Kent State University’s Online Master’s in Public Administration has moved up in the U.S. News rankings! The program is currently ranked 135 (out of 270) in the U.S. News 2024 Best Public Affairs Programs. The program is also tied for 4th place in Ohio and second place in Northeast Ohio.
Pave a New Path in the Public Sector
The path to public good is personal and varies for each individual, but Master of Public Administration careers and others in the nonprofit sector present incredible opportunities to identify specific needs in a community and find ways to solve them. A Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management or an advanced degree like a Master of Public Administration (MPA) demonstrates your pursuit of advanced knowledge, desire to lead, and professional skills needed to succeed in various public service and nonprofit roles.
Study alongside and form deep connections with diverse peers from various professional backgrounds. Allow your preconceptions to be challenged and your knowledge base broadened as your classmates demonstrate how public administration jobs function across different sectors and fields. Lead the charge toward change and the greater good by building the skills and confidence to succeed in many public administration careers and nonprofit management roles with Kent State’s online graduate programs.
What Can You Do with an MPA?
With nearly 22 million jobs in the U.S., the government is the largest collective employer of public administration graduates. MPA graduates can go on to pursue jobs—at all levels of government—that include:
- City manager
- Public works director
- Chief of police
- Government program manager
- Urban or regional planner
- Social and community service manager
- Chief librarian
- Grants coordinator
At 12.4 million people strong, the American nonprofit sector is a robust market. Online graduates of the master’s program or the nonprofit management certificate program can go on to pursue nonprofit jobs that include:
- Director of advancement
- Director of development
- Executive director
- Program director
- Services director
- Development manager
- Grants coordinator
About the U.S. News 2024 Best Public Affairs Rankings
Earning your online Master’s in Public Administration can lead to a career in public service, both domestically and abroad. Curricula often incorporate courses in policy, economics, analysis, and management. These are the top public affairs schools. Each school’s score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding) based on a survey of academics at peer institutions.
The rankings of public affairs programs, published in 2024, are based solely on peer assessment survey results. In fall 2023 and early 2024, U.S. News surveyed deans, directors, and department chairs representing 271 master’s programs in public affairs and administration. Two surveys were sent to each school.
Respondents were asked to rate the academic quality of master’s programs on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). They were instructed to select “don’t know” if they did not have enough knowledge of a particular program to rate it. Scores for each school were divided by the number of respondents who rated that school. All public affairs programs surveyed appear in the rankings in descending order based on their average peer assessment score. The response rate was 65.2%.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.
Become a Better Leader in the Workplace with an Online Master’s Degree in Public Administration
Kent State University’s Master of Public Administration Program is designed for working adults: each NASPAA-accredited seven-week course is 100% online and fully asynchronous so that you can learn on your schedule.
Using learning techniques that help you apply what you learn in real time, this program positions you for senior management positions in local, state, and regional governments, as well as in nonprofit organizations, the military, and the private sector.
Earn a Master’s of Public Administration in as little as two years or a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management in as few as nine months.
