Master of Science in Public Administration and Management

The Master of Science in Public Administration and Management delivers versatile graduates who possess the knowledge and skills to guarantee that the management of today’s public and social profit sectors are up to modern standards. Efficient leadership lies in a balanced dose of academic knowledge and practical skills. Among other things, our programme covers legal frameworks and their appropriate application, insight into the structure and the workings of politics, an understanding of the business management and inner financial workings of public and social profit institutions, the ability to manage an organisation, etc.

The Master’s programme is a thorough and in-depth study of all the domains that are important to a manager of a public or social profit organisation. You will study the four-dimensional HRM model in order to implement an efficient and integrated approach of human resources in your organisation. You gain insight into the provision and use of financial resources, the concomitant monitoring and accounting tools (budget, accounting, audit), as well as the various techniques for analysis that are at your disposal to interpret the figures. In addition, you become acquainted with leading management theories, conceptual frameworks and paradigms for analysis, and how to apply these to public organisations. You will learn how to identify and analyse complex power dynamics between the government and the market, the government and civil society, and among various governments in specific governance areas like food safety, electricity, large infrastructure projects, welfare policy, ... You uncover the possibilities and consequences of ICT in government (eGovernment) and learn to understand the relationship between citizens and their government through a targeted use of referendums, ombuds services and public governance. Last but not least, the Master's dissertation, in which you will learn to hone your research skills, assesses your abilities to harness the knowledge you have acquired and put its research-driven results into practice.

The Master’s curriculum contains a broad range of electives, which allows for an in-depth study of a variety of perspectives: governance issues, international governance, performance management, security, ICT, communication, welfare and social profit.

In addition to the (domain) Master’s programme described above, you can also choose a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: Educatieve Master). Find out more at www.ugent.be/educatievemaster(in Dutch).

Government organisations and social profit institution are always on the lookout for competent and highly educated candidates, who are able to combine an open mind and a broad understanding with the skills necessary to take up management as well as supporting positions. More than 75% of our graduates find employment in local government, government institutions, regulatory authorities, international organisations, the social profit sector (care institutions, education institutions, police, courts of law, government companies, welfare and cultural organisations, ...). Positions with a lot of responsibility are also the most challenging: cultural co-ordinator at a city council, HR manager at the HR department of a federal government service or a residential care centre, policy officer at an NGO, financial manager at a regional government or police district, ministerial adviser, teacher, internal or external auditor, controller, editor of government publications, staff member at the Court of Audit, researcher, ... Our versatile graduates are also popular candidates in the corporate sector, where they are employed at auditing or consultancy firms, financial institutions, temporary employment agencies, autonomous municipal companies.