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Courses
The curriculum of the Executive MPA program has three major components. All students take a common core of seven courses that provides the analytic skills and conceptual tools needed to understand the formulation and management of public policy. Students then choose one of two concentrations, each of which consist of three context of public policy and five concentration courses. Context courses allow students to learn why particular public policy issues have emerged and how they have been addressed by the world’s political, social, and economic systems. Concentration courses allow students to advance their knowledge and practical training in one of two major areas of public policymaking.
The Core
The core curriculum provides skills to analyze and understand the formulation and management of public policy. As it has evolved at Columbia, the core has increasingly included specific professional and vocational skills such as memo writing, oral briefings, group process and team building, spreadsheet and other forms of financial analysis, and the use of computer programs and the World Wide Web.
These skills have been added to more traditional curriculum elements such as organizational analysis, budgeting, financial analysis and reporting, probability theory, applied regression analysis, and applied microeconomics. The principal goal of the core is to provide students with the analytic, communication, and work skills required to be problem-solving public sector professionals. This includes careers in government, but increasingly includes careers in the nonprofit and private sectors that are involved with the formulation and implementation of public policy.
Core Curriculum Course Descriptions
EMPA U8200 — Public Management
Basic concepts and techniques of public management, with emphasis on managerial strategies, management innovation, structure, organizational behavior, and control. Memo writing, group process, and communication skills are taught through hands-on assignments. (Fall semester only)
EMPA U8216 —
Microeconomics and Policy Analysis I
Introduction and development of microeconomic concepts that are of particular importance in policy analysis and program evaluation. Background training in economics is recommended, although not required. (Fall semester only and must be taken as a prerequisite to part II)
EMPA U8213 —
Microeconomics and Policy Analysis II
Concludes the two-course sequence that begins with Public Affairs U8216. Analytical methods examined include cost-benefit analysis and its place in the public sector, determination of public policy using market allocation and price mechanism instruments, and the classic efficiency versus equity trade-off. (Spring semester only, prerequisite Microeconomics and Policy Analysis i)
EMPA U6310-U6311 —
Quantitative Techniques for Policymaking and Administration I and II
The use of quantitative research techniques, statistics, and computers in designing public policies and in evaluating, monitoring, and administering governmental programs. Practical applications include research, design measurement, data collection, data processing, and presentation of research findings. (pre-requisite for Quantitative Techniques for Policymaking and Administration II is Quantitative Techniques for Policymaking and Administration i)
EMPA U8201 —
Financial Management in Government
Basic principles and actual practices of managing financial resources and accounting in government organizations at the federal, state, and local levels. Topics include public budgeting and accounting systems, principles of financial reporting, taxation, intergovernmental aid, financial statement analysis, public securities, and debt management. Hands-on computer laboratory exercises provide training in financial analysis. (Spring semester only)
EMPA U6010 — Accounting
Basic concepts of accounting are presented for use in internal decision-making and external financial reporting. Topics include transaction analysis, accrual accounting and its application to manufacturing operations, timing of revenue and expense recognition, long-term assets, and depreciation. Emphasis is placed on financial markets and determination of prices and yields of financial instruments. (Fall semester only)
EMPA U9500 —
Portfolio Presentation Workshop
This is a course during which the mid-career executives who are enrolled as students in the Executive MPA program exhibit and share professional work they have managed or directly created during their first year in the program. Materials are presented to the faculty and students for criticism, analysis, and potential improvement. (Spring semester only)
Concentrations
Concentrations consist of three context of public policy courses and four concentration courses.
The context requirement allows students to learn why particular public policy issues have emerged and how they have been addressed by the world's political, social, and economic systems. The goal of this area of the curriculum is to teach students to understand the causes and effects of public policy problems and solutions: How do social, economic, and political structures and trends at the national and international level influence and constrain the definition of policy problems and their potential solutions?
Concentration courses allow students to advance their knowledge and practical training in one of two major areas of public policy making. The concentration in advanced management and finance offers courses in accounting, public finance, management innovation, nonprofit management and finance, and public sector marketing and communication. The concentration in international economic policy and management consists of courses in international trade and finance, open economy macroeconomics, international political economy and accounting.
Our students are attractive to employers because they have the conceptual skills, historical knowledge, and versatility that allow them to think analytically about the changing nature of the world economy and design creative strategies to meet its new challenges. Their capacity to draw upon a strong interdisciplinary background in economics, political science, and quantitative methods distinguishes them from students in other types of professional schools or traditional academic departments.
Concentration Descriptions
***The EMPA program offers three concentrations***
Advanced Management and Finance
The concentration in Advanced Management and Finance enables students to continue to develop the policy and management analytic skills they are exposed to in the core curriculum. Students receive rigorous training in public and nonprofit finance. They also learn management innovation tools such as total quality management, reengineering, benchmarking, strategic planning, electronic communication and commerce, performance management, and team management. Thus, the concentration provides Executive MPA graduates with the latest, cutting-edge management and finance skills in demand in today's rapidly changing public sector.
International Economic Policy and Management
The concentration in International Economic Policy and Management (IEPM) prepares students for careers in development agencies, nonprofit organizations, international business and finance, government, and international economic agencies. Drawing upon fifty years of experience in international affairs programs at SIPA, we have carefully designed the concentration's curriculum to integrate rigorous training in economics and political economy with the analytical tools taught in the Executive MPA core. Students develop proficiency in international trade, finance, and economic policy analysis, giving them the conceptual and technical skills needed to understand the complex forces that drive international economic activity in this era of globalization. Coursework in political economy provides students with the training to understand how private group activity and governmental institutions and decision-making processes affect national economic policies and to contend with increasingly complex governance issues, such as corruption and human rights. Finally, the program gives students the specific tools they need to manage new information technologies, and to finance, oversee and evaluate projects. Graduates of the IEPM concentration will find employment as managers and staff analysts at international economic organizations, multinational firms, government agencies dealing with international economic and development policy, foundations, commercial and investment banks, and nonprofit organizations concerned with trade and development.
Concentration in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management
The earth is witnessing human-induced environmental change on a scale and at a pace that is unique in history. Increased levels of greenhouse gases are warming the planet; the extinction of species is occurring at an ever-faster rate; renewable resources such as water are being degraded; and finite resources such as fossil fuels are having widespread negative impacts on fragile, interconnected, natural systems. To survive, we must understand these impacts and develop real-world solutions that sustainably manage human interaction with natural systems.
Our goal is to cultivate a new profession that manages earth systems in ways that will ensure the long-term viability of life on our planet. This concentration, coupled with the rigorous Executive MPA core, emphasizes integrated thinking and learning so that our graduates will see beyond linear and fragmented approaches to holistic planning for environmental sustainability.