What’s the Difference Between an MPA and an MBA?
A Master of Public Administration, or MPA, is often referred to as a “Master of Business Administration/MBA for the Public and Nonprofit Sectors.” While this is the case in many respects, the two degrees are not interchangeable.
Both the MPA and the MBA focus on making things happen in challenging, interdisciplinary environments. Those who pursue an MPA pursue management roles in the public interest, where the standards of accountability, transparency, and equity demand a unique mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Those getting an MPA do so after careful introspection, and upon determining that their goals, values, and focus lie in improving people’s lives.
In other words, the MPA allows graduates to accelerate the “business of public affairs” and unravel wicked challenges in federal, state, or local government; nonprofit organizations, and in international public organizations.
MPA vs. MBA: Mission-Driven vs. Profit-Driven:
Both the MPA and MBA degrees are interdisciplinary, merging perspectives from management, economics, and organizational behavior. The MPA degree provides insight into the intricacies of how these disciplines apply in the context of public service.
If you are interested in the following, an MPA might be a good fit for you:
- Managing the operations or finances of federal, state, or local government agencies, international organizations, or nonprofit organizations.
- Filling a role where success is measured by more than profit.
- Studying market failures and the rationale for government intervention in market economies to address these failures.
If you’re interested in addressing the following issues, as examples, an MPA will be a good fit for you:
- Climate change, and how climate change affects related spaces (disaster management, economic development, food security).
- Infrastructure in underdeveloped countries, and how government and the private sector can work together to improve infrastructure.
- Transitioning incarcerated individuals back into society.
- Addressing the opioid epidemic.
- Improving the management and delivery of public and private education around the world.
- Improving access to healthcare for those living in poverty.
- Economic development strategies for those living in urban areas.
If you’re interested in securing one of the following career roles, an MPA will be a good fit for you:
- Budget Analyst
- Consultant
- Executive Director
- Financial Analyst
- Foreign Service Officer
- Head of Corporate Social Responsibility
- Planner
- Program Analyst
- Program Manager
- Program Officer
- Research Support Specialist
What it all boils down to is whether you’re mission-driven or profit-driven. If you are mission-driven, an MPA is right for you. An MPA can best be described as an MBA for nonprofit, governmental work, and public service.
The studies and duties are largely the same for both MPA and MBA degrees, but the audience and end goal vary drastically.
Cornell MPA Concentration Options:
The Brooks MPA allows you to choose from seven options and pursue specialized courses to develop expertise in your selected area. MPA Degree concentrations are designed to facilitate expertise in spaces critical for global impact. Concentrations leverage the competitive research and teaching strengths of the Brooks School, as well as build on strong core foundational training.
Brooks MPA students begin developing their specializations through a Gateway Course—these field seminars provide students with the state-of-the-art and science in a concentration and create a cohort of peers with similar interests. With the guidance of your faculty mentor, you select a set of three courses, including the required concentration gateway course, that offer you the specialized knowledge you need to achieve your personal goals within a concentration.
The goal is for you to leave the Brooks School prepared to compete as one of the best-of-the-best in your respective field, recognizing that in the course of your career you may make several changes in focus and direction. The MPA curriculum is designed to balance generalizable knowledge and skills with more specific applications to particular areas of public affairs.
We invite you to explore our seven concentrations below:
Data Science
- Develop the capacity to apply advanced data science techniques to analyzing public affairs problems and gain a cutting-edge understanding of current challenges and opportunities surrounding data science in a public sector context.
Economic Policy
- Explore how public policy affects economic and financial decision-making in international organizations, federal/state/local offices, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.
Environmental and Sustainability Policy
- Master coordinating, leading, and managing teams of specialists to develop and implement environmental management plans and policies.
International Policy and Management
- Gain a high-level understanding of the role of international organizations in global policy and politics, how these organizations interact with each other and with non-governmental organizations, and best practices in affecting change on a global scale.
Public and Nonprofit Management
- Acquire a strong set of budgeting, investment, debt financing, and data-driven analytical skills as well as managerial skills including negotiations, leadership, staffing, and compensation.
Science and Technology Policy
- Develop the capacity to lead, coordinate, and utilize inputs from teams of specialists to make and shape policy around disruptive and transformative technologies.
Social Policy: Health, Education, and Inequality
- Learn the tools and policy history necessary to design, manage, and evaluate public sector programs across various policy areas, including health, education, child and family policy, housing and urban policy, welfare, and transfer programs.
- Learn the tools and policy history necessary to design, manage, and evaluate public sector programs across various policy areas, including health, education, child and family policy, housing and urban policy, welfare, and transfer programs.
Thinking about getting an MPA? Connect with the Brooks MPA Program!
Master of Public Administration (MPA):
If you’re interested in management or leadership roles in public service—community or economic development, criminal justice, cultural or environmental policy, education, emergency management, nonprofit management, public health, sustainability, transportation, urban planning, and more—explore the Master of Public Administration at the Brooks School.
