The Public & Nonprofit Management Concentration

We’ve asked several of our current Fellows to offer perspectives on each of CIPA’s eight concentration offerings.  First up in this series of posts is Public and Nonprofit Management, written by second-year Fellow Sarah Evans. 

I changed my concentration 4 or 5 times during my first semester at CIPA.  Usually, changing my concentration wasn’t a matter of filling out formal paperwork; rather, it was simply how I presented myself.  “I’m concentrating in Social Policy” would be my response one week if someone asked me what I studied.  Two weeks later, however, I’d proudly declare that “I’m in Human Rights and Social Justice.”  Trying on the different concentrations for size was important for me not only for anticipating which courses I might take next, but also for imagining how I might market myself and my MPA on the job market.

Sometime towards the end of my first semester, I started seeing myself in the Public and Nonprofit Management concentration, and this time, it stuck.  Coming from a liberal arts background, I wanted to gain hard skills from my MPA.  For me, the Public and Nonprofit Management courses were the best fit, and were congruent with the kinds of organizational development and strategic planning work I hoped to do after graduation.

Coursework in any given concentration differs from Fellow to Fellow, but as an illustration of what Public and Nonprofit Management courses look like, here are some of the classes I’ve taken:

• Nonprofit Finance and Management: Covers budgeting, basic financial analysis, fundraising vehicles, and problem-solving in a nonprofit.  Of the courses I’ve taken at CIPA, this one is my favorite.

• Consulting for Nonprofit Government Organizations: Covers the fundamentals of consulting, and provides students the opportunity to complete a consulting project with an area nonprofit or government office.  I worked on a strategic plan with Madison County Agricultural Economic Development.

• Human Resource Management: Teaches everything from writing a job description, to hiring and compensating employees, to managing interpersonal relationships at work.

• Public and Nonprofit Evaluation: Teaches quantitative and qualitative program evaluation, and requires students to complete an evaluation project with a local nonprofit, public program, or university center.  I’m taking this class this semester, and it looks like I’ll be evaluating a family advocacy program at a local school.

• Managerial Leadership: A three-day, 1-credit weekend course that teaches management style and leadership awareness.

My concentration courses, student consulting experiences, and an internship this summer in nonprofit development have given me hands-on perspective and hard skills in the public/nonprofit sector, and I couldn’t be happier with my experience.  In addition to the classes above, I’ve been able to pursue foundation coursework related to nonprofit management.  For example, I’ve taken Issues in Public Administration, Urban Public Finance, and Comprehensive Planning in the Sustainable City.  These courses don’t count toward my formal concentration, but they have given me additional competencies that apply to the types of jobs and fellowships that I’m pursuing, and have rounded out my knowledge in public management.

From my perspective, there are two things to consider when choosing a concentration.  The first is ensuring that your concentration allows you to take the courses you’re most interested in, and the second is what your concentration will say about you on the job market.  While Fellows are expected to settle on a concentration within their the first year, and while many Fellows have a clear idea of their concentration from the start, CIPA also factors in some time for those of us who need to try a few on for size before finding the perfect fit.