What Can You Do with a Public Administration Master’s Degree?

The Master of Public Administration program is a high-level specialist qualification designed to give public managers and policymakers the skillset they need to take their careers to the next level and make meaningful and substantial contributions to solving global public policy issues. The rigorous curriculum focuses on both social sciences and crisis communications, giving students an in-depth and well-rounded education. The one-year course consists of five required core modules studying contemporary social issues, crisis and communication, crisis leadership and management, applied research methods in social science and policy analysis and practice. Students then have the choice between two option courses that look at global crisis management and power, politics and civil society, as well as completing a dissertation. UWS’s MPA program provides students with the opportunity to study among a diverse community of international learners, and by graduation, they will be prepared for a global career in the public or third sector. 

With an MPA, students can find management and leadership level jobs working in the public or private sectors. Here are just a few of the jobs students could hold after graduating with their Master's of Public Administration.

What Jobs Can I Get?

Fundraising managers work for charities and non-profits and are tasked with raising money for their organisations. They develop a plan to reach the organisation donation goal, which can include a number of methods such as organising events and running campaigns. Fundraising managers will also look to create relationships with companies, trusts, and local government, who can often be the source of larger donations. At larger organisations, the fundraising manager will also oversee a fundraising team. Most often, each member of the team is responsible for a certain aspect of fundraising, although, at smaller organisations, each member is responsible for more. 

Human resources managers are responsible for supporting the business and their colleagues by resolving any issues that come up related to employment or employee welfare. They are involved at almost every stage of the employee life cycle, from recruiting potential employees to the business and onboarding new hires to offboarding and terminating employees. HR managers may also choose HR-related technologies for the business to use, such as systems for employees to request time off or view information about their colleagues. At larger organisations, human resources managers will be responsible for managing a team of HR professionals and overseeing the entire process. They will choose what to assign to each team member and also deal with any escalated issues. 

Public policy managers oversee the creation and maintenance of policies to meet their organisation’s needs and practices. Public policy managers are often employed by the government or public sector organisations, but they can also work for private organisations to create internal policies for employees. To create policies that represent and advocate for the needs of a certain group of people, public policy managers need to implement research and analysis strategies and oversee the research and analysis processes. They also need to create reports and briefings to present their findings to stakeholders and the people represented by the policies.

Programme coordinators oversee the planning and completion of programs for educational, professional and charitable organisations. They are responsible for the entire process, from identifying the need for a program to implementing it. Programme coordinators monitor the budget of a program and prepare financial statements. To keep their program running, they will use grants and outreach to find funding as well as recruit new participants. Programme coordinators are also responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the program and the program staff, such as ensuring any necessary equipment and supplies are available.

Corporate social responsibility managers define and develop strategies to meet the CSR objectives outlined by the company. In order to do so, they conduct research, develop policies, outline plans and build relationships with other teams and organisations to implement initiatives. Corporate social responsibility can help make a business more attractive or reputable in several ways. They can improve the recruitment process to bring in the best talent or reduce the business’s use of certain goods to lessen their impact on the environment.  CSR managers will also be responsible for making the public aware of their policies and initiatives using marketing and publicity. 

With such a wide range of roles and responsibilities, a Master of Public Administration graduate can find a job in almost any industry or sector. Here are some of the companies and organisations students could work for after graduating with their MPA.

What companies could I work for?

British Heart Foundation

Founded in 1961 by a group of medical professionals, the British Heart Foundation raises funds and awareness for heart and circulatory diseases. The organisation’s founders were worried about the rapidly increasing number of deaths from cardiovascular disease and wanted to fund increased research into the causes and treatments of the disease. The British Heart Foundation has six research centres around the country committed to beating heart and circulatory diseases. Additionally, the organisation has four other main focuses, which include informing people to help them reduce their risk, campaigning to establish policies that minimise risk, supporting those with heart conditions, and saving lives by offering free CPR kits and defibrillators. Much of the organisation’s funding comes from legacies and wills as well investments, voluntary income and their retail division. They have 730 charity shops around the UK and an eBay shop, which make up the retail division. The shops are mainly staffed by over 22000 volunteers, which helps significantly reduce operating costs and maximise the amount of money going to research. Today, the organisation funds more than 1000 research projects and aims to spend £100 million annually. 

NHS

The NHS, the largest healthcare employer in the UK with more than 1.5 million employees, has been providing the UK with publicly funded healthcare since 1948. The organisation quickly grew to employ more than 1 million people by the 1970s. Since its founding, the NHS has been committed to meeting the needs of everyone and, in order to do this, employs individuals from all different backgrounds for a wide variety of roles. In addition to traditional hospital and clinical-based roles that many think of when they think of the NHS, numerous public administration roles are needed to keep everything running smoothly. As a public sector organisation, there are endless opportunities for public administration graduates to help ensure that everyone in the UK continues to receive the care they need. 

NatWest Group

NatWest Group is one of the big four UK banks with 960 branches and more than 60000 employees around the country. The company was formerly known as The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which was formed as a result of the National Commercial Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland merging in 1968. In 2000, The Royal Bank of Scotland took over all of the National Westminster Bank’s subsidiaries and became the second-largest bank in the UK after HSBC. The bank has remained one of the largest in the country since then and offers retail banking as NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank. Additionally, NatWest Group offers commercial and private banking through several subsidiaries. In 2020, the company rebranded as the NatWest Group. Their headquarters are located just outside Edinburgh, and they also have other offices located around the UK, including in Birmingham. 

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