Value of Membership

NASPAA is thrilled to open an exciting, members-only online community for our members. This platform gives NASPAA a custom and exclusive professional social media experience. Access it now and use it to start discussions, share ideas, and support each other in setting the standard for public service education.

NASPAA’s accreditation process, driven by public service values, is mission- and outcomes-based, and grounded in an in-depth self-evaluation of programs using the NASPAA Accreditation Standards – the quality benchmark of graduate public service programs around the world. Our Standards are designed to be flexible to each context, mission, and institution, providing room for your program to showcase its achievements and ongoing growth.  

NASPAA hosts an Annual Global Conference in the fall, which is open to anyone interested but discounted for our members. Our Global Conference boasts over 500 attendees from around the globe.  An excellent opportunity to network and engage with your peers! We also host annual conferences for our member schools' Career Professionals and Admissions Directors. Beyond that, NASPAA volunteers regularly host topical webinars covering a wide range of interests for our members.

The NASPAA Student Simulation Competition is a full-day event that allows graduate students in public policy and related fields to test their skills on real-world data.  NASPAA member schools can nominate their top students to participate in the competition and represent their program in an experiential learning opportunity.  Students have the opportunity to put their skills to practice while networking with peers throughout their region. 

NASPAA member schools who complete their Annual Data Report are included in NASPAA's School Search, an important tool for students looking for graduate public affairs degrees.  The School Search leads to a public School Profile that highlights the unique characteristics of our members.  Including information regarding specializations offered, enrollment size and online availability to name a few.

Pi Alpha Alpha is the Global Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration, which inducts thousands of eligible, high-performing students every year. It encourages and recognizes outstanding scholarship and accomplishment in public affairs and administration. Its objectives, such as fostering integrity, professionalism, and effective performance, promote the advancement of quality in the education and practice of the art and science of public affairs and administration. Membership is exclusive to those who demonstrate only the highest performance levels in educational programs that prepare them for public service careers. 

NASPAA schools while all engaged in the education of public affairs students do so in many different ways and in very different environments.  NASPAA provides an opportunity for our members to share their best practices and innovations in pedagogy with the field. 

NASPAA collects data from our Member schools annually.  This data is available not only in the school search but members can also request benchmarking data as well as raw data sets for research and other analysis. 

The Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE) is the official journal of NASPAA, dedicated to advancing the scholarship of public administration education. The journal welcomes manuscripts that report research on pedagogy in public affairs programs, the administration of public affairs programs, issues facing instructors in the classroom, trends in the field of public administration, case studies that illustrate public administration principles in practice, and other vital topics.

Do you have a job opening for a public service professional or academic? Or are you seeking such a position for yourself? PublicServiceCareers.org is an exclusive, streamlined job portal hosted by NASPAA and partner public service organizations, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). Find the job that's right for you or share a job opportunity with a uniquely specialized pool of candidates from these public service-focused organizations.

Committees and sections are NASPAA's way of involving its members in its governance and delivery of its mission. Committees are appointed and charged by NASPAA's Executive Council President, and sections are topic-based discussion forums open to all members to participate and learn about something you're interested in.