PSIA’s Master of Public Administration Program: Calling Future Transformative Leaders in Government
PSIA’s Master of Public Administration degree program is looking for a few good future public administrators.
Dr. Jaimie Kelly, PSIA’s MPA Program Coordinator, was drawn to public administration as a vocational focus while serving as a Geospatial Engineer Sergeant in the U.S. Army.
“I wanted to better understand the ‘why’ behind military personnel deployment, and how deployment decisions impacted operations on the ground”, says Kelly.
This growing desire to identify how leadership decisions best served the mission led Kelly to complete her Master of Public Administration (Augusta State University) and Ph.D. in Public Administration & Public Affairs (Virginia Tech) with an emphasis on organizational networks and network management.
“I was drawn to degree programs in public administration because they focus on how theories and ideas in political science are applied in the real world to actually make government operations and the communities which we serve better”, Kelly shares.
Her subsequent interest in connecting academia to the public through practical research and public service which informs complex problems and offers potential solutions led Kelly to begin teaching courses in American Government, Foundations of Public Administration and Gender in Public Administration for the University of North Georgia. This eventually led to teaching numerous courses in public administration at the master’s level – including Leadership & Organizational Theory, Public Leadership & Management, and Public Policy Analysis – and then to taking on the role of MPA Program Coordinator for UNG.
“All the accomplished PSIA faculty who teach in the MPA program – including Drs. Luisa Diaz-Kope, Joe Gershtenson, Jing He, and Eric Wilk – are committed to students’ success, and Master of Public Administration graduates from the University of North Georgia are uniquely able make an impact at all levels of government – local, state and federal.
“We have graduates touching people’s lives through cooperative extensions, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), city governments, and university leadership… only to name a few”, Kelly enthusiastically shares.
She continues: “The need for additional public leaders versed in how government can successfully navigate current and future challenges in economic and workforce development will only grow. We need good, strong leaders in government; PSIA’s MPA Program can provide those leaders in Georgia and beyond.
“The MPA Program is looking for students who want to engage their communities through public leadership, who care about governmental responsibility to its citizens, and who are passionate about making government work well.”
If you, like Dr. Kelly, hear the call to public leadership which transforms mission into reality, UNG’s MPA Program – launched in 1996 and fully online since 2017 – can equip you to fulfill this calling.
Learn more about the MPA Program.
MPA Graduate Occupational Outlook
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/)
MPA graduates are qualified for many roles within both the public, private and non-profit sectors, including:
Budget Analysts help public and private organizations plan their finances
2025 Median Pay: $91,640
Job Outlook through 2035: +2%
Compliance Officers make sure that people and organizations meet legal and regulatory requirements
2025 Median Pay: $80,730
Job Outlook through 2035: +4%
Fundraising Managers coordinate campaigns that bring in donations for their organization
2025 Median Pay: $125,470
Job Outlook through 2035: +6%
Management Analysts recommend ways to improve an organization’s efficiency
2025 Median Pay: $101,860
Job Outlook through 2035: +10%
Social & Community Service Managers coordinate and supervise programs that support public well-being
2025 Median Pay: $80,390
Job Outlook through 2035: +7%