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Executive Master of Public Administration

The academic staff of the EMPA have designed the programme around an interdisciplinary approach combining theory, practical case studies, problem-solving, field trips and analysis of real-world scenarios. Courses are enriched by the insights and experiences of a prestigious network of high-profile professionals, academics, leaders of the public sphere and world-renowned experts.

Intended Participants

Intended for aspiring leaders with real-world experience in economics, public policy, or management, the EMPA gathers a cohort hailing from various geographical and professional
horizons. 

Each Executive Education programme participant has a distinct personal history and diverse professional objectives, creating a diversity of viewpoints, stimulating group discussions, and contributing to the collective intelligence in the cohort.

Objectives

At the end of the EMPA programme, participants will have acquired a deep understanding and applicable knowledge related to:
 

  • Specific and consequential European issues,
    in particular the effect of EU policies on
    national public policies
  • The prominent political dimensions of
    public action (politics and policy) and
    major contemporary democratic issues and
    challenges
  • Public policy transformation and change
    management in organisations that deliver
    public services
  • Effective crisis management and
    prepardeness
     

Among other practical skills, graduates will be able to:

  • Adequately and efficiently address the
    challenges of modern governance
  • Shape policy decision-making within an
    organisation or business
  • Manage and steer organisational changes
  • Devise and design public policies
  • Understand and cope with the complexities
    of governance
  • Master budget management
  • Manage a public crisis and its communication

Programme

The EMPA programme, held over the course of one year, consists of four course modules and one course specialisation. Environmental and digital topics are integrated in every course curriculum, and public policy workshops enable participants to apply new methods and approaches to the course content.

  • Organisational behavior, change management and leadership
  • Digital transformation and policy: Generative AI and the future of work, skills, and performance; data-driven management
  • Environmental transformation and policy, including sustainable public management
  • Methods of policy and organizational innovation: design thinking, agility, collective intelligence, biomimetics, etc.
  • Negotiation and social dialogue
  • Leadership, decision-making and communication: communication for change management, ethical issues, anti-corruption law and tools
  • Policy analysis and policy making: actors, institutions, instruments and processes
  • Transnational and European public policy and governance (including European regulation of Digital and the EU Green Deal)
  • Lobbying and influence in Europe
  • Comparative policy reforms (including NPM)
  • Cities and Urban policies
  • New politics and democracy (including digital democracy)
  • Politics of risks (including issues related to trust in science and public authorities, controversies and digital cartography)
  • Economic policy and regulation, including European policies
  • Global market economics
  • Data science and quantitative methods for public policy
  • Fiscal governance and budgeting
  • Accounting for public affairs
  • Private/public partnerships: stakes, issues, and limits
  • Politics of evaluation in democratic societies
  • Quantitative methods and statistics (including cost/benefit analysis)
  • Qualitative methods
  • Mixed methods
  • Experimental and behavioural approaches
  • AI, LLM, and policy innovation

Teaching Staff

    Henri Bergeron

    Henri Bergeron is an organisational sociologist, PhD, HDR, Research Director at the CNRS within the Centre for the Sociology of Organisations at Sciences Po, and a professor at Sciences Po. He holds the "Transformation of Organisations and Work" Chair at Sciences Po and directs the Masters programme in Human Resources and Sustainable Governance. He also served as the Director of the Executive Master in Public Policy Management from 2017 to 2024. He utilises tools from the sociology of public action, organizations, and social movements to analyze the social and political dynamics that govern the reconfiguration of organizational and institutional fields and the transformation of public policies, organizations, and professional practices. He is an expert in change management and organisational management.

    Pierre Moscovici

    Honorary President

    Pierre Moscovici is the First President of the French Court of Accounts, a role he has held since 2020. He holds postgraduate degrees in advanced macroeconomics and philosophy and graduated from Sciences Po Paris and ENA. He served as a Member of the European Parliament, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Minister of the Economy and Finance. From 2014 to 2019, he was European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. He is an Affiliate Professor at Sciences Po Paris, and a Visiting Professor at Columbia University and the College of Europe. In 2016, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour and an Officer in 2021.

    Henri Bergeron

    Henri Bergeron is an organisational sociologist, PhD, HDR, Research Director at the CNRS within the Centre for the Sociology of Organisations at Sciences Po, and a professor at Sciences Po. He holds the "Transformation of Organisations and Work" Chair at Sciences Po and directs the Masters programme in Human Resources and Sustainable Governance. He also served as the Director of the Executive Master in Public Policy Management from 2017 to 2024. He utilises tools from the sociology of public action, organizations, and social movements to analyze the social and political dynamics that govern the reconfiguration of organizational and institutional fields and the transformation of public policies, organizations, and professional practices. He is an expert in change management and organisational management.

    Pierre Moscovici

    Honorary President

    Pierre Moscovici is the First President of the French Court of Accounts, a role he has held since 2020. He holds postgraduate degrees in advanced macroeconomics and philosophy and graduated from Sciences Po Paris and ENA. He served as a Member of the European Parliament, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Minister of the Economy and Finance. From 2014 to 2019, he was European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. He is an Affiliate Professor at Sciences Po Paris, and a Visiting Professor at Columbia University and the College of Europe. In 2016, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour and an Officer in 2021.

    Practical Information

    • 272 hours over 12 months, plus 16 hours of collective tutoring 
    • This Executive Master from Sciences Po is recognized as a Level 5 institutional diploma
    • Our courses can be adapted to accommodate various accessibility requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss any necessary adjustments.

    Pedagogical Approach

    The EMPA’s curriculum follows a face-to-face teaching, to which online educational materials are added. Face-to-face modules run for up to five days and are spread out over the course of seven weeks. This allows you to continue working as you reflect gradually and strategically on your future career plans. A knowledge check is planned at the end of each module.

    Admission Requirements

    • At least a Bachelor's degree or the equivalent qualification
    • Minimum 5 years of professional experience 
    • English language mastery (level C1/C2)
    • Exemptions may be considered if the candidate does not meet the academic and/or professional experience requirements

    Admissions Process

    • Initial application review for programme suitability
    • Interview invitations to suitable applicants
    • Admissions decisions and notification