Internationalization of Master Programmes in Public Administration. An EU-US Comparative Study

Abstract

The master programmes in the field of public administration reveal two trends, and in spite of being contradictory they ensure both the convergence and specificity imposed by the continental/national realities: A thematic focus on public management (MPM), public policies (MPP) or public affairs (MPA); A diversification of the content and didactic methodologies related to the traditions and national public developments.For the European states, Bologna process has induced standards for content, form and structure, supporting a possible framework of convergence of these programmes in view of their integration into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The current paper aims to highlight the levels of compatibility in terms of content, forms of organisation and finality, based on the analysis of master programmes in the European and American universities. The target group comprises programmes provided by prestigious European and American universities, accredited by the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA) or National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). The general framework of comparative analysis will comprise: criteria and standards of evaluation of EAPAA/NASPAA; knowledge provided by programme about: society, political system, governmental policies, bureaucratic organisations and their management, methods and techniques of governmental management, methods and techniques of communication. Research methods: documentation and study of collections of information for each programme, qualitative and comparative analyses as well as statistic and correlation evaluations.