Program Mission

Our program’s current mission statement is as follows:

“The MPA program at Renmin University of China aims to cultivate visionary, innovative, dedicated, and truth-seeking leaders and pioneers for public organizations at the global, national, and local levels. We endeavor to empower our students to significantly contribute to enhancing public governance and championing the people-centered approach. Furthermore, our program aspires to promote the values of accountability, integrity, equity, scientific rigor, innovation, teamwork, critical thinking, and adaptability through a comprehensive focus on teaching, research, and social service.”

To fulfill our mission, the program provides the following:

·A conducive study environment that prepares the students to become leaders and pioneers for public organizations at all levels. Our program has been consecutively accredited by NASPAA twice (in 2017 and 2024), and successfully passed the first Chinese Accreditation of MPA Education (CAMPA) in 2025, marking authoritative recognition of our educational standards. We strive to maintain an open and free environment that fosters the development of leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. We have also enriched our teaching methods by incorporating digital and online courses and tools, making it possible for students to take our courses from anywhere in the world.

·A top-calibrated faculty that is committed to providing students with the support they need to complete their coursework and produce high-quality Master’s theses. Our faculty team is affiliated with 14 major tracks, including Governance and Leadership, Public Security and Public Policy. In 2025, we established three new majors: Veteran Affairs Management, Global Governance and Smart Digital Public Governance. We have a group of renowned scholars who are active at the forefront of the international academic community, well-known professors and high-level talents who meet the country’s major strategic needs of the country, as well as a group of outstanding young and middle-aged teachers and innovative teams with strong research publication records and academic potential. Moreover, our faculty members serve as advisors to public agencies, enabling them to integrate practical experience into their teaching.

·A comprehensive curriculum that equips students with the analytical and problem-solving skills necessary to address critical and practical issues in public administration. We regularly update our course list to align with the development of public administration in China and the world. We also prioritize enhancing students' practical skills through social practice course and deepening their understanding of public values by administrative ethic course, which are consistent with our revised program mission statement.

·Abundant opportunities for students to apply scientific knowledge and methods through their engagement with public organizations. Our program encourages students to observe and study at various public organizations, promoting innovation, teamwork, critical thinking, and adaptability. We also encourage participation in competitions such as the National Case Competition and NASPAA-Batten student simulation competition, which effectively enhances practical skills. 

Program Description

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program operates under the School of Public Administration and Policy at Renmin University of China. It was established in 2001 and has been taught continuously ever since. In the year, in order to improve the public administration and to cultivate modern public servants, the State Council of PRC and its Ministry of Education, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security decided to launch the MPA education in China. We take pride that our program is one of the earliest MPA programs approved by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council (ADCSC) in China (not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). 

To some extent, our program was created originally as a “role model” to promote public administration education and research in China, with strong support from the Renmin University of China. By bringing together the academic disciplines, departments, and institutes that have a focus on public policy and public affairs, the University established the School of Public Administration and Policy (SPAP), aiming at developing key disciplines, taking advantages of traditional strengths, and integrating all sorts of resources to promote the development of public administration and public policy. Besides, the University is much honored to have National Steering Committee Secretariat Office of MPA Program set up in its campus since the February of 2001. 

Till now our program has developed as one of the most successful MPA programs in China. In terms of the number of applicants, the size of the program and student scores in the National Entrance Exam, our program tops national rankings. In the first assessment on MPA programs organized by the National MPA Steering Committee in 2006, our MPA program achieved straight 25 As in all the indicators. In 2010, our MPA program was chosen by the Ministry of Education as one of the seven pioneers to launch comprehensive reform and development initiatives. In 2017 our MPA program was successfully accredited by NASPAA to become the second NASPAA-accredited program in mainland China. In 2018, China’s Ministry of Education awarded A+ grade to our MPA program in its routine professional degree evaluation which means our program has become one of the top MPA program in this country. In 2024, we once again passed the NASPAA international accreditation. In 2025, we successfully passed the first Chinese Accreditation of  MPA Education (CAMPA).Since the first year, there have been 7322 students admitted and 5763 students graduated from our MPA program. Such a success is grounded in the academic, financial, administrative and other available resources from the School of Public Administration and Policy (SPAP) at Renmin University of China.

Primary Focus

The primary focus of our MPA Program is designed to inspire students to build a strong commitment to public service with the values of accountability, integrity and equity, and to prepare them for public organizations as visionary, innovative, dedicated and truth-seeking leaders nationally and locally.