Graduate Education and Federal Career Success: How Well Does the MPA Stack Up?

Abstract

Using a 1% sample of federal personnel records for 1983 through 2003, we compare the career success of employees with master’s degrees in public administration (MPA) to those with bachelor’s degrees or graduate degrees in other fields—especially law, business administration, and the social sciences, the degrees most likely to compete for our students. Federal employees with master’s degrees in any field tend to be one grade higher and earn 13 to 16% more than comparable employees with bachelor’s degrees. Although federal employees with law degrees earn substantially more than other graduate degree-holders, those with a master’s in public administration have salaries, grades, and supervisory authority comparable to those who have a master’s in business administration (MBA) and those with master’s degrees in the social sciences.