The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE


Media Contact : Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu

December 6, 2006

UNM School of Public Administration Ranked Among Nation's Best for Highest Number of Graduates Entering State Government

According to a recent survey released by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration or NASPAA and used by permission, the University of New Mexico's School of Public Administration was tied for third in the nation with the highest number of graduates entering state government with a Master's of Public Administration. UNM is tied with SUNY-University at Albany with 75 percent of its graduates taking jobs in state government.

Tops on the list were the University of the Virgin Islands-St. Thomas, which sends 90 percent of its grads into state government, Kentucky State was second with 85 percent, while LSU, which sends 70 percent to state government, rounded out the top-five. UNM's "ranking" is based on principal representatives' estimates of what percentage of its graduates take state jobs.

Only 20 percent or one-fifth of the NASPAA member schools surveyed send 40 percent or more into state government. The average percentage of students entering state government is a significant number of those entering the workforce according to the survey with the range reaching 90 percent for a specific program.

All the schools ranked in the top 10 focus their course content on state government as well as employing adjunct professors from state government. UNM is also one of two schools not located in the same city or in close proximity to the state capitol. Interestingly, only four of the 10 listed had a state management program or a tuition reimbursement program identified in their state. UNM is not among those four institutions.

NASPAA's mission is to ensure excellence in education and training for public service, and to promote the ideal of public service. It is the membership association of graduate programs in public administration, public policy and public affairs. The survey was conducted in response to a growing need to determine the scope of focus on state government in MPA/MPP programs and to facilitate communication between member schools and state government agencies.


The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.

www.unm.edu