The Rutgers–Camden Department of Public Policy, in collaboration with the Rutgers Center for Executive Leadership in Government, is offering the Executive Master of Public Administration Program to mid- to upper-level managers in the public or nonprofit sector.
The highly selective 42-credit program targets professionals with five or more years of managerial or executive leadership experience. It is designed to develop leadership, organizational, policy, and public management skills.
“It’s a master’s degree for people who want to advance their careers,” says Patrice Mareschal, an associate professor of public policy and administration at Rutgers–Camden and coordinator of the Executive MPA Program. “We’re looking for students with real-world management experience.”
Degree requirements can be completed within two years with weeklong residencies offered in the summer. Classes are held at Burlington County College’s Mount Laurel campus on Saturdays. Up to nine credits may be awarded for professional experience.
The program, which started in February, uses a cohort model in which students are admitted and take courses concurrently. Enrollment is limited to 20 students per cohort.
The students take two courses each semester and one course each summer. They start in January and complete the program within two years while maintaining their full-time jobs
According to Robyne Turner, chair of the Department of Public Policy and Administration at Rutgers–Camden, the program differs from other MPA tracks in which students have either five or seven years to complete their degree.
Omar Perez, an aide to the mayor of Jersey City, says one of the most attractive aspects of the program is that he can take the courses while working full time.
“It falls right into my schedule and that’s one of the advantages of the program,” says Perez, a 2002 graduate of Rutgers University–Newark. “I’d always wanted to go back to school, but never really had an opportunity. This program offers a combination of online courses and classroom work that allowed me to go back, learn, and apply knowledge to my job, like resource improvement and how to deal with issues that arise in city government.”
Courses taught include Public Management, Leadership and Communication, Financial Management, Ethics, and Law and Public Policy.
Merilee Rutolo, vice president of development and public relations at the Center for Family Services in Camden, says the program has been valuable personally and professionally.
“Each of the students brings significant and varied work experience to the classroom, so we are able to apply the knowledge to real world situations and challenges that we are all facing in our professional lives,” says Rutolo, a Haddon Heights resident. “This combination of applied knowledge and theory base provides not only an immediate return on my investment for my current position, but also has enabled me to think more broadly about my future.”
Rutolo has been employed with the Center for Family Services for eight years and says she has been able to apply skills learned through the program to her career.
“If I want to advance in my current organization, or if I want to branch out into other fields at a senior management level, this degree is an absolute must,” she says.
Applications are now being accepted for the new cohort beginning in February. For more information, call (856) 225-6860. To apply online, visit dppa.camden.rutgers.edu/EMPA.html.
Media Contact: Ed Moorhouse
856-225-6759
E-mail: ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu