A core curriculum for the Master of Public Administration : lessons from Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

This article considers whether South African Higher Education Institutions can learn from similar institutions in Australia and New Zealand with regard to the composition of their Master of Public Administration (MPA) programmes. This investigation is based on a review of scholarly literature on the MPA, curricula and course information as published on the websites of universities in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), as well as notes resulting from interviews with academic staff members of universities in Australia and New Zealand, and of ANZSOG. The article fi nds that the investigated MPA programmes are indeed professional qualifi cations. However, the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) which was developed by ANZSOG, has shown to have a stronger professional focus in comparison to the MPA. Bearing in mind that the EMPA originated due to dissatisfaction by the governments in Australia and New Zealand as employers with the quality of professional education provided by the MPA programmes at their HEIs, South African HEIs can learn from that experience and revise their MPA programmes in advance in order to provide the high quality professional MPA programmes needed in South Africa.