Master of Public Administration

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Downtown Phoenix Campus USA

Social services delivery is a fundamental building block of government affairs. Through this concentration, students explore the foundation and practices of social services and how social services can be designed, delivered and evaluated at local, state and federal levels.

The MS in criminology and criminal justice is a research degree program designed to provide students with a high level of theoretical and empirical knowledge about crime and criminal justice.

The program provides students with the advanced research skills, training in program planning and management, and policy and statistical analysis needed for careers as criminal justice researchers, leadership roles in criminal justice and related agencies and organizations, and for continued study in doctoral programs in criminology and criminal justice.

The Bachelor of Science in health sciences with a concentration in healthy lifestyles and fitness science provides students the skills they need for employment in health and wellness fields or for continuing their education in graduate and professional school.

Students train for work in preventive health care and learn how to use lifestyle coaching, physical activity and health care education to improve the health of the communities they serve. They learn best practices in health promotion to help people adopt and maintain healthier habits and address the challenges reflected by socio-economic determinants of health. Students study diverse disciplines such as nutrition, fitness, stress management, substance abuse, behavior change and coaching psychology.

Learn to understand complex public problems and develop and implement innovative policy solutions. Through coursework and real-world projects, you gain the analytic skills required to address society's most challenging problems.

The MPP program allows students to approach the study of public policy with a focus on public policy in the urban setting.

The program trains people to lead by making positive policy decisions, addressing the difficult questions associated with public policy, and managing the process of policy creation, approval, implementation and evaluation. Students also gain an understanding of policies addressing issues such as poverty, education, the environment and public safety. At the conclusion of the master's degree program, students are able to identify, analyze and interpret the challenges and dilemmas of public policies, especially those of urban areas. Students also are able to approach policy analysis with a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods and are prepared to develop innovative processes and tools to deal with changing realities of public policy and address issues on a global, regional and local scale.

The Master of Public Policy program with a concentration in urban policy provides knowledge and skills for students seeking or advancing careers in areas in which urban dynamics and local governance play an integral role in the policy process. This concentration's program emphasizes theories and research concerning urban policy analysis and economics as well as urban management, urban city government, public budgeting and finance in an urban context.

Want to develop and implement innovative policy solutions to environmental problems facing society? Through this top-ranked specialty within the MPP program (#5 in Environmental Policy and Management, U.S. News & World Report), you will gain the analytic skills required to address environmental challenges from local pollution to global climate change.

The MPP program equips students with the analytical tools needed to understand and address public policy issues. Students also develop skills in managing the process of policy development, approval, implementation and evaluation.

Through a focused set of electives, the MPP concentration in environmental policy deepens student expertise in specific areas and issues, such as the greening of local governments and policy evaluation of public and private partnerships, and builds the knowledge base and skills to bring sustainability solutions to the government, corporate and nonprofit sectors. At the conclusion of the master's degree program, students are prepared to apply sustainability principles and approaches to careers in a variety of fields that address environmental and, inevitably, human challenges.

Through the BS degree program in nonprofit leadership and management, students are empowered to become successful professionals who work to advance the quality of life in communities.

The nonprofit sector in the United States is unique in form and function. This sector includes institutions and individuals situated between government, public, business and commerce sectors. With more than 1.6 million organizations in the U.S., the sector employs more people than the finance, insurance and real estate industries combined. Philanthropy (voluntary action for the public good) is a hallmark of the nonprofit sector as individuals give their time, money and know-how to causes about which they care.

The MS program in physical activity and health offers a unique opportunity for advanced training with options to focus on exercise science, fitness and conditioning, or physical activity and health promotion alongside faculty who are immersed in the latest research.

This program prepares students to translate and apply evidence-based exercise science, fitness and lifestyle behavior change approaches to improve health and well-being and prevent chronic disease across the lifespan. It also prepares students to design fitness and conditioning programs for athletes.

Students in the program develop competencies in research design, statistical methods and the ethical conduct of research studies and they have the opportunity to conduct a mentored research project as part of a thesis, if desired. They also learn to apply theoretical models of behavior change for the development and implementation of interventions to facilitate the adoption and maintenance of physical activity and other health and wellness behaviors. Students develop and demonstrate their knowledge of the causes, risks factors and impact of exercise, physical activity and fitness on the disease process in cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, cancer, musculoskeletal health and functional fitness through a critical examination of epidemiological research and exercise intervention studies.

The MGM concentration in digital audience strategy is designed for students interested in augmenting their digital skills in the areas of marketing, design and product development. Through a collaborative sequence of courses offered in partnership with other ASU colleges, students can combine the global management skills found in graduates of the traditional Master of Global Management with digital expertise.

Strong quantitative and qualitative research methods provide the foundation of effective digital audience strategy, and graduates of the program master the ability to conduct research to identify and reach target audiences and to demonstrate returns on investments.

The research used to identify and reach target audiences through digital audience strategy includes traditional and emerging methods such as real-time website and social media audience analysis, social network analysis, search engine optimization analysis, surveys, focus groups and competitive analysis. Graduates master a range of methods to inform strategy for specific outcomes.

This concentration is perfect for students who are interested in expanding and refining their digital skills in the areas of marketing, design and product development to complement a strong core of global leadership and management skills. A Master of Global Management from Thunderbird with a concentration in digital audience strategy prepares graduates to take on leadership roles around the world in industries such as entertainment, journalism, public relations, marketing and many others.

The School of Public Affairs offers a concentration in business as part of the BS in public service and public policy.

This concentration establishes a core business curriculum while allowing students the flexibility to pursue their passion, from entrepreneurial opportunities to working for a Fortune 500 company. Coursework teaches lasting business concepts.

The MS in clinical exercise physiology degree program prepares students for careers as clinical exercise physiologists. Students learn how to use primary and secondary prevention strategies to improve, maintain or attenuate declines in fitness and health in populations ranging from children to older adults. They learn to collaborate with medical professionals to guide exercise and rehabilitation programs for at-risk clients and clients with chronic diseases.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the national association responsible for establishing guidelines and recommendations for exercise testing, prescription and evaluation of research for both healthy populations and those with chronic disease. The ACSM certification is deemed the organization's most prestigious credential for clinical professionals with a master's degree and 600 hours of hands-on clinical experience. This program provides the knowledge, clinical experience and skills needed by individuals preparing for successful completion of the registration examination for the registered clinical exercise physiologist certification.