors, there are two obstacles in their choice of future plan. Identity is the obvious one. MPA is a government-career-oriented major, so permanent residency is the prerequisite of most employers (if not all), and many positions prefer citizens. The "professional" nature of this degree is the less evident one. MPA is a professional degree, but NOT a traditional thesis-based degree, and the latter is much more favored by the Ph.D admission committee. MPA is a course-based major; usually students have to take about 20 courses in 4 terms. Under such a workload, it is hard to maintain a high GPA to be competitive in Ph.D admission. During Ph.D selection, MPA graduates will compete with students with MA in Political Science, who take about 6 to 9 courses and write a thesis. Compared with them, MPA background applicants are disadvantageous. Of course, in rival  with those undergraduate applicants, MPAs may get some points for they have taken some graduate-level courses. As of the Ph.D in Public Administration, if I am correct, only some top universities have such programs, such as Harvard, Princeton, and Univ of Georgia.(Some Australian universities offer them, but the competition is intense too) In most universities, MPA is listed under the Department of Political Science, so only Ph.d in political science is the next possible step. After all, MPA is designed for those mid-career public servants and for those citizens who want to work in their OWN governments. Not-for-profit organizations are right places to go, but the salaries they offer are not good enough. About international organizations, it is not easy either. Moreover, it is even harder to find a job in China with the degree. The courses you take are devised for the mechanism of a parliamentary system (or a democratic one), but we all know the Chinese governments are totally different stories.  Besides, you still have to take necessary exams before you can work in our governments. This degree will not secure your advantageous position in the recruitmen process. (Maybe in some cases, but NOT CERTAIN, who knows) However, I have to say this degree is worthy if you are really interested in this field. You will study the courses of Economics, Political Science, Statistics, Information Management, and so on, which will broaden your horizon of knowledge. It just does not necessarily mean a bright "money" perspective.  ^_^

flyovertoseeyouUID：181988

well, can anybody tell me what is the difference between MPA and MPP?

thanks a lot in advance

youccUID：95474

最初由 flyovertoseeyou 发布
[B]well, can anybody tell me what is the difference between MPA and MPP?

thanks a lot in advance [/B]

http://www.naspaa.org/students/faq/faq.asp

What is an MPA degree?

The Masters of Public Administration (MPA) degree is the professional degree for people who want a public service career in management. These degree programs  develop the skills and techniques used by leaders and managers to implement policies, projects, and programs that resolve important societal problems while addressing organizational, human resource, and budgetary challenges.  MPA graduates work in a wide variety of public service fields and in all levels of government (federal, state, local, and regional), in nonprofits, organizations, in the international arena, and in the private sector.

Coursework for MPA candidates typically includes required core courses and a concentration or specialization. Core courses often include human resources, budgeting and financial processes, information systems, policy and program formulation, implementation and evaluation, decision making and problem solving, political and legal institutions and processes, economic and social institutions and processes, organization and management concepts and behavior, and ethics.

MPA candidates who know their specialized interests before beginning their coursework should select a program that offers that specialization or concentration. Specializations and concentrations offered by NASPAA programs include such areas as nonprofit management, health care management, environmental management, criminal justice, and urban affairs, as well as such diverse topics as election administration, aviation security, and philanthropic development. MPA program specializations and concentrations can be searched in the NASPAA database of graduate schools. Click here.



What is an MPP degree?

The Masters of Public Policy (MPP) degree emphasizes analyzing and evaluating information to solve policy problems.  As analysts, managers, and leaders, MPP graduates work with quantitative and qualitative information and data to develop, assess, and evaluate alternative approaches to current and emerging issues. Their careers are in variety of public service fields and in all levels of government (federal, state, local, and regional), in nonprofits, in the international arena, and in the private sector.

Coursework for MPP candidates typically includes required core courses and a concentration or specialization. Core courses often include statistics and data analysis, public finance, microeconomics and macroeconomics, research design, program evaluation, public policy, organization and management concepts and behavior, and ethics.

MPP candidates who know their specialized interests before beginning their coursework should select a program that offers that specialization or concentration. Specializations and concentrations offered by NASPAA programs are in such policy areas as environment, education, health, transportation, economic development, international development, urban affairs, and criminal justice. MPP program specializations and concentrations can be searched in the NASPAA database of graduate schools. Click here.

shoppingsUID：154180

In my opinion, MPA is perfect for those who commit themselves to the area of public service. If you wanna work for government but can't get any government support, such as government sponsored scholarship, you'd better not to come.

If you want to work for NGOs/NPOs, you can consider MPA program. Even the salary is not as good as private sector, it is still a decent job. There are also a few NGO positions in mainland China and Hong Kong. So just donn't let $ become the determined factor of your dream. If you wanna pursue a career in the third sector, you should choose the MPA program carefully, for some of the programs (Such as the TAMU one) focus mainly on government issues but little NGO perspectives. Others, may have more exposure to the third sector.

Location is also important for MPA program, for you have to be able to acess all kind of resources in order to get involved the public affairs. Boston, Washington DC, New York, LA are among the best locations for a MPA student---at least you have more chance to get internship.

Many MPA program also includes a POLICY specialization.The policy specialization in MPA  focus not only technically best policies, but also the politicial and social feasibility. It also includes more management factors than MPP program. You donnt need very solid quantitative background to pursue policy specialization in MPA.But if you go MPP, you should be good at quantitative skills.

If you are still interested in MPA program after considering the above factors, I am willing to provide some general information if I have time. My email is  RPSoong  @gmail.com

27149UID：174666

我认识一个哥们北大国政本科、硕士出去的，在肯尼迪政府学院拿了MPA，回国后在基金公司混着，也就靠英语吃饭，专业都用不上，唉……