Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Select the year

2026-27

2027-28

Start Dates

20 September 2027

Duration

2 years part-time

Recent Awards For Excellence

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About this course

Overview

Looking to make a meaningful impact in public service? Our Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a prestigious qualification designed to prepare you for senior roles in public and non-profit organisations.

You’ll develop advanced analytical skills, policy-making expertise, and leadership capabilities to thrive in today’s complex public sector environment. The course offers an interdisciplinary approach, covering finance, leadership, technology, economics, people management, and public policy, giving you the tools to lead with confidence and integrity.

Through real-world case studies and engagement with expert guest speakers, you’ll gain practical insights and a critical understanding of public service management. These experiences will help you drive innovation, influence policy, and make a lasting difference in the communities you serve.

Whether you’re advancing in your current role or transitioning to a new career, the Huddersfield MPA combines academic excellence with practical application to help you achieve your professional goals.

Who can apply?

Entry Requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

An Honours degree (2:2 or above) in any subject or an equivalent professional qualification.
At least two years' relevant work or managerial experience.

If you have significant management experience you may be admitted to the course without a degree or degree equivalent qualifications if you can demonstrate your potential to meet the learning requirements of the course.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

What will you learn?

Course Details

Good leadership is one of the most important factors for ensuring organisational effectiveness and efficiency. In the public sector, there is heightened scrutiny on leadership, at both national and local level: with accountability, governance, value for money, and trust as key issues both within and external to the sector. Public sector leaders need to be sentient of current and emerging policy, political and financial management issues, within a wider landscape, valuing sustainability and responsibility. This melting pot means that public leadership decisions are complicated and require choices to be made that manage both the issue, the range of stakeholder requirements, and work towards principles of New Public Management / Leadership. In this module, learners explore four key themes: the governance challenge, financial awareness, responsible leadership and systemic risk investigation and management in order to understand how as public sector leaders, they can identify, manage or mitigate risks for their organisation and drive efficiency and effectiveness of resource utilization and policy implementation.

Global demographics are continually changing and are now seeing an increasingly ageing population in many (but not all) countries. Put this together with changes to pension ages and age discrimination legislation and it means that in the future you will be working with many more older colleagues than has been the case to date. In this module, you will evaluate both the challenges and opportunities for business and management that come with increasingly ageing societies in the 21st Century. They will include ageing-related issues at the individual, organisational and societal levels, for example: creating novel and more flexible pension arrangements; innovative marketing to target older consumers; managing more flexible working patterns towards retirement; enabling more inclusive work environments by supporting workers with age-related health issues; and opportunities for career development in older life including starting a business. You will explore ways in which organisations and those working in them can adjust to changing needs in response to a shifting age demographic in the UK and elsewhere in the world.

With many industries generating huge volumes of data almost continuously the challenge for these industries is understanding how this data can be utilised for developing organisational value. This module introduces the field of Big Data, sources, management and visualisaiton. The module will evaluate and consider a range of features in the area, and provide opportunity to work with multiple online and offline data sets, investigate ethical issues around the data and explore different data collection strategies. Experience in these areas gives a holistic overview of organisational challenges and an informed perspective in decision making through the utilisation of big data.

In contemporary workplaces and society at large, people matter. Organisations want to be successful in their chosen field and sector but today, more than ever emphasis is placed on how they gain this success. This module will therefore consider how sustainable success is delivered through strategic and responsible management of people. The module will explore a wide range of organisations and consider how responsible people practices encourage commitment and improve performance in the challenging environment which organisations exist.

This module is focused on enabling you to maximise your professional and personal development, and develop the skills necessary to become continuous learners. To that end, knowledge and ability will be developed in the areas of learning styles and preferences, and research methods. The module provides an opportunity to develop insights into professional and personal preferences, and to reflect on professional development, past, present and future. You will be encouraged to undertake personal change to modify existing work behaviours and acquire new skills.

This module gives the opportunity to apply the knowledge, skills and understanding gained throughout the programme. It provides opportunity to bring individual and personalised projects to analyse, using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods, and propose appropriate public administration responses. Students are expected to engage in the process of scoping the project, undertaking the necessary information gathering, taking a responsible leadership role in analysing the information and making recommendations on the basis of their findings. The nature of the task will vary according to the nature of the issue that is needed to be investigated; it may be strategic or operational.

Strategic communication has become a key variable in the successful implementation of public policies and also in the leadership of all kind of public sector organisations. The success of any public sector entity is often linked both to its communication capacity and to the strength of its policy base and management skills. Democracy is based on the premise of an informed public, so it could be possible to state that public administrators or administrations face a civic duty to provide reliable information to their public, i.e., citizens. Understanding strategic communication in this sector, its implications and limitations, has become an essential aspect of successful careers in public administration. In order to increase public support of new programmes or the usage of public services and products, and also in showing responsiveness to citizens and building trust around public policy decisions, the strategic importance of communication to contemporary public sector organisations is emphasized in this module.

