Abstract

As a topic, Public Administration is far from a fixed entity. Its composition is contested in terms of content, context, perspective and approach (Candler et. al. 2010) and as a subject, it has passed through a number of key junctures that have shaped its identity and the manner in which it is practiced (Dunleavy and Hood, 1994; Gunn, 1988; Loney et al. 1987; see also Fenwick and McMillan, 2014). While it’s relevance as a discrete discipline remains questionable, its position, importance and contribution are not, thus inviting questions about how and where Public Administration can and should be positioned within the Academy (Fenwick and McMillan, 2014). This paper focuses on Public Administration as a taught provision at postgraduate level in UK Higher Education and it draws explicit links between current practice requirements and the design and delivery of advertised programmes, mapping current provision against perceived, articulated and evidenced sectoral needs, and a number of pedagogic indicators. The paper begins by unpacking the nature of Public Administration as a scholarly discipline and considers it against its allied and often – for good reason – conflated discipline, Public Management; within this section of the paper, the notions of discipline and disciplinary narrative are addressed. The paper then considers Public Administration in the context of postgraduate Higher Education and here, the subject’s relevance as a taught offer explicitly designed for the education of current and aspiring practitioners (see Oldfield, 2017) is considered. The paper then proceeds to map UK postgraduate programmes. Following a methodological section which details the collection of information, its mapping and subsequent analysis; the state of Public Administration in the UK is illustrated. Programmes are classified by way of five key indicators, content, delivery platform, pedagogy, targeted audience(s) and disciplinary home. The paper concludes with a discussion on the nature and provision of postgraduate Public Administration programmes in UK Higher Education, highlighting a number of core tensions and setting out key areas for consideration in terms of future provision.