Careers Outlook

Pave a New Path in the Public Sector

MPA Careers by the Numbers

27%

percent after completing the program.²

$67,767

Average MPA graduate salary³

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 Postbaccalaureate 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 a set of professional skills needed to succeed in a variety of public service and nonprofit roles.

So why not set yourself on the path for career growth and real impact? Join a growing field that lets you create social change for the common good within communities, families and individual lives.

Study alongside and form deep connections with a diverse group of peers from a wide range of 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 greater good by building the skills and confidence to succeed in a number of public administration careers, as well as nonprofit management roles, with Kent State’s online graduate programs.

Because master’s degree holders earn, on average, nearly 20 percent more in salary than those with only a bachelor’s degree,¹ a Master of Public Administration degree could help you reach salary outcomes at or near the upper end of these ranges.

Salary ranges for key Master of Public Administration careers:

$45K-$171K

Executive director⁴

$38K-$78K

Program manager, nonprofit⁷

$56K-$137K

Human resources director⁵

$33K-$60K

Program coordinator, nonprofit⁸

$43K-$103K

Director of development, nonprofit⁶

What Can You Do with an MPA?

Government Career Paths

With nearly 22 million jobs in the U.S.,⁹ the government is the largest collective employer of MPA graduates.¹⁰ 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

Popular Cities for MPA Graduate¹

New York City
Washington, D.C.
Seattle
Atlanta
Chicago

Nonprofit Career Paths

At 12.4 million people strong,¹¹ 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

Employment Rates Within Six Months of Graduation, By Sector¹⁰

Government (all levels): 49%
Nonprofit sector: 23%
Private sector: 17%
Military: 4%
Other: 7%

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A Holistic Curriculum

Designed for busy working professionals and students seeking to expand their career options.
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June 12, 2023

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In a campaign event at Madison Square Garden in 1912, future President Woodrow Wilson said something that could be considered a mission statement for his life’s work: “There is no cause half so sacred as the cause of a people. There is no idea so uplifting as the idea of the service of humanity.”1 After living a life devoted to the public, both in practice and as a scholar, Wilson was uniquely qualified to discuss matters of public service. Twenty-six years earlier, Wilson had published “The Study of Administration,” an essay that served as the foundation for the study of public administration, and which caused Wilson to be enshrined as the “Father of Public Administration” in the United States.

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