SPEA's Master of Public Affairs (MPA) is its flagship program. This two-year program offers an applied focus that teaches students to address society's complex economic, political, legal, and social issues that encompass public service. The 2009 U.S. News & World Report ranked SPEA’s MPA program number two in the nation and identified the program's concentrations in environmental policy and natural resource management and nonprofit management are the best in the country. The ranking also listed SPEA’s public financial management and public management concentrations in the top three. SPEA's newest specialization offers training in sustainable development which focuses on balancing the protection of the natural and social environment with human needs in both the present and for the indefinite future.
Concentrations include: Comparative and International Affairs, Economic Development, Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management, Information Systems, Local Government Management, Nonprofit Management, Policy Analysis, Public Financial Administration, Public Management, and Sustainable Development.