Masters Degrees
Please note: This page is for 2027 entry. Click here for 2026 entry.
| UCAS code | 1234 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 1 year full time Up to 3 years part time |
| Entry year | 2026 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Typical offer | We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree or above (or equivalent). |
|---|---|
| UCAS code | 1234 |
|---|---|
| Duration | Full time 21 months |
| Entry year | 2026 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Typical offer | 2:2 Honours degree |
|---|---|
Top 100 in the world for Politics
QS World University Subject Rankings 2026
Our MPA is delivered by our experts in Public Administration
Top 40 in the world for Public Administration
Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) or Shanghai Rankings 2025
We are Top 10 in the UK for our world-leading Politics and International Studies research
Based on research rated 4* in REF 2021
We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree or above (or equivalent). We welcome students from any academic background.
Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.
Please note, if we receive an application which we deem more suitable for one of our other programmes, such as the MSc Public Policy, we may make an offer for that alternative programme instead.
The MPA with Applied Studies programme is designed for public officials who are sponsored by the organisation they work for (for example their department). If you do not have sponsorship from a public sector employer please apply to the one year MPA.
Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.
Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.
Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course.
The required IELTS test scores for this course fall under Profile B1.
Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.
The course has given me ideas and insights from international cases and has helped me connect with big organisations. This includes joining the women’s assembly of the UN. I have also been able to apply for the ‘Aspire’ programme at Harvard as a result of studying for the MPA
Laura Quequejana Melo
studying Masters in Public Administration (MPA)
You will study a range of modules specifically designed for the MPA. The modules will address key challenges in modern public management and policymaking. You will engage with big questions of how government should respond to public pressure, and improve your ability to understand and solve policy problems while at the same time getting into the details of policy issues. The degree is flexible enough to allow you to develop some of your specialised interests within its framework.
Small group teaching provides opportunities to work collaboratively with students from a variety of backgrounds to explore a range of challenges. As well as providing you with a strong background in the study of government and policy the programme offers the opportunity for you to explore cutting edge ideas in academic debates about government.
The part-time route is suitable for UK students working in the public sector who want to develop skills relevant to their roles and earn a higher level qualification. It is also suitable if you wish to change career or if you are working to support your studies. In the first year of part-time study you will complete the core module in term 1 (‘Management and Governance’) and typically select one further module in term 2. In the second year you will complete two further modules and you can either complete your dissertation in the second or third year. There is some flexibility about this schedule.
Mid-career professionals with government sponsorship can take the extended MPA with Applied Studies which provides you with further opportunity to research and seek solutions to issues and challenges you face in the workplace. The MPA with Applied Studies is only available full-time.
The modules below provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
You must take 90 compulsory credits and 90 optional credits
You may take 90 Credits from the listed optional modules group or 60 credits from the group and up to 30 credits from other modules in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| MPA Dissertation | 60 | |
| Management and Governance: Comparing Public Administration around the World | 30 | |
This module will provide you with an opportunity to conduct independent research-based academic work in the area of Public Administration or in the sub-discipline in which you wish to pursue further research or your career.
Working with an academic supervisor, you will produce an original piece of academic research relating to a subject of your choice. The topic can be related to any aspect of the topics covered in the MPA and your interests and can be an academic and/or policy related piece of work. As one way of doing the dissertation it can address a particular issue or problem that you or your organisation has identified in your place of work. In this way, you will be able to research and write about any new or difficult public sector management issue related to your work environment and produce a dissertation that will include recommendations of practical use to your employer or potential employer.
In this module you will compare public sector and private sector approaches to management challenges such as strategy formulation and implementation, recruiting a workforce, delivering services and ensuring accountability. The public sector faces distinctive pressures due to the political environment it operates in and the particular services it must deliver. Such pressures vary from country to country so you will explore and analyse evidence, examples and cases from different contexts.
You will analyse key managerial and governance tasks with a focus on the specifics of the public sector. You will become familiar with general conceptual frameworks for understanding the organisation and operation of public sectors. You will then explore some of the practical challenges of management in the public sector using research literature, case studies and examples.
