The Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA) is home to Cornell University's Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree program. CIPA's mission is to develop and support emerging leadership in public affairs across all workforce sectors -- whether government, nonprofit, or for-profit, and at all organizational levels -- from local to international.

CIPA is a 2-year interdisciplinary MPA degree program, offering unparalleled flexibility.
Operating within and supported by Cornell's College of Human Ecology, CIPA's core faculty members are drawn from a variety of colleges around campus. This breadth of faculty leadership assures that the students benefit from the university's full array of intellectual expertise. During their two years of graduate study, students take courses not just within Human Ecology but across the Cornell campus.  CIPA also offers students the option of studying off-campus for a semester and earning academic credit, while completing an internship in Washington, DC, or in one of three international locales--Kathmandu, Nepal; Rome, Italy; and Mysore, India.

Students may choose from among eight different concentration options.
CIPA's curriculum is structured around foundational courses in three areas central to public affairs: "Administrative, Political, and Policy Processes;" "Economic Analysis and Public Finance;" and "Quantitative Analysis." Students build on these foundations by choosing a concentration from among eight broad areas of study: "Economic and Financial Policy;" "Environmental Policy;" "Government, Politics, and Policy Studies;" "Human Rights and Social Justice;" "International Development Studies;" "Public and Nonprofit Management;" "Science, Technology, and Infrastructure Policy;" and "Social Policy "(which may encompass education policy, health policy, etc.). In consultation with their advisers, students formulate programs of study based on their long-term professional and educational objectives.

Complementary and joint degree program options are available.
Students who are interested in pursuing an MBA through Cornell’s Johnson School or a JD through the Cornell Law School within the same timeframe that they are completing their MPA program, may work out a complementary degree course of study if they apply to and are accepted by both programs. Students may then apply up to twelve credits of a complementary professional degree program (MBA or JD) toward the MPA degree from CIPA.  A dual MPA/MHA program is also available for students enrolled at CIPA and the Sloan Program in Health Administration. This option enables students to complete both degrees in three years while eliminating duplicate coursework. Students must apply and be accepted to both programs (admission to one program does not guarantee admission to the other).

Hands-on experiential opportunities.
Historically, 75 to 80% of CIPA students find employment or go on to further graduate work within three months of graduation, and 90% within nine months. Because the MPA is a professional degree, it is imperative that students leave the program with both subject knowledge as well as practical analytic and managerial skills to tackle real-world job assignments. For that reason, experiential learning is a key component of the CIPA MPA degree program. Many courses include a practical component, challenging students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world clients and situations. Internships, typically undertaken between the first and second year of study, are also encouraged and, because many of the most challenging and rewarding internships are unpaid, CIPA offers a competitive grant program to assist with expenses.  Second-year students may also choose to participate in the Capstone Program and complete a rigorous, semester-long consulting project for either a domestic or international client.

For more information:

You may contact the CIPA Office by e-mail at cipa@cornell.edu.

Our web site can be found at:  www.cipa.cornell.edu

You may also reach us by phone at: 607-255-8018