The #2024PPAM Fall Research Conference will feature fantastic sponsors in the fields of public policy and management. We asked these valued partners a few questions to help our members get to know them a little bit better. Today, we're shining a spotlight on the American University School of Public Affairs (SPA).
What are some of your school's core values and how do they come across in the courses and programs that you offer?
SPA produces 21st-century, challenge-focused research, informing citizens as they work together to improve the world around them. We believe that by magnifying the impact of our research, maintaining our focus on excellent teaching, and preparing students for multiple paths of success, the School of Public Affairs will continue to expand our central role in the public affairs arena. Our community shapes the next generation of knowledgeable, engaged, and globally conscious problem solvers, and it honors the joint pursuits of wisdom, action, service, and compassion.
What types of programs do you offer?
SPA offers six undergraduate degrees, 11 masters degrees, and 3 doctoral degrees. At the undergrad level students can major in four B.A. programs (Communications, Law, Economics, and Government (CLEG); Justice & Law; Legal Studies; and Political Science) and two B.S. Programs (Data Sciences for Political Science; Data Sciences for Justice, Law, and Criminology), At the graduate level, students can choose from in-person master's level offerings in Data Science; Justice, Law & Criminology; Political Science; Political Communication; Public Administration; Public Policy; and Terrorism & Homeland Security Policy. We also offer online masters degrees in Public Administration and Policy, and Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, and well as an executive masters degree in Public Administration from our Key Executive Program. Finally, we off doctoral degrees in Public Administration and Policy, Political Science, and Justice, Law & Criminology.
How are you helping to prepare students for careers in public service?
Our legacy, set by President Roosevelt’s charge to promote "practical contacts between the collegiate and educational world, and the operations of government,” continues to inform our values and approach, as 1,900 current students and more than 23,000 alumni tackle complex issues with thoughtful research that educates, informs, and promotes change across a multitude of fields in public administration, public policy, and justice, law & criminology.