Developing Public Administration and Public Policy Master’s Programs in Egypt

Abstract

An essential element for successful reform in Egypt is the availability of skilled professional personnel; thus, professional education programs play an important role, particularly those in public administration (PA) and public policy. This paper examines Egypt’s four master’s programs in public administration/public policy, exploring whether they are on a par with international standards (the supply side) and whether they meet Egyptian employers’ requirements for mid-level administration and policy staff (the demand side). The four programs are compared based on overall structure, enrollment and graduation numbers, curricula, and other factors. A competencies framework reflecting the competencies required for reform support is developed, and these competencies then form the basis for assessing the programs’ fit to the marketplace, based on MPA program representatives’ assessments of which competencies are covered in their programs and employers’ assessment of relative need for and current levels of these competencies in their organizations. The analysis finds a poor match between employers’ stated needs and current staff capacity and a lack of clarity in the perception of the MPA skill set in the Egyptian market. These deficiencies must be addressed to establish higher professional standards for public administration programs and their graduates.