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Optional 1 | ||
| State-Building after Civil War | 30 | |
| Digital Politics and Policy | 30 | |
| Theories of International Development | 30 | |
| The Politics, Policy and Practice of Sustainable Development | 30 | |
| Leadership, Equality and Diversity | 30 | |
| Collaborative and Participatory Governance | 30 | |
| Strategy and Psychology in Foreign Policy | 30 | |
| Applied Quantitative Data Analysis | 15 | |
| Public Policy Process | 30 | |
After civil wars, there are no easy choices. How can opposing groups commit to the post-conflict order? How can transitional justice be achieved while reconstruction remains sustainable? Which institutions can better guarantee long-term stability? These are some of the most difficult questions and harrowing dilemmas academics and policy practitioners will ever face. This module will provide a systematic, thorough, and nuanced introduction to the challenges to restoring and maintaining peace, and to effective state-building after civil war. You will learn about the main theories explaining why and how intractable intra-state conflicts emerge, understand the nature of debates on the sequencing of reforms after conflict, and evaluate the pros and cons of different institutional arrangements for divided societies. The module will equip you with the analytical toolkit, conceptual knowledge, and case study background to undertake leading roles in policy-making, think-tanks or NGOs working in the field of post-conflict reconstruction, or pursue further academic research on the topic.
This module examines nes the regulation of the digitalsector, encompassingtraditionalpress and broadcasting markets, telecommunications, new media marketsand the Internet. Emphasis is on European Union (EU) regulation and its effect upon the direction of national policywith comparison to the US. Topics include: EU audiovisual regulation, the Digital Single Market; copyright, platforms, data protection and privacy policies. A furtherfocus will be the effects of Brexit on the UK and the future development of EUpolicy, Europeanisation, wider issues of globalisation and the UK’s role in the world.
This course provides a comprehensive understanding of the main theories of international development. It situates these theories in their historical context, looking at the core debates that have emerged around development from the early 20th century through to the current period. You will gain an understanding of how development theory is situated in broader social science debates. Some of the main topics examined include: poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment; the role of institutions and power in shaping development processes; gender; aid and structural adjustment; migration and displacement; the impact of environment and climate change; race; and violence and conflict.
This module aims:
This is an advanced postgraduate module in which you will examine the policy and governance problems of sustainable development. On this module you will study distinctive features of environmental policy problems in relation to sustainable development such as the way they spill over jurisdictional borders and have long term consequences that can be difficult for political leaders to address. You will critically analyse the various interpretations of 'sustainable development' and their implications for policy choice. You will conduct in-depth analysis of sustainable development strategies and related environmental policy and reflect on the general lessons that can be learned from them.
This module aims to provide you as professional policy makers and public managers with an advanced introduction to the concept of sustainable development and the policy-making challenges presented by its various features. You will develop an understanding of the trade-off between environmental protection and economic development. The module aims to widen your understanding of sustainable development policy challenges by analysing problems in various decision making contexts. On completing this module you will have a firm grasp of the key debates in sustainable development and will be able to critically assess approaches pursue sustainable development.
How can equality and diversity be conceptualized and implemented to promote inclusive leadership? What are the main benefits, barriers, and challenges towards inclusive leadership? What is the potential impact of an inclusive leadership?
In this module you examine the dynamics related to gender, intersectionality and diversity in leadership in the public and private sectors. Research has shown that access to leadership is probably more a 'labyrinth' than a simple 'glass ceiling'. You will explore the pathways, opportunities and obstacles to an inclusive leadership and the impact of inclusive leadership on policy making and the conduction of public affairs. You are encouraged to link the material to your professional experience. This module is taught in an intensive format over 3 weeks (1 preparation week, and 2 teaching weeks).
The aims of this module are to introduce you to key concepts and theoretical perspectives in the analysis of equality and , diversity and in leadership; to enable you to gain a better understanding of contemporary issues and challenges for implementing inclusive leadership and to promote equality and diversity; and to provide you with the ability to examine the challenges and barriers related to gender, race and other types of diversity towards making leadership more inclusive.
