The Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree is the premier professional credential for those in the field of public administration, equipping public sector practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of governmental operations. Offered in person at UNLV's main Maryland Parkway campus, our program stands out as the only MPA program in Nevada to hold national accreditation from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).

Our Mission

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas MPA program aims to enhance communities throughout Nevada and beyond by using its research, teaching, and community service to provide public service professionals with the knowledge, abilities, sensitivity, and values to ethically lead, manage, and collaborate across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Core Competencies

The following core competencies are key to our program. All course content within the MPA program requires students to gain proficiencies in these five competency areas:

• Leading and managing in public governance
• Contributing to the public policy process
• Learning to analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make decisions
• Articulating and applying a public service perspective
• Communicating and interacting productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry

Students within the MPA program engage in learning focused on building practical skills to help improve their communities through better leadership and management. Our commitment to building the skills and knowledge of students includes having them engage in applied service-learning projects that not only create unique learning experiences but also benefit the southern Nevada community. This includes actively engaging students in both academic and applied research as part of their program of study in the MPA.

Our goal is to develop our students to ensure their readiness to better serve our community while enhancing their careers.