Master of Public Administration

ANU ranks among the world's very finest universities. Our nearly 100,000 alumni include political, business, government, and academic leaders around the world. We have graduated remarkable people from every part of our continent, our region and all walks of life. You will be in high demand in various management roles in public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Higher education

At a minimum, all applicants must meet program-specific academic/non-academic requirements, and English language requirements. Admission to most ANU programs is on a competitive basis.

• Bachelor degree or international equivalent with GPA 5/7; or 
• Bachelor degree or international equivalent with GPA 4/7 and a minimum of 3 years full-time equivalent work experience at ANZSCO Skill Level 1 in a field related to the program; or 
• Bachelor degree or international equivalent with GPA 4/7 and a Graduate Certificate or international equivalent with a GPA of 4/7; or 
• Graduate Diploma or international equivalent with a GPA 4/7; or 
• 48 units of courses in a postgraduate program with a GPA of 4/7; or 
• Graduate Certificate or international equivalent with a GPA of 4/7 and a minimum of 3 years full-time equivalent work experience at ANZSCO Skill Level 1 in a field related to the program; or 
• Graduate Records Examination (GRE) General test, completed no more than 5 years before the time of application, with a minimum score of 155 for Verbal Reasoning, 155 for Quantitative Reasoning and 4.0 in Analytical Writing and a minimum of 3 years full-time equivalent work experience at ANZSCO Skill Level 1 in a field related to the program; or
•  A minimum of 10 years full-time equivalent work experience at ANZSCO Skill Level 1 in a field related to the program.

In line with the university's admissions policy and strategic plan, an assessment for admission may include competitively ranking applicants on the basis of specific academic achievement, English language proficiency and diversity factors.

English Proficiency Requirements

Applications must show English language proficiency by meeting ANU's English Language Requirements for admission to study this course.

Applicants with a Bachelor Degree, Bachelor degree with Honours, Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 24 units.

Crawford School's Master of Public Administration (MPA) is designed to equip public sector professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in an environment increasingly characterised by complexity, digital transformation, politicization; and the 'hollowing -out' of analytical capacity and historical knowledge. The MPA curriculum is built around three integrated components:

1.      Professional Core: a professional ‘core’ of knowledge broadly recognised as essential to the institutional role of public sector managers

2.      Applied Management Courses: a curated range of 3 unit courses providing access to emerging and/or specialised concepts and techniques relevant to contemporary professional practice.

3.      Professional Experience: a capstone ‘work integrated learning’ experience that allows students to select a combination of organizational internship, research and elective coursework to suit their interests and professional development needs.

Recommended Study Pattern

As a guide, subjects in this degree can include:

• Public Administration Foundations
• Public Sector Management
• Managing Government Finances
• Public Sector Ethics
• Policy Research

As part of your application, you’ll be guided through how to get the right degree structure in place for you. 

Award Requirements

The 1.5-year degree of multi-modal requires the completion of 72 credit units.