The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York - 13210
Introduction:
The Maxwell School began on October 3, 1924, with six graduate students in public administration. The School embodied the vision of its founder George Holmes Maxwell to train "teachers of citizenship" and the desires of New York State Senator Frederick Morgan Davenport to graduate "practitioners of public affairs."
Since then, the Maxwell School has evolved into a graduate school of social science with a unique multi-disciplinary character that cuts across traditional departmental lines. At Maxwell, theory and practice are regarded with equal seriousness: the barriers that divide academic disciplines from one another and from the larger world of public life are routinely breached by the wide-ranging scholarly and educational activities of an outstanding faculty and an exceptionally cosmopolitan student body.
Its signature and top-ranked program, the Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.), is the oldest continuously operating such program in the country and is consistently ranked first in several national surveys, including the U.S. News & World Report ratings of "America's Best Graduate Schools." The Maxwell School also offers professional master's programs in International Relations, as well as joint degrees across disciplines, including those with the Schools of Management, Social Work, Information Studies, and Engineering; the College of Law; and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (http://www.esf.edu).
Maxwell has a long history of doctoral training in the social sciences, and students in the Ph.D. programs are enabled to become innovative scholars, well-grounded in the social, cultural, and historical aspects of their fields. Many alumni serve as faculty in colleges, universities, and other research-oriented institutions around the world.
Master in Public Administration program (M.P.A):
The MPA program aims to train students in the political, economic and social context of public administration, achieve substantial competency in organization design and
analysis and in management and administrative techniques and gain experience in applying qualitative and quantitative methods to public policy issues.
Areas of specialization include:
· Environmental Policy and Administration
· International and Development Administration
· Public and Nonprofit Management
· Social Policy (Health Services Management and Policy, Aging, and Social Welfare)
· State and Local Government Financial Analysis and Management
· Technology and Information Management
The MPA program is supported by an extensive alumni network and a very effective placement service. Graduates of this program are sought after by consulting firms and government agencies at the local, state and federal government level. Many opt to work for national and international non-profit groups, donor agencies and multi-lateral agencies, involved with issues related to health, national security, environment and economic development.
Resources that are of particular relevance to natural resource management and environmental management:
Center for Environmental Policy and Administration http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/cepa/cepaindx.htm
Center for Technology and Information Policy
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/ctip/ctip.htm
Both these centers support professors and student researchers.
Admission and other requirements:
The Maxwell school requires its incoming international graduate students to have taken the GRE (recommended score over 1950) and the TOEFL (over 600). Admission is given to both the master's and doctoral level programs. Applications are received in Feb-March of every year.
Contact information:
Email cagilman@maxwell.syr.edu for the MPA application packet to be mailed to you. Include name, address and citizenship.
Financial aid information:
The Maxwell School offers graduate, teaching and research assistantships to incoming and continuing graduate students. Applications for graduate assistantships have to be sent to the program coordinator, and for research assistantships, to the respective research centers and associated professors. For more details on research centers, go to http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/pa/research/default.htm