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Global EMPA Program Will Welcome U.S. Cohort

Posted Sep 02 2015

SIPA is preparing to enroll a United States-based cohort within its innovative Global Executive Master of Public Administration program, extending the opportunity to earn a Columbia MPA degree to American professionals who live outside the New York metropolitan area.

By combining online education with periodic visits to Columbia’s New York City campus, professionals from public, private, and nonprofit organizations nationwide will be able to earn a graduate degree while still working full time.

The program, which will begin in January, is currently accepting applications.

SIPA’s initial Global EMPA cohort, centered on the Columbia Global Centers hub in Rio de Janeiro to accommodate students from Latin America, began in 2015.

Regardless of location, the Global EMPA curriculum focuses on the core analytical and management skills shared by all of SIPA’s master’s programs.

Students watch video lectures by University faculty and top professionals, participate in online discussions with fellow students, and complete weekly exercises – all facilitated by a polished and reliable online platform. The programs are enhanced by online video case studies in fields including health, education, and urban governance that combine documentary presentation, interviews, and written case studies.

Students round out the program by traveling to New York for limited residency periods, during which they attend live lectures, conferences, and seminars alongside students from the Rio-based Global EMPA cohort.

“For almost 70 years, SIPA has attracted students from every corner of the globe,” said William B. Eimicke, a professor of professional practice and the director of SIPA’s Picker Center for Executive Education. “The Executive MPA program has long allowed working professionals to pursue a SIPA education, and we’re pleased to have created and now to be expanding our Global EMPA program so people outside New York enjoy the same opportunity.”