Public Administration

LEARN TO TACKLE THE GRAND CHALLENGES OUR COMPLEX SOCIETY FACES FROM A POLITICAL-ADMINISTRATIVE POINT OF VIEW.

This Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Twente is unique because more than gaining a strong, broad foundation within the field of public administration, you get the opportunity to develop your personal profile within a domain of your choice. You might for example focus on public safety, sustainability, healthcare, or public affairs. Or what about dealing with a variety of topics, specifically in the context of the Dutch government, or gaining a more philosophical understanding of good (deliberative) governance?

How can governments take action to combat climate change and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and how can we contribute to the acceptance and effectiveness of such governmental actions? How can governments ensure the protection of data security and privacy rights of citizens in times of rapid technological change? What does it take for governments to keep healthcare affordable and innovative health technologies available for all citizens? And moreover: how can governments at all levels – from local to national to international – collaborate effectively to address these and many other societal challenges? If you are fascinated by the role governments and public organisations play in tackling the grand challenges our society faces today, the Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Twente is the right choice for you.

This one-year Master’s is taught mainly in English and teaches you how to address political-administrative, societal and technological challenges within the public sector that can usually not be solved with just a simple solution. You will gain an in-depth understanding of political-administrative decision-making processes in today’s technologically transforming world. This Master’s will help you understand the complex playing-field of public and private organisations with different interests. You will become skilled in analysing, developing, and implementing public policies and learn how to resolve multiple – and often highly conflicting – stakeholder interests.

You can choose to build your curriculum around one of unique profiles, each of which covers a specific domain within public administration.

• Healthcare. How do you make sure that healthcare innovations work as expected and are properly implemented by health care professionals and patients? What does it take to launch a large-scale vaccination programme, and convince people to get vaccinated? How, as a government, do you address a national shortage of healthcare personnel? And how can you prevent inequality in access to health technologies? The healthcare profile will deepen your understanding of the dynamics behind healthcare governance.
• Safety & Security. The maintenance of public order and security is one of the fundamental responsibilities of the government. In this profile domain, you will focus on public safety governance, with special attention to public and private policing. How can you tackle organised (drug) crime across borders? Or effectively manage police resources to deal with violent protests? What technologies support such activities with what (un)intended effects on privacy? To what extent should we use digital technologies (e.g. cameras or internet tracking) for surveillance purposes – and how would mass surveillance harm society? But also, how can you design proper strategies for crisis prevention and management as a government?
• Sustainability. Achieving the sustainable development goals is one of, if not, the most important topics on the public agenda nowadays. In the conversion to sustainable energy sources, how do you decide where to place windmills or solar parks and how do you involve citizens in the decision process? How to engage farmers and other stakeholders in the protection of nature? What alliances are needed if you want to ensure a constant supply of biokerosene to an airport like Schiphol? But also: how can you make a city more climate-resilient, protecting it against floods as well as heat waves that are becoming more frequent due to climate change? These are just a few illustrative questions you will come across within this profile domain.
• Public Governance of Science & Technology. To address societal problems, governments often focus on formal procedures and neglect deliberative policy development at a meta-level. For example, nuclear energy can be defined in terms of its problematic long-term waste, but also in terms of its contribution to energy production in the face of CO2 emission reduction. To improve the substantive quality of policies, you can benefit from a deliberative approach and define a problem or situation thoughtfully, considering characteristics, values, and ethics. This profile helps you to gain a deeper understanding of decision-making processes and the process of policymaking on a metalevel. This profile is offered in collaboration with the Master’s in Philosophy of Science, Technology & Society (PSTS). You can even extend this profile into a unique, two-year double-degree programme in both Public Administration and PSTS.
• Public Affairs. Public management and public communication go hand-in-hand. How can you maintain a good reputation as a government or public organisation? What’s the role and impact of lobbying in political decision-making, knowing that there are many more lobbyists active around government than elected politicians? How can social media influence elections and drive political polarisation? Within the domain of public affairs, you will deepen your understanding of government relations and communication with the public, including stakeholder management and reputation management from a communication perspective.