Cornell University

Graduate SchoolGraduate School

Graduate SchoolFields of Study

Public Affairs

Field Description

The Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy offers students the opportunity to study public policy and program management from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Students gain an understanding of the political processes through which issues, problems, and policies are formulated; the economic basis for government action in a market economy; and the comparative and historical contexts of governmental programs. Students study public budgets, finance, and regulatory processes, as well as the behavior of both public and private organizations and their management. Students also gain competence in the qualitative and quantitative methods needed to analyze programs and policies, and develop sensitivity to the moral and ethical dimensions of policy issues.

For more information, check the M.P.A. website.

M.P.A. Program The two-year Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program consists of a minimum of 65.5 credits; students typically take a full load of coursework for four semesters. The M.P.A. program offers a structured curriculum that includes courses in data analytics, managing organizations, politics and policy, applied microeconomics, global citizenship, policy communication, and tools for public administration. Each M.P.A. student also takes concentration courses based on the student's specific area of interest. Elective courses and research opportunities may be taken through the program in relevant departments or colleges at the university. Students have seven areas they may concentrate their studies in:

  • Environmental and Sustainability Policy
  • Economic Policy
  • Data Science
  • International Policy and Management
  • Public and Non-Profit Management
  • Science and Technology Policy
  • Social Policy: Health, Education, and Inequality

M.P.A. students are expected to engage in public affairs work related to their respective areas of concentration during the summer between their first and second years of study.  As a culmination of studies in the M.P.A. program, all students are required to develop and complete a professional writing project. This requirement may be fulfilled by writing a research thesis, a professional report based on work done during the summer internship, or by completing the MPA Capstone. 

For further information, check the M.P.A. website.

Contact Information

Website: https://publicpolicy.cornell.edu/studying-at-brooks/masters-programs/cipa/
Email: cipa@cornell.edu
Phone: 607 255-8018

2201 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY  14853

Field Manual

Subject and Degrees

Executive Masters of Public Administration

Public Administration

Concentrations by Subject

Executive Masters of Public Administration

  • Public and Nonprofit Management

Public Administration

  • data science
  • economic policy
  • environmental and sustainability policy
  • international policy and management
  • public and nonprofit management
  • science and technology policy
  • social policy: health, education, and inequality

Faculty

N'Dri Assie-Lumumba

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management
  • Research Interests: international development

Rosemary Jane Avery

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public policy

Sandra Lynn Babcock

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management

Christopher Brendan Barrett

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: environmental policy; finance and fiscal policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; science and technology policy; social policy

Arnab Basu

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy

Kaushik Basu

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; international policy and management

Nancy Brooks

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: finance and fiscal policy

Colleen Marie Carey

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality

Lourdes S. Casanova

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental and sustainability policy

John H Cawley

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: health economics, economics of risky health behaviors, public policy

Ho Yan (Nancy) Chau

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Ralph Dean Christy

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Lance A. Compa

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: public and nonprofit management

Mark Alexander Constas

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; social policy: health, education, and inequality

Glen W.S. Dowell

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Parfait M Eloundou-Enyegue

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: international development; social policy

Maria Fitzpatrick

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: economics of education, public finance, labor economics

Gustavo A. Flores-Macias

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: political and economic development

H. Oliver Gao

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Raymond Richard Geddes

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Miguel I. Gomez

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy

Salah Hassan

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management
  • Research Interests: African and African American art and folklore

George Alan Hay

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management; public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: antitrust law and competition policy

Thomas A Hirschl

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: social stratification; research methods and statistics; state and local demography

Robert C. Hockett

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy

John Frederick Hoddinott

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy

Steven Jackson

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality

George Hersch Jakubson

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: labor economics

Robert Alan Jarrow

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy
  • Research Interests: finance; mathematical economics; game theory; applied mathematics; microeconomic theory

David R Just

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Sanjiv (Ravi) Kanbur

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management
  • Research Interests: public economics; development economics

Harry Charles Katz

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: collective bargaining; labor law; labor history

Donald S Kenkel

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: economics of disease prevention and health promotion policies; cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis of health

Barbara A Knuth

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental and sustainability policy
  • Research Interests: resource policy and evaluation; human dimensions of natural resource management

Neema Kudva

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Sarosh C Kuruvilla

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management
  • Research Interests: human rights and social justice; international development

Pauline Leung

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy
  • Research Interests: labor economics

Shanjun Li

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy

John R. Mathiason

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management

Alan D. Mathios

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: consumer protection; antitrust law and economics; public utility regulation; federal and state regulation

Douglas L. Miller

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy
  • Research Interests: applied econometrics, labor, public, health, development

Stephen J. Morreale

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental and sustainability policy

Kelly A. Musick

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality

Muna Baron Ndulo

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management
  • Research Interests: governance and democratization; human rights; peace keeping and legal aspects of foreign investments

Sean M. Nicholson

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: economics of education; public finance; labor economics

Steven A. Osofsky

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental and sustainability policy

Zhuan Pei

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: labor economics; applied micro-econometrics; public policy

Karl Andrew Pillemer

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality

Prabhu L. Pingali

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy

Kandukuri Venkat Raman

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international policy and management
  • Research Interests: international development

Peter M. Rich

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality

Bradley J. Rickard

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; international policy and management

Kenneth M. Roberts

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality

Amanda Rodewald

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental and sustainability policy

Nicholas James Sanders

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; social policy: health, education, and inequality

Stephan J. Schmidt

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public affairs

John W. Sipple

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Laura Tach

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality

Sharon Tennyson

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy
  • Research Interests: consumer protection, household finance, law and economics, insurance

John Tobin

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management

Pamela S. Tolbert

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: organizational behavior

Michael Andrew Tomlan

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental and sustainability policy; public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: building-conservation technology; survey and documentation methods for preservation; preservation economics and finance; urban history

Maureen Waller

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy: health, education, and inequality

Mildred Elaine Warner

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: public policy

Steven A Wolf

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental and sustainability policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Wendy W. Wolford

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic policy; environmental and sustainability policy; international policy and management; public and nonprofit management; social policy: health, education, and inequality
  • Research Interests: