A Master's Degree in Public Administration for Aviation: Is There a Need?

Abstract

This paper describes the need and structure for a masters degree in public administration with an aviation administration concentration (MPA-A). The paper was suggested by an on-going effort to establish such a degree at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. This effort has focused on the fact that the U.S. aviation industry consists of 2,107,190 employees, including over 110,000 civilian government jobs related to aviation. With this many people working in the field, there would be a need to improve the quality of future, entry-level employees as well as current employees of public aviation agencies. The degree format suggested for the MPA-A includes the following components: (a) a core public administration curriculum (15 hours); (2) an aviation administration/decision-making curriculum (12 hours); (3) an elective course (3 hours); (4) a research report (6 hours); and (5) and internship (6 hours). This degree is expected to be used by graduates to gain employment in such agencies as the Federal Aviation Administration, state aeronautics agencies and local airport authorities.