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This is a great suggestion. Thank you!

Obviously the courses will cover it, but I'm interested in getting a primer on the subject to better help me prepare and understand. Something that's maybe not just a technical textbook, but maybe a book that speaks on the topic, key issues, etc., if that makes sense.

Can you tell me how you're liking the student affairs program? My heart dropped a little today because I was told by the student affairs director that I can't do a concentration in higher ed with my MPA. They said the student affairs program is highly selective, so there wouldn't be room for me, and that the course sequence is very important and not taking all the classes in the right order would hurt my understanding of the material. Now I'm left to decide if I want to still pursue the MPA (which I'm pretty sure I'll get accepted for) starting this fall, or if I want to drop it, apply to the student affairs program and hope to get in for the fall 2018 class. The more I think about it, the more I'm interested in higher education in comparison to just government and nonprofits.

Has anyone taken this route? I'm currently applying to a Masters of Public Administration program and work in communications at a state university. I really like university environment and think I might want to stay in higher education. My university does offer a master's in student affairs, but I'm more interested in academic affairs than I am in student services (res life, Greek life, registrar, etc.). My program doesn't have a concentration in higher ed but I could try to tailor it somewhat with electives. Any ideas?

If this comment is directed toward me, I'm not sure exactly what is meant by career profile or by it shouldn't be "either or." I guess I need to do more research into what precise skills I might need. My degree is in communications/public relations, so I have lots of courses in theory, soft skills and more graphics-related technical skills, and lots and lots of writing from two years at a newspaper, so specifically for the MPA I'm looking forward to learning about finance, budgeting, management. Those topics will be included in the core and maybe in a few electives. I'll still need to add a few more electives after that, however.

Hi, those were just examples about my concerns using a hypothetical field/situation. My predominant interest is working in city management/local government. I don't have any experience in that, but I've been reading up on it and it interests me. There's two reasons I have for wanting to apply now: 1) I've found the job market very tough since graduating and I think it would be very, very difficult to break into a paid position in local government, for instance, with my non-governmental background. 2) I'm a staff member at the university where I'd apply, so I would get basically a full tuition remission if I'm accepted to the program, as long as I'm still working here (would take classes part time). For what it's worth, my degree and work experience is public relations/journalism, so even getting a government job with that skillset wouldn't show me at all what a management/policy position would be like, I wouldn't think. Also the program requires an internship, so if I wanted to work in local government I would try to intern in that field to get some real-world experience before graduating.

Thanks for your reply. Indeed, I am wondering what courses I should take outside the required core. When I say concentration, it's not an official declaration on the diploma, but about 15 credit hours of classes that focus in a certain area. I guess a better way to describe it would be I need at least 15 hours of electives, and you have the option of choosing your own electives or picking one of a few recommended sets that focus on certain subjects. I think with this program the idea is they want you to end up specializing in a certain subject (e.g. criminal justice) so you can apply your MPA experience to your desired field that you want to work in. On the schools of thought you mentioned, this is my concern: I am worried about gaining all of these skills, which is great, but then not having knowledge of a certain subject in which I would apply them, if that makes sense. Like just an example, I'm worried it would be bad if I knew about stats, budgeting etc. but then I applied to a position regarding environmental policy and I have no courses under my belt about environmental subjects. Similarly, I feel like I wouldn't be suitable for a job in technology if I didn't take courses in IT. I could be completely off base here though! I am setting up a meeting to talk to an MPA prof about the program. I am hoping that my first year would be core courses so I have time to think about what my electives would be and if I want to go the knowledge route and learn about and focus on a particular subject. The way this program works is, if I wanted to focus on food policy, I would take a few classes from the nutrition/wellness department and not specific MPA courses about food policy, I think. At this point I think I would like to pursue local government opportunities, but I want to make sure I'm employable in many places because I'm probably never going to be moving to a major place like New York or D.C.

Hi everyone, first-time poster here. I'm planning to apply for an MPA program at the university I work at. Outside of the core 21-hour curriculum, you're allowed to choose a concentration, create a concentration or fill up with electives. The concentrations are generally about 15 credit hours. I've already thought about potential careers but I want to just get some ideas about some good ideas to pair with an MPA. If it means anything, my undergrad is in journalism/public relations/rhetoric so I have little quantitative experience. The university has four pre-developed concentrations: Community/Economic Development (features planning/law/finance classes) Information and Communication Technology (networking, voice/data/video hardware, computing) Criminal Justice Emergency Management/Homeland Security Community and Economic Development, and IT/Communication Technology interest me the most. You also have the option to design your own concentration (with approval) by taking grad courses in other departments, or you can load up on public administration/finance/related electives. Did anyone do a concentration with their MPA? I'm not set on a certain kind of career path yet, but some ideas that interest me are city manager, evaluating programs and writing reports, education, social welfare/policy, and I have no IT experience but I've also always been knowledgeable of and interested in tech. The grad program I considered before this was an MA in adult and community education or higher education. I know this is REALLY broad and vague, which is why I'm interested in knowing what you did or would suggest to do when it comes to electives and concentrations.