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Our Master of Public Administration (MPA) equips modern public managers and policy-makers with the skills needed to make a decisive contribution to contemporary governance and policy.
The research-led MPA is delivered jointly by experts from the School of Education & Social Sciences and combines a rigorous social science focus on:
// Governance
// Public administration
// Public policy and politics
// Public sector management and strategy
The MPA combines the study of political science and public policy with leading edge scholarship in public sector management and strategy. It reflects reflects the changing nature of the policy-maker or public manager’s role and an increase in demand for skills development in policy analysis, public administration and management, and evaluation. Emphasising public policy and governance as well as the traditional business and strategy focus, the MPA will enable you to make a decisive contribution in a range of relevant fields.
The MPA equips you for employment in a number of sectors, particularly (but not exclusively) within the public sector and civil service.
The MPA is offered at UWS's London Campus.
Find out more and how to apply to UWS London Campus
The MPA is international in its focus and is both research-led and inter-disciplinary in nature. It has been developed with internationalisation and key global themes at the core as a major driver for evaluating content and delivery.
This MPA is unique because it combines the applied skills of policy analysis and evaluation with a focus on resilience, crisis management, and communication. How uncertainties, risks, disasters, and crises are managed is a major determinant as to whether organisations prosper or fail. Students will be taught and supervised by experts in the field of public policy, politics and crisis management. This research-led and flexible programme and will appeal to individuals who are employed in the public and third sectors and to those aspiring to have future careers within these sectors.
Professor John Connolly, UWS School of Media, Culture & Society
The MPA is offered as a full master's degree, but modules can also be followed individually and used to contribute to a post graduate diploma (120 credits) or post graduate certificate (60 credits).
Throughout the course, our academics enable you to build links with our existing partners through the Oxfam partnership and with wider civil society and public sector bodies. The course offers you the opportunity to enhance your CV by undertaking a practice-based project as part of your final dissertation in collaboration with a public or third sector organisation.
The lecturers not only present theory; they all have great depths of practical experience they readily share and this adds a great sense of reality to all the lectures. The course has the perfect balance between business and social science, theory and practice. I would highly recommend this course to everyone working in or considering a career in the public sector.
Kevin Limond, 2017-18 MPA cohort
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
You should hold a relevant Honours degree (or equivalent) at second class lower division (2:2) or above. Relevant subjects include: Social Science, Business, Health, Law or Social Work.
Applications will also be considered from those with a degree in another discipline or other professional training or experience relevant to the programme at the discretion of the Course Leader.
All academic degrees/awards at UWS are taught in English. For applicants whose first language is not English*, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. All English language qualifications must have been gained within two years of the start of your UWS course.
* applicants who are exempt from english language requirements include:
In general terms, if you are applying to study a course at, or above, Year 1 (SCQF Level 7) bachelor’s degree level, then the UKVI’s minimum level of English proficiency is Common European Framework for References of Languages (CEFR) at B2 (Upper Intermediate).
At UWS, we define our general English language requirements using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training) as follows:
These are minimum requirements and some courses may require a higher standard for admission†.
† Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see IELTS Score Exceptions section below for more information).
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (BSc Adult Nursing, MSc Adult Nursing, BSc Mental Health Nursing, MSc Mental Health Nursing, BSc Midwifery and MSc Midwifery), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree leads to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); it has different IELTS requirements than other Health-related courses. Although it is not possible to apply for this degree directly as an international student, for applicants who meet SAAS residency requirements and for whom English is not their first language, then the following IELTS scores are required:
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science degrees, which may lead to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
Our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work degrees are professionally recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council and applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
In additional to IELTS, we also accept a number of alternative English language for application and admission to our courses for both home/EU and international students at bachelor's degree study at Year 3 (SCQF Level 9), and above. From Cambridge to TOFEL iBT qualifications the number of these qualifications is extensive.
Find out about non-IELTS English Language Tests
UWS has also reviewed a range of High / Secondary School qualifications studied by non-EU applicants that can be used as a basis of entry to a UWS. These range from Botswana GCSEs to USA High School Graduation Diplomas, the number of these qualifications is extensive.
Find out more about international English Language high-hchool qualifications
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
You will complete five core 20-credit modules and a further one optional module for the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip). This ensures that all students can pursue their chosen specialisms on solid intellectual and disciplinary foundations. You will then complete your MPA by carrying out an extended research project dissertation.
For the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) stage, you will study the following core modules:
To complete the PgDip stage, you will select one, 20 credit modules from the following options:
Successful completion of the PgDip allows you to proceed to the master's module:
The master's dissertation gives you the opportunity to specialise in an area of public policy, leadership, administration and governance that interests you, while under academic supervision. You will also have the opportunity to enhance your CV by undertaking a work-based project as part of your final dissertation with a partner organisation (eg. NGOs, campaign groups, public agencies, third sector organisations, etc.).
Students complete five taught core modules plus one option, followed by an extended research dissertation. You will be taught and assessed through a combination of:
A recognised innovative feature of our course is the possibility of carrying out a work-based dissertation as well as integrating policy practitioners’ perspectives into the module delivery.
Programme Specification and Module Descriptors for Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses are available to download (PDFs). These provide you with core information concerning your chosen subject.
Use the Link below to download details of our full-time, part-time tuition fees for Bachelor, Masters, Research, and English Language pre-sessional courses for session 2023-24.
Tuition Fees£7,500 Total cost of study
£11,750 Total cost of study
£11,750 Total cost of study
£15,500 Total cost of study
With cutting edge facilities, specialist knowledge and world-leading and internationally excellent expertise, we aim to develop research outputs that have a tangible, early and positive impact on society across the globe.
DiscoverWe will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.