Subject matter areas and competencies :an exploratory comparative study of MPA Programs in the United States, Europe, and the Arab Region -

Abstract

This study investigates Public Administration as a discipline in the United States, Europe and the Arab region. The nature of current curricular offerings in the top ten Masters of Public Administration programs in each of the three regions was identified and classified according to subject matter and core competencies. The data collection process revealed a total of 1462 relevant courses. The findings indicate that courses in the United States have begun to shift towards the competency based approach. Courses in Europe also appear to have started the shift towards competency based curriculum. Finally, courses in the Arab region reported the least emphasis on competencies of regions under analysis. Accordingly, this study recommends a number of propositions for courses and programs in the Arab region. The value of this study lies in the findings it provides about existing curricular offerings. Knowledge of the nature of these curricular offerings is necessary to both evaluate the current state of the field, and advance discussions about the bases of future MPA curriculum design.