What Puts the ‘E’ in EMPA?

If you’re wondering what the major differences are between an Executive MPA (EMPA) and an MPA, you’re not alone. We talked to Nell Bartkowiak, director of the Online Executive Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, to learn what sets an EMPA apart:

  • Focus on management and leadership: The course material is intended to draw on and enhance your management experience by building core skills that can be applied in a dynamic environment requiring leadership and collaboration across teams.
  • Advance your career from the manager level and beyond: An EMPA will help you step back to consider complicated policy impact from the perspective of policy formulation and implementation, allowing you to have an impact at the executive level.
  • Tailored core and reduced requirements: You know what skills you need and the areas where you need more exposure, which is why there are fewer core courses in the Executive program. Plus, the degree requires only 30 credits compared to the average MPA program that requires 40 or more. This saves you time and money.
  • Leverage for transition between sectors: Public service no longer just means working for the government; as your career path evolves, an EMPA can help fill knowledge gaps as you transition between sectors.
  • A network of high-level professional peers: Because an EMPA degree comes with professional requirements for admission, you can expect your classmates to bring similar levels of experience and ambitious aspirations to the classroom. You’ll be able to network and brainstorm solutions to real problems with a community of peers from a variety of backgrounds, all of whom have substantial experience.
  • Application to your position: You’ll be challenged to improve decision-making skills using evidence-based thinking directly applicable to your current work. By applying lecture concepts to your particular policy interest, you’ll be able to translate what you are learning and get a leg up on your competition in the workplace.
  • Distinct curriculum, same degree: The curriculum, credit requirements and admissions process are distinct from the MPA program and represent a separate degree program rather than an “executive track.” However, the degree awarded is still the MPA degree, just with an executive title.
  • Impact on your community: Through your EMPA program, you’ll acquire the skills you need to leverage your interests and passions into a professional position where you can have a substantial impact on the community. You can gain all of this from an academic institution that focuses on citizenship and encourages students to consider their responsibility to themselves and to their communities.

The ExecutiveMPA@Syracuse program gives you the resources to be the great leader you aspire to be, wherever you’re located. Interested in acquiring and applying leadership and management skills to the betterment of the public good? Learn more about the Executive Online MPA program and its requirements.

Citation for this content: ExecutiveMPA@Syracuse, The Online Executive Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.