This module will equip you with the knowledge, understanding and skills to address two important but challenging aspects of contemporary public policy and administration: (i) working across organisational and departmental boundaries; (ii) working with 'publics' and other stakeholders with a stake in specific policy issues (e.g. interest groups, communities). You will be introduced to both the theory and practice of these topics, and learn about navigating and overcoming the challenges of collaborative and participatory governance through case studies, and a mixture of theoretically and empirically oriented research articles. This module will be beneficial if you have experience of working in the public or non-profit sector or if you wish to pursue a career in these sectors. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module.
Tackling society's most pressing problems often requires practitioners and public managers to work across, and in spite of, organisational boundaries. Moreover, finding solutions to these problems often involves working collaboratively with the communities and publics affected. The module aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of collaborative and participatory modes of governance in public policy and administration.
In this module you will learn two different approaches to understanding international relations and foreign policy. They are often introduced as opposing worldviews, but here we will learn novel ways in which they can complement each other. Initial lectures will be centred around key psychological factors that are at the basis of concepts in international relations and foreign policy decision-making. Subsequent lectures will focus on rational choice theory. We will learn the basics of expected utility calculations and their role in understanding how behaviour that seems unreasonable is actually the effect of rational decision-making processes carried out by actors in the international arena.
This module will help you understand psychological approaches to foreign policy, as well as rational choice theory. We will learn the role they play in international relations and foreign policy theories, and how they can contribute to explain otherwise ‘unexplainable’ international behaviour. Both approaches will be used to analyse contemporary international conflicts and as well as some central themes of international relations theory today.
The purpose of the course is to improve your foundational quantitative skills and to stimulate interest in quantitative methods. These skills are increasingly important for careers in many organisations and are essential to understand much academic research. A basic understanding of data collection, analysis and interpretation is essential to undertake contemporary research in many disciplines, both to enable researchers to make direct use of these techniques in their own research and for meaningfully engaging with work that uses these approaches. The module prepares you to read and understand research on topics that involve quantitative evidence and conduct basic data analysis. This module complements the closely linked modules on research methods training (POLM140 and SOCM020) and is alternative to POLM086.
POLM809 intends to provide an applied introduction into quantitative methods in the social sciences. You will acquire skills to understand the use of quantitative tools and techniques and gain hands-on experience with such data analysis tools as R or Microsoft Excel. You will learn the strengths and weaknesses of various techniques and be taught how to select among various quantitative tools. Examples will be drawn from the humanities and social sciences.
The module provides skills and knowledge in a social science approach to public policy analysis, grounded in political science but extending to include concepts from economics of efficiency and equity along with behavioural and psychological based concepts. Topics include the 'public' aspect of the policy process (focusing on public ownership, funding and regulation), the policy cycle approach (development, formulation, implementation and analysis/evaluation). Key concepts are introduced including theory of markets, failures, externalities and public goods. Students gain an overview of policy analysis methods including use of qualitative and quantitative evidence, basic cost benefit analysis, and experimental methods for policy analysis. Students learn and critically analyse the methods for public policy analysis and carry out tasks to develop skills for conducting analysis applicable to a range of topic areas and organisations.
This module aims to:
Develop skills and knowledge that are important for policy making relevant both to public organisations and private organisations in sectors where public policy is important.
Develop skills and knowledge about the policy process, policy development, implementation, analysis and evaluation
Develop skills and knowledge about the role of evidence, values and analysis in public policy and become familiar with ways to avoid common biases and mistakes in public policy.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
You must take 90 compulsory credits and 90 optional credits
You may take 90 credits from the optional MPA thematic cluster modules or 60 credits from the group and up to 30 credits from other modules in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| MPA Dissertation | 60 | |
| Management and Governance: Comparing Public Administration around the World | 30 | |
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Optional 1 | ||
| State-Building after Civil War | 30 | |
| Digital Politics and Policy | 30 | |
| Theories of International Development | 30 | |
| The Politics, Policy and Practice of Sustainable Development | 30 | |
| Leadership, Equality and Diversity | 30 | |
| Collaborative and Participatory Governance | 30 | |
| Strategy and Psychology in Foreign Policy | 30 | |
| Applied Quantitative Data Analysis | 15 | |
| Public Policy Process | 30 | |
You must take 60 compulsory credits.
