康奈爾大學-康奈爾公共事務研究所

MPA (Master of Public Administration) degree is a two-year graduate program that requires four semesters of residence (of which one can be away from campus in approved off-campus study programs). Because post-baccalaureate experience is weighed heavily in CIPA admission decisions, a majority of Fellows will have spent some time already engaged in public affairs in some way. This makes the graduate learning experience more meaningful.

The MPA program presents a basic structure for undertaking graduate study in public affairs, but CIPA Fellows are the primary designers of their respective educational and career trajectories while at Cornell. When entering the program, each Fellow is provided a faculty advisor. Fellows work with their respective advisors to design individualized courses of study. After deciding upon a concentration and a plan of study by the end of the first semester, Fellows will choose one of the three options for completing the professional writing/analysis qualification: a capstone project, a professional report, or a thesis. The latter option will require a Fellow to identify an additional advisor with subject matter specialization.

MPA Fellows concentrating in Human Rights and Social Justice focus on human rights, which, although often assumed to be universal, remain controversial in domestic and world politics. Students study policies that support the expansion of human rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination, such as those based on gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity, caste, sexual orientation, disability or marital status both domestically and internationally, and work toward ensuring equal opportunities before the law and in society-at-large. Students pursuing this concentration also analyze the political and economic constraints that stand in the way of the full realization of human rights and learn to serve as advocates for alleviating political, economic, and social inequality.