The EMPA program builds advanced leadership and management skills beginning with a five-day on-campus Foundation Week as the cornerstone of your journey. The remaining courses combine a 2.5-day in-person session (Friday-Sunday afternoon) each quarter, complimented by online learning that blends independent assignments, real-time discussions with faculty, and collaboration with the people in your cohort. All dates of in-person and live online sessions are provided in advance so you can plan around your work and family commitments.
- Rigorous, practical curriculum designed to strengthen executive decision-making, strategic planning and team leadership.
- No exams or long research papers, your work focuses on solving real challenges.
- Apply your new tools and frameworks directly to your organization when you return to work on Monday.
Our curriculum is iterative and cumulative; topics are all approached from the perspective of higher-level management competencies: strategic planning, decision making, capacity building, and leadership development. Our instructors are seasoned practitioners, experienced academics, and researchers. Their classes feature rich discussions of best practices drawn from the lived experiences of a diverse body of students.
Leadership growth is personal and the EMPA program includes four one-on-one coaching sessions throughout your EMPA journey to help you strengthen your leadership style and achieve your professional goals. Guided by EMPA executive coaches, you will refine the personal growth plan you create during Foundation Week and apply insights from the program to real challenges in your organization.
Core Curriculum
Strategic Leadership
PA EX 501: Foundation Week (5 credits)
Launch your EMPA journey with an intensive five-day, in-person experience. Explore leadership roles and styles, setting organizational vision and strategy, policy fields, and aligning personal and public values.
Practical applications: Identify your leadership strengths and create a personalized growth plan to guide your development over the course of the program.
Mission and Strategy
PA EX 502: Organizational Leadership (6 credits)
Learn essential management concepts and skills to lead and manage high-performing organizations in public service. Craft a vision for your organization while building financial acumen, strategic thinking and decision-making.
Practical applications: Confidently lead teams and manage budgets to achieve desired organizational impact.
Understanding and Navigating Policy Contexts
PA EX 503: Policy Leadership I (6 credits)
Navigate the political, economic, and behavioral contexts of policymaking. Learn to analyze policy environments, identify key stakeholders, and engage thoughtfully in the policy process.
Practical applications: Position yourself and your organization as an effective player in policy and political environments.
Formulating and Analyzing Policies
PA EX 504: Policy Leadership II (4 credits)
Develop the analytical framework and strategic thinking needed to design policies and recommend effective solutions.
Practical applications: Strengthen your ability to design evidence-based policy recommendations that resonate with stakeholders, including decision-makers.
Improving Capacity for Implementation
PA EX 505: Organizational Leadership II (4 credits)
Implement policies and programs to improve results. Master participatory tools and systems thinking to deliver real impact for the communities you serve.
Practical applications: Strengthen your ability to diagnose problems, improve systems, and enhance service delivery.
Implementing Policy & Building Consensus
PA EX 506: Policy Leadership III (6 Credits)
Transform policy ideas into reality through negotiation and coalition building. Examine legislative relations, budget processes, policy field analysis, and consensus-building techniques to turn ideas into lasting change.
Practical applications: Develop the skills needed to create sound policy.
Evaluating and Improving Performance
PA EX 507: Organizational Leadership III (6 credits)
Drive continuous improvement through results-oriented leadership. Master performance management learning to measure, evaluate, and improve policies, programs, and organizations all through an equity lens that demonstrates value to the communities and stakeholders you serve.
Practical applications: Use data and other ways of knowing to demonstrate value, build accountability, and drive meaningful organizational improvement.
Legacy – Capstone Weekend
PA EX 508: Strategic Leadership II (2 credits)
Synthesize your leadership journey and design an action plan to guide your public service moving forward. Craft personalized strategies to lead transformation that sticks, creating lasting personal and organizational change.
Practical applications: Cultivate an action-oriented leadership practice that will support you throughout your career.
PA EX 548: Leadership Salon (1 credits)
Connect your in-class learning to real-world leadership challenges through structured reflection and peer-learning. This setting helps you immediately apply new concepts to the complex challenges you are facing at work.
Practical applications: Elevate your learning through real-time, real-world applications.
PA EX 549: Racial Equity Skills Lab (1 credits)
Develop authentic equity-centered leadership that goes beyond good intentions. Build the racial equity literacy and personal awareness needed to create meaningful change in your organization and career.
Practical applications: Expand your capacity to lead with empathy and inclusivity.
Elective Options
MPA Elective Course (4 credits), select from the following courses:
PUB POL 507: Mediation and Negotiation
Master the art of finding solutions when stakes are high and the positions of your stakeholders seem irreconcilable. Develop mediation and negotiation skills you can apply in boardrooms, community meetings, and legislative conversations.
PUB POL 558: Collaboration and Management Across Sectors
Navigate the complex opportunities and risks involved in working across organizational boundaries. Develop skills necessary to build lasting collaborations across governmental, nonprofit, and private sector stakeholders.
PUB POL 576: Poverty & Anti-Poverty in the U.S.
Understand the root causes and systemic nature of poverty and inequality in the U.S. You will develop practical approaches to address these issues moving beyond surface-level solutions to tackle these persistent challenges with evidence and strategy.
PUB POL 599: Operationalizing Racial Equity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Transform organizational culture and operations to center equity in all that you do. You will learn practical tools to move beyond equity statements to embedded practices that create lasting change.