What are your career goals? If you're interviewing for MBA type jobs, it may confuse people if you are not pitching in for some role to do with the public sector.

The dual MPA-MBA programmes are not all at great schools. Maybe do separate, one year, MBA and MPA programs?

I wouldn't worry about it affecting your chances. Just check out the jobs in the public sector you'd be interested in, and see if you'd actually be better off having an MPA. I doubt it would hurt you, but you might find that only having an MBA would be enough.

Also, definitely do your research when it comes to the quality of the school - especially for MBA programs. Like Duncan said, you may be better off doing an accredited MBA first and then an MPA afterward if you still feel you need it. I'd worry that in selecting schools that only offer the dual degree, you might be selling yourself short in terms of a quality education.

As far as schools go, some of the top schools (Stanford, MIT Sloan) have partnerships with the Harvard Kennedy School to offer an MBA/MPA dual degree in three years, usually. If that's too Ivy for you, Presidio in San Francisco has a decent dual degree program, but it focuses on sustainable management.

<blockquote>I got both degrees several years ago from two different schools. Got my MPA from a nationally recognized school of public administration and a MBA from one of the largest programs of it's kind in the country. It is interesting after 28 years that this topic is still being discussed as to which program to attend.

It was in the 1980's when the economy was coming out of a recession. Sound familiar? History repeats itself once again. I think the number one problem which goes unspoken is that too many graduate students end up in the wrong program that doesn't fit their needs, now and perhaps in the future so the doubt starts to trickle in your thought pattern. My suggestion is to try and figure out where you might want to be let's say 10 years in the "ideal sense" down the road and ask any famous business school professor from your readings for advise on the subject. My further suggestion is to write a nice letter to Professor james Post and tell him my story of a letter I have from hims regarding this subject. One thing I will say is that in government it is easy that your career will stagnate based on experience and grade so your options may become limited in time. The top jobs at the federal level come from people outside government so you may have to move between the sectors over the course of your career. That is an argument that is too true then and now, as to why intuitively you are on the right track. Good luck!

Case in point, when I decided to go for my MBA I read all the research papers from Professor James Post from Boston University who was an expert in Public Management. I still have his letter and he pointed out the difference between the public and private sector. His comments, although I didn't appreciate at the time, because I didn't go to Boston University. Well after all these years he was right about moving between the sectors, public, private and non-profit. I have worked in all 3 and it took me twenty years to realize that I was only able to draw from years experience before I could realize the potential I had with my training. Seek out the advice from any a well known professor versed in your area of interest. In my case, I was really interested in the idea of "public management" taught by business schools and "management theory" in general taught by schools of public administration. See George Washing University in Washington, D,C. business school and where they put their public administration master's program.

You can "kill a bird with one stone so to speak" by going to a well known school of business and take "public management" as your sub speciality. Save your self some cash unless you have money set aside or are willing to pay off your debt.

Also, you can pursue a MBA and then just get a certificate from a top school of public administration in an effort to save yourself some money. If an employer is going to argue with you about your graduate training, from my experience in the job market it is not worth working for them. The problem is that employer's may worry about what to pay you what you think you are worth. You might not be worth hiring, because it looks like from your what I call "degree experience" in this case two masters that you will jump ship and leave them so you risk possible missed opportunities because you spent too much time in school. Might as well get a history degree while you are at it on-line from an ivy league school. Be able to defend your reasoning for pursuing both types of training but also keep in mind that it might not make any difference at all in the long run.

http://encyclopedia.gwu.edu/gwencyclopedia/index.php?title=Business_and_Public_Management%2C_School_of

If you read about the history of business and public administration schools GW is a good example of what happens to schools of government which is what Harvard is now called. Then GW graduate schools with both MBA and MPA included then in the 21 century becomes two graduate schools, School of Business and their policy schools. What you have been experiencing at the academic level has been going on for 80 years! Young graduate programs with both mba and mpa programs and mission statements tend to be mis leading, not intentionally in my opinion, it is that they can be judged by what happens to universities that have strong histories of management training in general. Do you want to attend a young mba program or one with a strong academic foundation that can draw from it's history? Up to you.
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