Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at the Trachtenberg School prepares graduates to lead and manage public service organizations and programs in all sectors.

The degree provides an opportunity to study management and policy issues in an intergovernmental and intersectoral context. Coursework focuses on developing critical intellectual capacities, sound analytical skills and a sensitivity to the ethical and value concerns that are central to the traditions of the field of public administration. Every TSPPPA master's student also completes a pro bono capstone project for a client of their choosing.

Alumni of the MPA program are employed in government agencies at all levels, national associations, public interest groups, research and consulting firms and in the private sector.

Who We Are

At GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences , research thrives, critical thinking is endemic, collaboration is constant, and real-world training goes hand-in-hand with learning. Because of the college’s enviable location in the heart of the nation’s capital, active engagement begins in the classroom and continues within the halls of government, the galleries of museums, the laboratories of NIH, NASA, and DOE, the embassies of international diplomats, and the backrooms of the Smithsonian and other venerable institutions.

The college is the intellectual and creative backbone of the university, a place where the arts, the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences come together to form a nexus of ideas and opportunity. As a leader among the nation’s liberal arts institutions because of an innovative curriculum that emphasizes perspectives, analyses, and communication, undergraduate students are equipped with the competencies needed to be effective and responsible citizens of the 21st Century. At the professional and doctoral level, graduate students partner with a faculty of scholars that include Fulbright recipients, award-winning choreographers, published researchers, and critically acclaimed authors to advance a spectrum of research on topics ranging from controlling greenhouse gas emissions to delving into autism’s causes, prevalence, and treatment.

Welcome to Columbian College Graduate Studies

Graduate programs in GW's Columbian College of Arts and Science are a magnet for top scholars and a catalyst for learning and discovery in a wide spectrum of arts, humanities, and social and hard science fields. Our degrees and certificates integrate the highest caliber of education, from our world-renowned programs in subjects like History, Political Science and Public Policy, to our pioneering work in Art Therapy, Forensic Sciences, and LGBT Health Policy and Practice. An advanced degree from one of GW's 82 Arts & Sciences Programs is unlike any other graduate school experience.

Not only are we step from the most influential institutions in Washington, D.C., but our faculty and alumni networks include an extraordinary variety of internationally-recognized leaders. At Columbian College, you will be given the tools to thrive both intellectually and professionally.