An ethos of public service-- an appreciation of its values and its ethics and a belief in its advancement;An understanding of the political processes that create, change and limit public programs;An appreciation of the importance of interpersonal relations and group work in accomplishing complex tasks. In a modern society, the Lone Ranger is irrelevant and achieves very little;Columbia's MPA Program accomplishes these goals in a two-year program that includes a highly prescriptive core curriculum, a summer internship, a year-long workshop, and a concentration chosen from such areas as advanced management techniques, urban policy, international affairs, environmental policy, health policy, advanced policy analysis, nonprofit management, gender policy, or social welfare policy. Three additional courses in the political,historical, social or economic context of public policy and a free-choice elective round out the program.