Part time MPA/MPP/MPPA Program

[logic335]

I'm in the Chicagoland area and I'm looking at MPA/MPPA programs. I'm looking to go part time since I will be working FT in a gov't position and I've been looking at Northwestern and UIC. I would be looking to move from my current department into the field of budgeting/finance. UIC offers a comparable concentration/specialization while Northwestern does not but I'm not sure the signifance of this factor since the 4 or so classes in the concentration will not make me an expert on the subject. The Northwestern program is a bit different and is part of it's extension school (is this a negative?) and it's program appears to be a mix of public policy and administration.

Obviously the brand of Northwestern is well known but I'm not sure if the program is on the level of UIC. UIC is ranked well on US News Public Affairs Rankings and Northwestern is not NASPAA credit, but I'm not sure how significant these factors are.

Thoughts and other advice?