2005 Master of Public Administration (MPA) Professional Degree Joint Entrance Examination Syllabus

Author: Compiled by the Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee and other organizations
Publisher:
Publishing Date: July 1, 2003
Features: In response to the new requirements of modernizing, scientific, and professionalizing social public management, the goal of establishing an efficient, coordinated, and standardized public management system that meets the needs of a socialist market economy, improving the training system for national public affairs and administrative cadres, and building a high-quality, professionalized team of public affairs and administrative cadres, the 17th meeting of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee reviewed and approved the "Plan for the Establishment of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Professional Degree Program" in May 1999. Starting in 2001, pilot programs for the MPA professional degree were launched in China, aimed at cultivating high-level, applied specialists for government departments and non-governmental public institutions. Currently, nearly 8,000 MPA students from the 2001 and 2002 cohorts are enrolled. The national MPA application and examination process for 2003 is about to begin. Public management has historically occupied an important position in social life, encompassing a wide range of societal affairs from "cradle to grave."
During China's reform and opening-up process, public management has undergone two significant changes:
1. The expansion of the public management field. With the rapid spread of modern science and technology, population growth and mobility, the rise of service industries, urban and transportation development, enhanced environmental protection, widespread social security and healthcare, the emergence of social crime and public safety issues, and the trend of global market integration, the role of public management in social life has become increasingly important. It permeates all aspects of social life, expanding its scope, increasing its technological content, and broadening its fields.
2. Reform of the government itself. The government cannot handle all public affairs and must shift toward a more democratic management model. As a result, the reform trend inevitably leads to the diversification of public management actors. With the government transforming its functions and streamlining relationships with the market, society, enterprises, and internal government structures, power decentralization, power transfer, and organizational streamlining have occurred. Although the government remains the primary and authoritative actor in public management, non-governmental public institutions such as people's organizations, public institutions, and social intermediary organizations have also joined the ranks of public management actors to manage public affairs.
These two changes have made the task of educating and training experienced working public managers even more urgent. The Master of Public Administration (MPA) professional degree, known internationally as the Master of Public Administration, is abbreviated as MPA. MPA is a career-oriented education program, primarily targeting university graduates (generally with a bachelor's degree) with more than four years of practical work experience in government departments or non-governmental public institutions. The learning mode is predominantly part-time, emphasizing direct professional degree education in the field of public management. Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, simulation training, case studies, and social surveys, with the goal of cultivating and training practical public management skills. Thesis topics primarily take the form of research reports on specialized topics, consulting reports, research reports, policy evaluations, project planning, case study reports, and research on solutions to public management issues. Students who complete the required credits and pass the thesis defense are awarded the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree.
Compared to other management master's degrees, the MPA is at the same academic level but differs in type and focus. It has specific requirements and quality standards in terms of training objectives, target candidates, curriculum design, training methods, knowledge structure, and ability structure, distinguishing it from the training requirements for teaching and research-oriented talents. It emphasizes direct professional degree education in the field of public management. The MPA program is interdisciplinary, composite, and application-oriented, with a knowledge structure based on public management disciplines but incorporating other relevant disciplines depending on the training direction and management field.
The emergence of MPA education is closely linked to the development of public management. In 1924, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in the United States pioneered MPA education. Public management graduate education in some developed countries in Europe and North America has a history of over half a century. Especially after World War II, the increasing and increasingly complex social issues faced governments with unprecedented challenges, demanding more scientific and professional public management. As a result, the professional quality requirements for government officials and non-governmental public institution managers have grown, promoting the vigorous development of public management talent training. Today, the MPA has become one of the main pathways for many countries to cultivate high-level, applied public management talents, alongside the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Master of Laws (LL.M.), forming the three pillars of high-level professional graduate education in humanities and social sciences in market economy countries. For example, there are currently over 220 universities in the United States offering MPA programs, with more than 30,000 students enrolled. In recent years, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Province have also been actively developing public management education, with many universities establishing MPA programs.
The career paths of MPA graduates primarily involve working in government departments and non-governmental public institutions. In the United States, MPA graduates mainly work in local, state, and federal government agencies, non-profit public organizations (various social intermediary organizations, foundations, associations, etc.), think tanks, or consulting firms, with some also working in human resources or administrative departments in enterprises. 10% to 20% of employees in the U.S. federal government and 50% to 60% of workers in the public policy field hold an MPA or a similar degree. In South Korea, among the 600,000 civil servants, 10,000 hold the rank of section chief or higher, and 30% of them have obtained an MPA degree through part-time studies.
The Master of Public Administration (MPA) professional degree is the latest professional degree established in China's education system after the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Laws (LL.M.), Master of Education, Master of Architecture, Master of Engineering, and Master of Clinical Medicine. The successful establishment and development of professional degrees demonstrate that they effectively meet the urgent demand of the socialist market economy for high-level, applied, and composite talents. To cultivate applied specialists for the 21st century, vigorously developing professional degree education is an effective approach. Currently, China's MPA education has begun smoothly, with a strong development momentum, forming a broad social impact, and playing a positive role in cadre training.
The MPA admission and examination process is conducted through a joint examination by national training institutions, with unified question papers and unified admission standards. The examination subjects include: political theory (self-proctored by each examining institution), foreign language, management, public administration, and comprehensive knowledge (Chinese language, mathematics, logic). In addition to the previously offered English and Russian languages, Japanese will be added in 2003. The number of examining institutions will also be expanded from the current 24 to include more universities in the MPA education field, which is undoubtedly good news for the vast number of working professionals seeking further education and master's degrees. We wish all candidates who are determined to take the exam success in achieving their dreams and aspirations through their unremitting efforts.