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U.S. News ranks NIU MPA program third nationally for local government management

April 13, 2022

U.S. News & World Report has named NIU’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program third in the nation in the specialty field of local government management.

NIU’s perennially ranked MPA program—which produces about one-third of city managers in Illinois—jumped up three notches from its previous ranking in the category, ahead of programs at such schools as Syracuse University, Arizona State University and University of Georgia. NIU is the top-ranked local government program among public and private university programs not only in Illinois, but also the upper Midwest.

Additionally, NIU’s MPA program tied with Harvard University to rank 14th nationally in the specialty of public finance and budgeting and 49th in overall public affairs among the 267 ranked programs.

”Our rankings reflect the high quality of faculty we have been able to attract to NIU in the last four years,” said Kurt Thurmaier, Distinguished Engagement Professor and chair of the Department of Public Administration.

The MPA program has a 95% job-placement record within six months of graduation. Thurmaier credits the internship program that ensures students are well prepared for the job market.

“NIU’s internationally renowned MPA internship program is almost 60 years old,” Thurmaier noted. “The local governments that provide paid internships demand high quality work from our students, and they get it. When they graduate, they have developed core management competencies that prepare them to work in city managers’ offices across the Midwest.”

Many NIU MPA program alumni go on to become city or county managers, finance directors, park directors, as well as police and fire chiefs. Both NIU MPA faculty and alumni have played a major role in efforts to professionalize municipal staffs statewide and advance the national good government movement.

Alumni can be found throughout the Chicago area at the administrative helms of such cities as:

  • Arlington Heights
  • DeKalb County
  • Elgin
  • Elk Grove
  • Highland Park
  • Hoffman Estates
  • McHenry County
  • Schaumburg
  • Skokie
  • Winnetka

In recent years, NIU has begun offering a fully online MPA program. It is exclusively designed for employees working at least two years in local governments of all types. Students can also opt to take just five courses and earn a Graduate Certificate in Public Management that is focused only on local government management.

Jennifer Hartnett Thompson, marketing director for Rochelle, IL, was the first student enrolled in the online Graduate Certificate in Public Management. Once completed the certificate, she knew she wanted to go on to complete the online MPA with its focus on local government management.

“The wide variety of topics covered in courses…public works, budgeting, leadership…we touched on every topic that applies to a local government manager,” she said.

NIU MPA enrollments increased 56% from fall 2010 to fall 2021. Increased enrollments from midcareer local government professionals accounts for much of that growth, according to Thurmaier.