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| MPA Applied Studies | 60 | |
How can public administrators use evidence to inform policy and practice? How and to what extent can practitioners draw lessons from other countries to inform their own country's administrative system? In this module you will consider these questions, drawing on a mix of lectures, seminar discussion and critical personal reflection. You will also, under supervision, research a specific topic which is of benefit to your future career and, where applicable, your employer. A further aim is to enable you to understand and critically evaluate British public administration through a programme of visits to local and regional institutions and a series of guest lectures by academics and practitioners.
This module is designed to accommodate the needs of cohort students from international public sector authorities. It is part of the 21 month MPA with Applied Studies programme.
The module aims to deepen your understanding of how research and evidence can be used to inform public administration practice, whilst acknowledging the political, practical and professional challenges of doing so. By the end of the module, you will also have a deeper understanding of the challenges facing UK government and how lessons may be drawn from governments around the world.
£12,650 full-time; £6,325 part-time
£25,550 full-time; £12,775 part-time
Prospective students enrolling in 2026/27 will pay £31,600 tuition fees in total. Year 1: £25,550, Year 2: £6,050 (9 months).
The University of Exeter offers a wide range of scholarships to support your education, with £7 million available for international students applying to study with us in the 2026/27 academic year, including our prestigious Exeter Excellence Scholarships. We also provide awards for sport, music and other achievements, as well as regional and partner scholarships with organisations such as Chevening, The Beacon Trust and the British Council. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
We are pleased to offer the University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship, a scholarship for University of Exeter alumni beginning a standalone postgraduate programme in 2026/27 with us a scholarship worth 20% of the cost of your first year tuition fees.
Terms and conditions, including deadlines, apply.
Your course will normally be delivered in a mix of intensive teaching blocks and weekly sessions, this depends on the specific module selected.
Intensive modules will consist of:
Non-intensive modules meet once a week through term time.
Content and delivery will include not only traditional teaching methods, such as lectures, seminars and workshops, but depending on your choice of modules may involve:
You will benefit from excellent online learning resources including lecture notes, articles, and presentations.
The programme includes an induction to welcome you to the Exeter MPA and help you adjust to postgraduate study. We will provide practical help and advice on subjects such as study and research skills and be available to answer any of your questions.
I had been serving my country as a public official at the Office of the Judiciary under the Court of Justice of Thailand for almost six years before I started the MPA. I would certainly recommend the Exeter MPA to someone who considering studying in the field of public administration.
The programme is dynamic and open for independent study. Modules are kept up-to-date with the current challenges in public administration, and are well facilitated with the Exeter Learning Environment (ELE), giving access to all essential materials students need online.
The Exeter MPA is an excellent programme to personally transform you by learning and sharing ideas and experience with the Faculty, your classmates and other members in the community at Exeter. If you are looking for change in your life for a brighter future, or a way to contribute positive change in your career or organisation, the Exeter MPA programme is the right programme for you.
Kritsanant
Master of Public Administration graduate from Thailand
The range of opportunities offered by the core and elective modules allows participants to plot a course which best matches your immediate business priorities as well as individuals’ professional development needs. Your organisation will benefit from:
We are keen to work with you to help you and your managers get the best out of the Exeter MPA and have a good track record of collaborating with sponsors and employers. In each year of the degree, we have welcomed students with extensive experience working in the public sector and on policy issues.
We aim to take a flexible approach to programme delivery and will be happy to discuss any specific requirements of sponsoring organisations such as:
This degree is most suitable for applicants with experience of working in public management or governance broadly defined, for example:
Many of our students have already embarked on a career in public service, but we do accept students who have demonstrated a commitment to a role and career in public governance, NGOs, and international organisations.
We have a long history of teaching public administration and public policy to postgraduates at Exeter. Students have gone on to careers in regional governments, ministries, embassies and other organisations around the world.
The need to develop management and leadership skills is being recognised as increasingly important within the public sector and this has been reflected by the introduction of management competencies and a growing demand for formal qualifications for senior management positions.
There are many reasons to study for the Exeter MPA including:
Our careers advisory service provides expert guidance to all students to enable them to plan their futures through psychometric testing, employer presentations, skills events, practice job interviews and CV preparation.
