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 sixteen courses; students typically take four courses per term for four semesters. The M.P.A. program offers a basic structure for study, however, each M.P.A. student works closely with a faculty advisor to design an individualized program based on the student's specific area of interest. Elective courses and research opportunities may be taken through the program in any department or college in the university. Students have eight areas they may concentrate their studies in:

  • Environmental Policy
  • Economic and Financial Policy
  • Government, Politics, and Policy Studies
  • Human Rights and Social Justice
  • International Development Studies
  • Public and Non-Profit Management
  • Science, Technology and Infrastructure Policy
  • Social Policy

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

Data and Statistics

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

  • economic and financial policy
  • environmental policy
  • government, politics, and policy studies
  • human rights and social justice
  • international development studies
  • public and nonprofit management
  • science, technology and infrastructure policy
  • social policy

Faculty

N'Dri Assie-Lumumba

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international development studies
  • Research Interests: international development

Rosemary Jane Avery

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy
  • Research Interests: public policy

Sandra Lynn Babcock

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies

Christopher Brendan Barrett

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • 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 and financial policy

Kaushik Basu

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; international development studies

Alaka Basu

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international development studies; social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Ross Brann

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Nancy Brooks

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

Colleen Marie Carey

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; social policy

Allen R Carlson

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Lourdes S. Casanova

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies

John H Cawley

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; government, politics, and policy studies; social policy
  • Research Interests: health economics, economics of risky health behaviors, public policy

Ho Yan (Nancy) Chau

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Ralph Dean Christy

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Alexandra E. Cirone

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: historical political economy, public policy, quantitative and qualitative research

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 and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; social policy

Ricardo Alvarez Daziano

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: science, technology and infrastructure policy

Glen W.S. Dowell

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Parfait M Eloundou-Enyegue

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international development studies; social policy
  • Research Interests: international development; social policy

Peter K. Enns

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: public opinion, representation, inequality, and mass incarceration

Magnus Fiskesjo

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: government; politics and policy

Maria Fitzpatrick

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; human rights and social justice; social policy
  • Research Interests: economics of education, public finance, labor economics

Gustavo A. Flores-Macias

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: political and economic development

H. Oliver Gao

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Raymond Richard Geddes

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Miguel I. Gomez

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

Salah Hassan

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: human rights and social justice; international development studies
  • Research Interests: African and African American art and folklore

George Alan Hay

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: antitrust law and competition policy

Stephen H. Hilgartner

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: science, technology and infrastructure policy
  • Research Interests: politics of science and technology; social studies of science; biomedicine and biotechnology; risk controversies

Thomas A Hirschl

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

Robert C. Hockett

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice

John Frederick Hoddinott

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

Steven Jackson

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy

George Hersch Jakubson

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

Robert Alan Jarrow

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

David R Just

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Sanjiv (Ravi) Kanbur

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international development studies
  • Research Interests: public economics; development economics

Harry Charles Katz

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy
  • Research Interests: collective bargaining; labor law; labor history

Peter Joachim Katzenstein

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: security policy; political economy; relation between international and domestic politics

Donald S Kenkel

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

Neema Kudva

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Sarosh C Kuruvilla

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

Steven Charles Kyle

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; international development studies
  • Research Interests: finance and fiscal policy; international development policy

David R. Lee

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests:

Pauline Leung

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

Shanjun Li

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

John R. Mathiason

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies

Alan D. Mathios

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

Suzanne B. Mettler

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice

Jamila Michener

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice

Douglas L. Miller

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

Stephen J. Morreale

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

Kelly A. Musick

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; human rights and social justice; social policy

Muna Baron Ndulo

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: human rights and social justice; international development studies
  • Research Interests: governance and democratization; human rights; peace keeping and legal aspects of foreign investments

Victor Gilbert Nee

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: economy and society; racial and ethnic relations; social stratification

Sean M. Nicholson

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; human rights and social justice; social policy
  • Research Interests: economics of education; public finance; labor economics

Saule Omarova

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies

Steven A. Osofsky

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

Zhuan Pei

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

David Louis Pelletier

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; social policy
  • Research Interests: nutrition policies and programs in the U.S. and developing countries

Karl Andrew Pillemer

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: human rights and social justice; social policy

Prabhu L. Pingali

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

Kandukuri Venkat Raman

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: international development studies
  • Research Interests: international development

Peter M. Rich

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; human rights and social justice; social policy

Bradley J. Rickard

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; international development studies

Kenneth M. Roberts

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy

Amanda Rodewald

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

Nicholas James Sanders

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; social policy

Vilma Santiago-Irizarry

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: human rights and social justice; social policy
  • Research Interests: institutional culture; legal, applied, and urban anthropology; dance/movement; Latino studies; bilingualism and language

Stephan J. Schmidt

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: public affairs

John W. Sipple

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies; public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Laura Tach

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

Sharon Tennyson

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

John Tobin

  • Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; science, technology and infrastructure policy

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 policy; public and nonprofit management
  • Research Interests: building-conservation technology; survey and documentation methods for preservation; preservation economics and finance; urban history

Nicholas Van de Walle

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: public affairs

Maureen Waller

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: human rights and social justice; social policy

Mildred Elaine Warner

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; government, politics, and policy studies; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests: public policy

Christopher Robert Way

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: government, politics, and policy studies
  • Research Interests: government; politics and policy

Steven A Wolf

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

Wendy W. Wolford

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: economic and financial policy; environmental policy; government, politics, and policy studies; human rights and social justice; international development studies; public and nonprofit management; social policy
  • Research Interests:

Nicolas Ziebarth

  • Campus: Ithaca
  • Concentrations: Public Administration: social policy
  • Research Interests: health economics