Master in Public Administration (DMPA) (Distance Learning)
with three specializations:

1. General Administration,
2. Public Healthcare Services Administration,
3. Educational Administration

The core curriculum emphasises the acquisition of the required knowledge and expertise necessary for the efficient development and management of resources allocated to the public sector and for the comprehension of major issues of policy from which stems the applied policy and administrative objectives set.

The program is characterized by the provision of modern knowledge in a significant number of different areas that make up the field of Public Administration. Starting from the theoretical elaborations of Public Administration as an institution but also as a factor in the formulation and implementation of public policy, it also includes critical issues in the field of economics, the management of financial and human resources as well as the European framework of corresponding policies. In addition, the Program equips students with technical, analytical and computational skills and leadership skills to strengthen their decision-making ability in an ever-evolving and competitive economic environment.

The basic philosophy of the Programme is the theoretical and practical approach regarding public administration, where new knowledge and expertise is gained by experiences of participants through the study of real problems of everyday life. This approach helps students to broaden and deepen both their management and policy process skills. These elements are analysed further in one of the three specialisations offered by the Program, the specialization of General Administration.

Regarding the other two specializations, namely the specialization of Educational Administration and the specialization of Healthcare Services Administration, the Programme is specialized in the philosophy and practice of the public administration principles in the services of the educational sector and in particular in the school unit and the health units, respectively.

Specifically, some of the objectives of this program are:

• To offer sufficient knowledge to economics of the Public Sector.
• To help students comprehend the foundations of the “controversies” between the Public and the Private Sector regarding their specific roles and scopes in the workings of the economy and the society as a whole.
• To encourage initiatives for the learning process of students.
• To help in acquiring skills related to a wide range of situations: how to think in detail, express themselves directly and clearly, and use the means of information technology.
• To teach how public spending should be distributed to meet the social needs of Health, Education, Social Security and National Security.
• To show how a tax system should be designed to promote economic efficiency and social justice.
• Finally, to answer the following questions:
  • Do governments have to do more or less?
  • Can the Public Sector play its economic role more efficiently?
  • What is the concept of the Budget of the State and what its functions?
  • What are the budgeting procedures?

These are core activities and objectives of the General Administration specialization, as well.

The specific objectives of the program for the direction of Healthcare Services Administration are:

• Providing knowledge, skills and competencies for effective management of health organizations.
• Assessing the vital importance of information and technological development.
• Attainment of know-how and specialisation of health executives and other health professionals (medical, nursing, administrative) in the organization, administration and economics of the health system.
• Raising students’ awareness of various issues and problems that affect both the lives of health professionals and the functioning of health care units, agencies and organizations.
• Raising awareness of all those involved in health decision making in the fields of public health, prevention, evaluation of health technologies and patients’ rights.
• Attainment of knowledge, competences and skills in modern systems and techniques of health unit management and project evaluation
• Patients’ rights

The specific objectives of the Educational Administration program are:

• The acquisition of specialized knowledge -beyond Public Administration in fields related to the Educational Administration, such as: Educational Leadership and Human resource management, Communication and Cooperation, within the School context, Administration and Management of Schools, Curricula Design and Development.
• Familiarization with older and current relevant literature and critical discussion and analysis of sources related to educational administration issues.
• Excellence in research experience and encouragement for further study and research.
• Training on specific issues of educational administration with the ability to provide expertise in analysing school praxis and highlighting significant educational and historical themes.

Intended learning outcomes:

Upon completing their studies, graduates of this particular program are expected to:

Acquire a theoretical background and specialized knowledge in order to be able to explain the structural and constituent elements that make up the functioning of public administration and more specifically:

• to acquire skills that make the Graduate of the Program efficient both in assuming any administrative position but also efficient in the field and in the position that is currently working,
• to gain specific knowledge for planning, organising, controlling functions in modern public administration,
• to critically examine the basic principles for
• the public sector finances (funding, allocation of financial resources),
• the drafting and use of the budget,
• indicators of cost-effectiveness,
• research methodology and the use of management tools.

Students specializing in Educational Administration and Healthcare Services Administration are strengthened in particular competences and skills in the field of their specialisation.

Comprehend with critical and constructive awareness:

• the principles and functions of the administration and public service control methods, of decision-making processes, effective communication and motivation and of human resources problems,
• the need to use methodologies and tools for assessing the services provided,
• the organization of financial services, principles and concepts of accounting and financial,
• the management of public service procurements
• the way in which students operate and formulate all of the above, both at the level of education services and at the level of health services.

Apply, as a result of their specialised knowledge and critical and constructive awareness, modern and new methods of public administration, as well as specialized public policy measures, capable of feedback, evaluation and planning

• of the basic principles of “good” administration, as well as –
• the financial management of the units and the organization of public financial services, educational units and health units.
• of methods and techniques of research and financial administration of public services
• of the function of production, cost, efficiency and effectiveness,
• of the standards of funding and compensation of beneficiaries of public services.

Referring to the two individual specialisations of the Program (Healthcare Services and Educational Administration), students will be able to apply the concepts of public administration to the operation of the school unit and the health unit respectively, as well as to their human resources.

Analyze the current operating environment of Public Administration and be able to design procedures and ways of resolving problems that arise from the knowledge gained, both from the theoretical background they have acquired and from the different areas of application of these policies, and a critical awareness of the functioning of public administration.

In the Program’s specializations Healthcare Services Administration and Educational Administration, students will be able to analyze the above issues at individual school or health unit level by highlighting the role of human relations in school and in the public healthcare services.

Able to manage and change existing public administration frameworks by taking reform initiatives through the composition

• of the basic principles and functions of administrative science to make a public body efficient and efficient on the basis of sound financial management,
• of methods and techniques on analysis and documentation, more efficient performance in management and decision making in the exercise of managerial responsibilities,
• of financial data for the rational management of public services,
• of methods of financial evaluation of various public interventions,

In each of the Program specializations (General Administration, Public Healthcare Services Administration and Educational Administration), students are expected to achieve the desired learning outcomes and apply them to their everyday practice.

They should also be able to evaluate the existing framework and policies of Public Administration and use the gained knowledge and experience to design new, more comprehensive and user friendly ones.  

The evaluation of the Program specializations, Public Healthcare Services Administration and Educational Administration, will consider all parameters involved in Education and Public Healthcare Services.

The normal duration of the program is 1½ years (18 months).

It is stressed that according to the relevant instructions of the Cyprus Organization for Quality Assurance and Certification, the Program can be completed in two academic semesters once the dissertation starts from the first or the second semester of studies and is completed during the summer period , which can be extended after the summer season for one or two months.

The total number of credits transferred remains unchanged, i.e. 90 (ECTS).

The University reserves its right to define the electives offered on an academic year basis.

The programme structure may change without prior notice, as a result of quality assurance procedures or/and programme recertification.