What’s in a course? As I was perusing my transcript from my MPA program I noticed something, in my pursuit of my Masters degree to become a Public Administrator, I was actually learning to be a Jack of all Trades 
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My program included: Organizational Theory & Behavior, Management of Human Resources, Public Budgeting & Finance, Statistical Applications for Public Administrators, Intergovernmental relations and Research Methods.
Each of these courses, in my opinion, can stand alone. I could specialize in each of these as they are all career fields in themselves. I found my program to be exploratory; which of course is not a bad thing at all. Because of the calibre of the courses, my interest was peaked however; to pursue Public Policy. Some say that Public Policy and Public Administration go hand in hand, however; there weren’t any policy content or courses in my program.
Also, when I reviewed other MPA programs, I found that courses that were not in my program were required in others. For instance, some programs have at least one class that address nonprofit management, grant writing fundraising, policy administration and my favorite find, emergency management; which is a field all to itself.
So what does this say about the field of Public Administration? It is a very diverse general field and the PA programs are reflective of this point. So, my question is: should the BA & MPA programs mirror each other or be more parallel? If so, how would this be done and what purpose would it serve?
Vanessa
