Master Degree

Accreditations

A3ES logo

More

Accredited
6 Years
30 Jul 2019
Accreditation DGES
Initial registry R/A-Ef 1039/2011 de 18-03-2011
Update registry R/A-Ef 1039/2011/AL01 de 28-05-2015 | R/A-Ef 1039/2011/AL02 de 10-08-2023
Contacts
School of Sociology and Public Policy
Secretariat
Sedas Nunes Building (Building I), room 1E03
secretariado.espp @iscte-iul.pt
(+351) 210 464 015
9:30 - 18:00

Tuition fee EU nationals (2025/2026)

1.stYear 2500.00 €
2.thYear 1250.00 €

A propina de cada ano pode ser paga de uma vez só ou em prestações. 

Apply
Lectured in Portuguese
Teaching Type In person

The Msc in Public Administration is two years long, and requires the completion of 120 ECTS credits, which are divided among 60 credits in mandatory curricular units, 12 in elective curricular units and 48 in the dissertation or final project. The predominant discipline of the course is Public Policy, which is complemented by material from Administration Science, Political Science, Management, Finance, Law and Economics.

Programme Structure for 2025/2026

1st Year
Ethics, Cybersecurity and Privacy
6.0 ECTS
Debates in Public Policy
6.0 ECTS
Accountability and Responsabilies on the Public Administration
6.0 ECTS
Public Administration Law
6.0 ECTS
Research Design
6.0 ECTS
State, Governance and Public Policy
6.0 ECTS
Public Management and Public Value
6.0 ECTS
Human Resources Management in Public Organizations
6.0 ECTS
Comparative Administrative Modernization
6.0 ECTS
The Control of Financial Administration of the State
6.0 ECTS
2nd Year
Master Project in Public Administration
48.0 ECTS
Master Dissertation in Public Administration
48.0 ECTS
2nd Cycle Internship
6.0 ECTS

Recommended optative

Optional courses will only be held if they achieve a minimum number of enrollments.

1st semester

Public Policies Formulation and Design Thinking

Leadership and Innovation for Public Management

Economy, development and territory

2nd Cycle Internship


2nd semester

Environment, Energy, and Sustainability



Accreditations

The leadership training courses FAAP, FORGEP, CAGEP, CADAP and CEAGP may be accredited, as well as others that fully correspond to Curricular Units of this master's degree.

Objectives

The complexity of the roles of the State and Administration require diversified and specialised in-depth training, as well as greater knowledge of the different administration models and systems used in Europe. In terms of general guidelines, this master's, which is based on the attainment of specialized knowledge about Public Administration, has as its main references:
  • The knowledge, analysis and debate of the different administration models and systems used in Portugal and in the main countries of the OECD as a starting point for reflection on the function of Public Administration and the definition of its role in the development of the democratic governing mechanisms;
  • The analysis and questioning of management models, the study and understanding of the types of organisation, as well as the analysis of information systems and their functional or dysfunctional nature in various dimensions of administration;
  • The contemplation of the public administration's modernisation processes, starting, on the one hand, with a diagnosis of the existence of an functional deficit in administration of disparate decision-making procedural models, rooted in a given corporate logic and, on the other, with optimised functioning models, sometimes of excellence, but scattered and discontinuous.

    The Master's in Public Administration aims at preparing graduates who:



    • Can demonstrate knowledge in their specialised fields, acquired in previous training, and develop studies at this advanced level in order to acquire analytical foundations that enable the development and application of ideas in a context of empirical research;
    • Can apply that knowledge and comprehension in a manner that demonstrates a professional approach in the area of public administration and have the skills to sustain arguments and solve problems in this study and work area;
    • Are able to communicate data, ideas, problems and solutions, both among experts in administration science and to audiences of non-experts;
    • Have developed skills that enable them to pursue lifelong learning with a high degree of autonomy.

    Thesis / Final work

    Completing the MSc in Public Administration requires the presentation of a dissertation or final project. On account of the backgrounds of the intended students and the direct connection from the course to practice, the final project option is generally encouraged, as it permits students to develop proposals for the improvement of services in a theoretically-supported manner. A large variety of the dissertations and final projects have been dissimulated in colloquia organized by the Master's programmes, which has already given rise to the publication of four volumes that feature these texts along with studies by specialists in the area.

    Contacts
    School of Sociology and Public Policy
    Secretariat
    Sedas Nunes Building (Building I), room 1E03
    secretariado.espp @iscte-iul.pt
    (+351) 210 464 015
    9:30 - 18:00
    Apply
    Back to top