What's Your Passion?
The John Glenn College of Public Affairs is the place to launch a lifetime of making positive change in the world. Whether you see yourself tackling homelessness in your community, taming the growing national debt, or creating educational opportunities for impoverished women around the globe, the Glenn College’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs will prepare you with the skills, knowledge and experiences to get things done.
What separates students at the Glenn College from everyone else? Our graduates have the tools to make their passion their life’s work. We’ll teach you how to turn your passion into policy. The Glenn College experience helps you make a change in the issues that matter to you.
The Bachelor of Arts in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy is designed to develop your skills in the areas of management, leadership, and policy-making while providing additional training in data analysis, economics, and public finance. If you want to go into nonprofit management, politics, or government service in a leadership role, the Bachelor of Arts is for you.
The Bachelor of Science in Public Policy Analysis is not a common degree at most colleges; it was created to give students who want to work in policy or data analysis an edge. The curriculum provides extensive training in policy, public finance, budgeting, and economics. If you want to use data to solve problems and help change the world, the Bachelor of Science is for you.
The Master of Public Administration degree provides you with the applied skills you need to succeed in today’s workforce. You will be prepared to lead and grow in your career through a solid grounding in the study of public policy, economics, management, and data analysis. In your second year, you can explore and specialize through elective coursework and a capstone experience.
If you are already in the workforce looking for a way to move up in your field, then the Master of Arts in Public Policy and Management program is a perfect fit for your needs. The scheduling flexibility allows you to balance work, school, and family life. Whether you are looking to move up or start a new career path, the enhanced analytical and managerial skills you’ll gain will help propel you forward.
With a dual/joint degree, you can more effectively put your passion into action and go farther faster. You can earn two graduate degrees in less time that it would take to pursue them independently while enhancing your interdisciplinary expertise in both fields. There are 10 dual/joint degrees available or explore an individualized dual degree option.
Are you considering a career in research or academia? The Glenn College offers a selective, research-oriented doctoral program in public policy and management. This academically rigorous program is preparation for individuals pursuing university careers in teaching and research, and for senior-level research roles in government, consulting, and nonprofit organizations.
Staying ahead in today’s workplace takes continuous learning. The Glenn College's Management Advancement for the Public Service (MAPS) provides training programs to meet the unique needs of public sector and nonprofit professionals at all career levels. Whether you are a top executive looking to explore new ways to ensure your organization’s success or if you are transitioning into a supervisory role, MAPS training seminars help you navigate the challenge.
If you are a working professional looking to develop and enhance sought-after management and leadership skills the Glenn College’s Certificate in Public & Nonprofit Leadership will provide you the knowledge to excel in your career and set you apart as a professional. The program is cohort-based and is structured to be completed in 14 weeks over 9-12 months. Course sessions are held at Ohio State's main campus two Fridays a month.
The Glenn College is ranked best in Ohio — a full 41 spots above the next highest ranked Ohio program — and 18th nationally among the 282 public affairs schools in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report. No other public affairs program in Ohio is ranked in the top 50 schools.
of our undergraduates are employed or are in graduate/professional school within six months of graduation.
of Glenn College MPA, In-Career MA and Dual degree graduates are employed or are in graduate school within six months of graduation.
Five of the Glenn College’s graduate specialties have been placed among the ranks of the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report.
Nonprofit Management (13th); Public Management and Leadership (19th); Urban Policy (19th); Public Policy Analysis (20th); Public Budgeting and Finance (26th).
Sam Malloy, a second year Glenn College MPA student is part of a three-person team that has won second place globally in the 2018 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition —the largest-ever student simulation competition in higher education. Malloy and his teammates — Kerry Edinger, University of Oregon, and Jil Heimensen, Portland State University — will each receive $500 from the University of Virginia's Batten School’s Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming (CLSG) and NASPAA.
Glenn College Distinguished Adjunct Professor Bill Shkurti and his coauthor Fran Stewart have released three reports on the state’s long-term economic performance and economic development that conclude in 12 questions about Ohio’s economy directed at the state’s candidates for governor. The purpose of this project is to help frame the debate for Ohio’s next governor by laying out the challenges facing Ohio’s economy and seeking candidates’ proposals for addressing them. Click here to read the papers. 
Trevor L. Brown will be the inaugural executive director of the newly created State of Ohio Leadership Institute (SOLI). Brown brings experience as an academic leader, public sector trainer and instructor, and consultant to many public organizations at the federal, state and local levels. He will combine his role as SOLI’s executive director with his position as the dean of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University where SOLI will be housed.
“It’s an honor to help launch the State of Ohio Leadership Institute,” said Brown. “My career has been devoted to preparing the next generation of public servants and leaders.”
SOLI’s mission and purpose are to provide programming and leadership training to Ohio’s state and local elected officials. With funding from the State of Ohio and contributions from the Ohio State University, the John Glenn College of Public Affairs governs SOLI’s operations. SOLI will offer residential leadership programs, in-person and online training workshops and modules, and symposia and conferences to elected officials throughout the State. SOLI will also help get young people involved in public service through internships with the Statehouse and other state and local offices.
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ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects for 2017 was recently released and in the category of public administration programs, the John Glenn College of Public Affairs was ranked as 19th best in the world.
Glenn College Professor Jos Raadschelders was part of a five-member panel of National Academy of Public Administration Fellows who conducted a study on how the federal government's civil service staffing challenges can best be addressed. The report, "No Time to Wait: Building a Public Service for the 21st Century" describes the current federal civil service system as "fundamentally broken." The panel recommends the federal government establish a new human capital system that provides agencies with the flexibility to effectively manage their missions. Click here to learn more.
The John Glenn College of Public Affairs is teaming up with the city of Columbus and Franklin County to research the reasons behind the county's alarmingly high rate of eviction.
United States Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis received the John Glenn College of Public Affairs' 2017 Excellence in Public Service Award for his commitment to citizenship and public leadership at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., June 20, 2017.
Mattis said he was humbled by the award. “It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s about public service. We’re trying to build a country here, and it’s never done.”
Dean Trevor Brown said the Excellence in Public Service Award has gone to many who have decorated resumes with a spirit of service over the years, but in the wake of Sen. John Glenn’s death, he wanted to find someone Glenn respected tremendously.
“There’s no question that Secretary Mattis is deserving of this award tonight,” he said. “This is in part the college’s way to fulfill its commitment to the senator — to bind someone he revered in his life to the life of the college.”
Mattis said John Glenn was a role model. “I do not have the words to fully express my admiration and respect for Lyn’s father, for Annie’s husband, for a man who did what he did,” he said. “We all need role models in this world. We all need them because they inspire us. They remind us that if we look at someone like this, we can always be better the next day. We all need a code and the role models we choose to remind us of what we can be in this country give us so many beautiful opportunities.
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