Public Administration Degree ApprenticeshipMPA

Are you ready to take the next step in your central, regional or local government career? This 2-year senior leader MPA Public Administration Master’s degree apprenticeship allows you to build your skills and get your MPA qualification while you work full time.

The course is work-based, and you'll typically spend about 20% of your working week studying. You'll need to do some additional studying outside of work time. The Government or your employer pay your tuition fees – so it doesn’t cost you anything. 

You’ll develop your strategic leadership and management capabilities and get the knowledge you need to take on ambitious new roles. You'll cover public policy, service and administration from inter-cultural, inter-professional and inter-organisational perspectives.

You'll also study specialist areas relating to public administration, such as the legal system and corporate governance, and learn transferable skills that will be valuable throughout your career. You’ll have many opportunities to put what you learn into practice, as you’ll be completing the course alongside your job.

When you finish the course, you'll have the confidence to take on more challenging leadership roles in the future and become more effective in your existing role.

I'm an employer interested in this degree apprenticeship for my staff

There's more information for you about degree apprenticeships in general on our information for employers page, or you can contact us directly. 

If you have an employee, or employees, in mind, that's great; if you are creating a new opening, we can help you shape and promote the role.

Degree apprenticeships: employer information

You and your employer

When you begin studying for your degree apprenticeship:

• You need to be 18 or over
• You should be able to satisfy government requirements on residency: 
  • you must be a citizen or have the right to live in the UK/EEA
  • you must have been a resident in the UK/EEA (not the Channel Islands or Isle of Man) for a minimum of 3 years
  • you must not need a Student Route visa, and must not have been on a Student Route visa within the past 3 years
• You need to have the right to work in the UK, and to spend at least 50% of your working hours in England
• Your job should meet the requirements of the apprenticeship standard relevant to this degree – we can advise you and your employer on this
• Your employer needs to have registered an apprentice service account – we can help your employer with this if needed

If you aren't currently working in a relevant field, you can apply for a job and degree apprenticeship simultaneously. Read more about applying for this degree apprenticeship.

What you'll experience

You can put the skills you’ll learn on this course to use wherever your public administration career takes you.

Previous Portsmouth Public Administration students have gone on to take up senior roles in local and central governments, and with United Nations and other non-governmental organisations.

After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.

On this course, you'll study modules worth a total of 180 credits. You'll study 2 modules in year 1 and 3 modules in year 2.

We’ll introduce you to different ways of delivering public services with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. You’ll develop an understanding of the impact of contextual forces on public organisations.

Changes to course content

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Learning support

As well as support by faculty teaching staff and your personal tutor, you can use the University’s Academic Skills Unit (ASK).

ASK provides one-to-one support in areas such as:

• academic writing
• note taking
• time management
• critical thinking
• presentation skills
• referencing
• working in groups
• revision, memory and exam techniques

If you do this course via the campus-based route, you'll study alongside public sector professionals from around the world, giving you the chance to learn from both our qualified academic staff and experienced practitioners. As part of the course, you'll also attend talks by speakers from a variety of public bodies.

You'll also get an induction, master classes, and specialist talks on campus. We’ll support you through online tutorials, in person, on the phone or over Skype throughout the course.

How you're assessed

You’ll be assessed through:

• briefing documents
• analytical reports
• research-based projects

Tuition fees

The course fee is shared between the Government and some employers, meaning no cost to you as the degree apprentice. Total tuition fees are £14,000 paid over 2 years.

The cost of End-Point Assessment (EPA) is included in the total tuition fees. Your employer will also need to pay the End Point Assessment (EPA) fee. The cost of the EPA varies. This is in addition to the tuition fees.

Please see our Degree Apprenticeships page, or contact us, for further information about the EPA.

Additional course costs

These course-related costs aren’t included in the tuition fees. So you’ll need to budget for them when you plan your spending. 

Admissions terms and conditions

When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to abide by our Student Contract (which includes the University's relevant policies, rules and regulations). You should read and consider these before you apply.