MPA Prospectus

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DURBAN
PO Box 49494, East End
Durban, 4018, South Africa
Tel: +27 31 300 7200
Fax: +27 31 300 7297
Email: mpa@mancosa.co.za
Email: postgrad@mancosa.co.za
26 Samora Machel Street
Durban, 4001, South Africa
[GSB]
JOHANNESBURG
PO Box 291534, Melville
Johannesburg, 2109, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 853 3000
Email: jhb@mancosa.co.za
1 Cedar Avenue, Auckland Park
Johannesburg, 2092, South Africa
CAPE TOWN
PO Box 411, Rondebosch, 7701
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 671 6576
Fax: +27 21 671 4306
Email: capetown@mancosa.co.za
First Floor, Stadium on Main Building
99 Main Road, Claremont, 7708
EAST LONDON
Tel: + 27 43 721 1774
Email: mancosa.eastlondon@mancosa.co.za
90 Vincent Road, Vincent
East London, 5217, South Africa
www.mancosa.co.za
POLOKWANE
Tel: +27 15 290 2896/9 Fax: +27 15 290 2841
Email: polokwane@staff.mancosa.co.za
Ground Floor, Block A, Edupark Campus
Webster Street, Polokwane, 0699
BOTSWANA
Tel: +267 391 4587, 00 267 393 2850
Fax: +267 391 4562
Email: Mancosa@info.bw
Fair Grounds Mall, Unit 28, Plot 28502
Samora Machel Drive, Gabarone, Botswana
Master of Public
Administration
NAMIBIA
Tel : +264 61 301 354 / Mobile: +264 (0)81 233 2469
Email: namibia@staff.mancosa.co.za
Mancosa Namibia, Unit 3 Ground Floor
Ausspann Plaza Complex, Dr Augustinho Neto Road,
Ausspannplatz, Windhoek
ZAMBIA
Tel: +260 9790 44454
Email: zambia@staff.mancosa.co.za
47 Independence Avenue, Rhodespark
Lusaka, Zambia
www.mancosa.co.za
MANCOSA is registered with the Department of
Higher Education and Training (DHET) as a private
higher education institution under the HE Act, 1997.
Registration No.2000/HE07/003.
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Programme
Description
The Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree
is a highly regarded programme providing
postgraduate training for employees in the public
sector and the non-government organisation
(NGO) sectors. It seeks to blend a traditional
Master’s level qualification with the practical skills
needed for the public sector environment.
The Master of Public Administration degree
programme also offers students a wealth of
relevant knowledge and skills required for a
rapidly developing state in Africa. The programme
will provide access to higher education to
people who choose careers in the field of
public management, commerce and business
management and provide a vertical articulation
pathway from the existing MANCOSA Bachelor
of Public Administration and Bachelor of Public
Administration Honours programmes.
The Master of Public Administration programme
is varied in its content and style and is
academically challenging and stimulating as an
NQF level 9 qualification. The MPA examines
the inter-relationship between public, private
and non-governmental sectors, where relevant,
and particularly focuses on the new public
management context which emphasises issues
such as good governance and administration.
The MPA brings together a select and relatively
small group of students from a range of
nationalities and with different experiences,
together with academics and adjunct academics
with extensive experience of working in the public
sector.
Mode of
Delivery
This programme is offered through distance
learning.
Applicants can enquire about additional
support classes.
Career Opportunities
The MANCOSA MPA develops students already occupying
management positions for advanced and specialised professional
employment. The MANCOSA MPA programme has a targeted
interest for those professionals employed in the public sector
and those who wish to pursue a career at national, provincial and
local government levels. The programme aims to assist managers
(middle and senior) and leaders within the public sector to perform
their managerial and leadership functions more efficiently and
effectively.
Who should apply?
In South Africa the MPA is aimed at public officials in managerial
positions who wish to improve their qualifications in public
administration in a traditional academic setting, and students who
are interested in a more professional education and training with
a scientific or scholarly theoretical (competency) foundation in
Public Administration. The MPA also offers theoretical competence
in developing contextual understanding in the public sector
and framework. The MPA therefore enables students to acquire
the necessary analytic and management skills and technical
competencies needed for the professionalisation of Public
Administration within the public sector.
Articulation
The programme allows for vertical articulation from the Bachelor of
Public Administration Honours degree. Furthermore on completion of
the MPA programme, admission for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
would be considered.
Programme Outcomes
The MANCOSA MPA degree is considered to be the touchstone professional degree for practitioners in a range of
services, which includes amongst others, public service, civil service and community service. The MPA programme is also
directed to entrench high scholarly acumen, geared towards enchancing graduate attributes and promoting professional
educational requirements . The programme is designed for public service career professionals with a focus on developing
lifelong leadership attributes through teaching theory in conjunction with holistic real life application imperatives.
In particular the purpose of the programme is to:
• Enable individuals to become specialists in public administration by gaining in-depth, conceptual and
contextual (technical) knowledge in a complex area of study.
• Provide South Africa (and other countries) with graduates who can synthesise information autonomously
in specialised fields of study in order to provide public sector leadership; managers who can deal with
contradictions and evaluate complex problems independently.
• Provide South Africa (and other countries) with professionals who can demonstrate specialised leadership, selfawareness and adaptability, and play an innovative role as leaders in the public sector.
The Programme Structure
Module
Name
Credits Per
Module
Compulsory/
Optional
Semester
Public Policy Development Analysis
20
Compulsory
1
Strategic Public Sector Governance
20
Compulsory
1
Research Methodology and Applied Statistical Techniques
20
Compulsory
1
Public Administration and Development Management Theory
20
Compulsory
1
Advanced Financial Management in the Public Sector
20
Compulsory
1
Programme Planning and Project Management
20
Compulsory
1
Public Sector Leadership and Change Management
15
Optional
2
Professional Ethics for Public Service Managers
15
Optional
2
Development Economics
15
Optional
2
Human Resource Management in the Public Sector
15
Optional
2
Sustainability and Disaster Management
15
Optional
2
Dissertation
45
Compulsory
2
Admission
Requirements
Minimum admission requirements for the MPA programme is
an appropriate Honours degree or an appropriate Postgraduate
Diploma.
In the event of entry requirements changing, they will be published
on the MANCOSA website, in the annual prospectus, in academic
calendars and will be communicated by MANCOSA postgraduate
recruitment consultants.
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