4th year Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) Honours

When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to learn after high school, to be honest, public administration didn’t really cross my mind. It was my father who suggested I should take it given my general interest in governance and policy.

So I took it, knowing only little of what I was heading into.

In my first year, I was initially taken back by the range of courses I took. At that point, I was taking courses ranging from macroeconomics to public law. Personally, I enjoy learning about as many different things as I can, so this degree was a treat to pursue. Also, public administration is a multidisciplinary field, so it makes sense that it would require a multidisciplinary education. If you’re more into essays than numbers, you get to strengthen your skills on the latter (and the same thing goes if you’re the opposite).

Beyond classes, the School of Public Policy and Administration offers students the opportunity to take a practicum in their 4th year. Here you have access to real experience working alongside those in government ministries or agencies, learning how the public service really runs. The point of the practicum is to gain experience and to figure out where you see yourself in the future along the way. Something no regular class can really teach.

So that’s what you get, a balance between experience and class, theory and technical education. Where you need both, you get both.

Good luck! – Mandeq Jama