This module aims to explore the nature of strategic management and innovation practice within a range of organisations and across business networks. This includes understanding and exploring strategic formulation and responsible leadership practices in the 3rd Sector (Voluntary and social Enterprises) as well as other public sector bodies. Whilst considering the importance of well-established strategic planning concepts in the so called linear-rational process model, the module will also focus on contemporary concepts such as digitisation, servitisation, digital ecosystems, platforms, business model innovation and disruption - synonymous with more fast moving and complex environments. Hence, the module involves developing a critical understanding of core models of strategy and innovation. The learning programme will deploy a range of cases, simulations and thinking tasks to explore strategic decision making in contemporary organisations.

This module follows on from PROPEL 1 and is similarly focused on enabling learners’ to maximise their professional and personal development, and develop the skills necessary to become continuous learners. Within this module, the focus is on developing knowledge and ability in the areas of self-awareness, planning and undertaking personal and professional development, and improving interpersonal relationships.

Teaching and Assessment

Discover what to expect from your tutor contact time, assessment methods, and feedback process.

Where could this lead you?

Your Career

Many students are supported by their employers to study this course as part of their Continued Professional Development, enabling them to gain valuable knowledge, develop advanced skills, and position themselves for promotions or leadership opportunities within their organisations.

98%
Percentage of our postgraduate students go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating.

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2022/23, UK domiciled.

How much will it cost?

Fees and Finance

Scholarships and Bursaries

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Tuition Fee Loans

Find out more about tuition fee loans available to eligible postgraduate students.

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What’s included in your fee?

We want you to understand exactly what your fees will cover and what additional costs you may need to budget for when you decide to become a student with us.

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If you have any questions about Fees and Finance, please email the Student Finance Team.

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What does the University offer?

Gallery

Take a look at the Charles Sikes Building, where your lectures and seminars will take place.

Charles Sikes building from above, on a sunny day with staff and students walking on the attached bridge

Charles Sikes Building Exterior

Diamond Jubilee Lecture Theatre

Students walking inside the Charles Sikes building

The Street

Breakout space

Seminar room

Breakout space on The Street

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'The awards 2023' Huddersfield won Business school of the year

THE Business School of the Year

We were named Business School of the Year in 2023 by Times Higher Education for our clear purpose, regional impact, job creation, and strong engagement benefiting students and the local economy.

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Postgraduate Open Days

Join our Postgraduate Open Day to explore our courses, tour the campus, and meet academics and students who can answer your questions.

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Postgraduate Student Blogs

Discover what it’s like to study for a postgraduate degree at Huddersfield. Hear from our students and graduates as they share their experiences of life at the University of Huddersfield.

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Why Hud

Explore the unique opportunities and resources that make our institution a top choice for students seeking a well-rounded and future-focused education.

Explore Huddersfield

Make Huddersfield your home. A Yorkshire town, surrounded by beautiful countryside, with easy access to neighbouring cities; Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield. You’ll find plenty of places to eat, drink, shop and socialise, there’s ambitious plans for future development. Our campus is situated next to the town centre - making your commute a breeze.

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Your Student Experience

Get involved in great opportunities helping you to make friends from all across the world and create lifelong memories. Join one of over 100 societies with the Students’ Union, experience new cultures through global events, earn whilst you learn and build your skills via our Global Professional Award.

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Budget Friendly

Huddersfield is not only one of the friendliest towns, it also offers you a lower cost of living than most big cities. This means you could have more money to spend, making your uni experience even better. On campus you’ll also find plenty of facilities and services to help you budget and make your money go further.

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Sustainability Matters

We’re committed to sustainability and aim to be carbon neutral by 2030. Our plan includes reducing emissions, enhancing biodiversity, and improving wellbeing through sustainable buildings. We’re investing in digital solutions, low-impact travel, and embedding sustainability into teaching and research, investing over £1m in carbon reduction.

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Committed to Your Future

Since 2015, we’ve invested £198 million to create spaces where you can learn, collaborate and thrive. We’re continuously investing in our campus with your wellbeing in mind—adding features that make our buildings healthier, more supportive and better places for you to succeed.

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Careers support

We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition.

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Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you’ll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you’ll soon discover that you’re never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey.

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Teaching Excellence

Great teaching is engaging and inspiring — it helps you reach your full potential and prepares you for the future. We don’t just teach well — we excel — and we have the awards and recognition to prove it.

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Inspiring Academics

Our researchers carry out world-leading work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Staff within the Huddersfield Business School may teach you on this course.

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Research Excellence

You’ll be taught by staff who want to support your learning and share the latest knowledge and research.

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Accommodation

Looking for student accommodation? Huddersfield has you covered. HudLets has a variety of accommodation types to choose from, no matter what your preference. HudLets is the University’s approved accommodation service, run by Huddersfield Students’ Union.

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Further Study

Many of our graduates stay at Huddersfield to complete postgraduate research degrees at Masters or PhD level.

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Legal information

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons:

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and if you are unhappy with the change we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff being unable to teach due to illness, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to pandemics, other disasters (such as fire, flood or war) or changes made by the government.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will consult with affected groups of students and any changes would only be made in accordance with our regulations. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you let us know before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for any additional tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so and you may be eligible for an exit award depending on how far through your course you are.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Overview

Why choose Huddersfield for this course?

Accreditation and Professional Links

Entry Requirements