Public Administration

Public administration is the implementation of government policy and also an academic discipline that studies this implementation and prepares civil servants for working in the public service. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" whose fundamental goal is to "advance management and policies so that government can function". Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are: "the management of public programs"; the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day"; and "the study of government decision making, the analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies."

Public administration is "centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programs as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct". Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators, including heads of city, county, regional, state and federal departments such as municipal budget directors, human resources (HR) administrators, city managers, census managers, state mental health directors, and cabinet secretaries. Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government.

In the United States, civil servants and academics such as Woodrow Wilson promoted civil service reform in the 1880s, moving public administration into academia. However, "until the mid-20th century and the dissemination of the German sociologist Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy" there was not "much interest in a theory of public administration". The field is multidisciplinary in character; one of the various proposals for public administration's sub-fields sets out six pillars, including human resources, organizational theory, policy analysis, statistics, budgeting, and ethics.

* Description and images provided by Wikipedia under CC-BY-SA 3.0 license .

Scholarships for Public Administration Majors

Bullet name award deadline Link
 

Ohio LSC Legislative Fellowship

Ohio Legislative Service Commission

$42,000 Varies See Details

Description

The Ohio LSC Legislative Fellowship is available to college seniors who wish to gain practical experience in the legislative process. Duties may include handling constituent inquiries, writing (newsletter articles, press releases, letters, speeches, etc.), and general administrative duties.

View Scholarship Details
 

Ohio LSC Legislative Fellowship

Ohio Legislative Service Commission

award

$42,000

deadline

Varies
See Details

Description

The Ohio LSC Legislative Fellowship is available to college seniors who wish to gain practical experience in the legislative process. Duties may include handling constituent inquiries, writing (newsletter articles, press releases, letters, speeches, etc.), and general administrative duties.

View Scholarship Details
 

PIRG Fellowship

National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups

$25,500 Varies See Details

Description

The PIRG Fellowship is available to recent college graduates who are interested in the public interest movement. As a PIRG Fellow, you will build expertise on global warming, campaign reform, or another social problem. You will conduct research, make the case for solutions, act as a spokesperson to the media, build diverse coalitions, write...

View Scholarship Details
 

PIRG Fellowship

National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups

award

$25,500

deadline

Varies
See Details

Description

The PIRG Fellowship is available to recent college graduates who are interested in the public interest movement. As a PIRG Fellow, you will build expertise on global warming, campaign reform, or another social problem. You will conduct research, make the case for solutions, act as a spokesperson to the media, build diverse coalitions, write...

View Scholarship Details
 

Sturgis Fellowship

University of Arkansas

$20,000 February 01, 2026 See Details

Description

The Sturgis Fellowship is available to incoming freshmen who plan on majoring in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. You must demonstrate exceptional academic performance to be considered for this renewable award. In addition, you must have a minimum 30 ACT/1320 SAT score and a minimum 3.8 GPA to be...

View Scholarship Details
 

Sturgis Fellowship

University of Arkansas

award

$20,000

deadline

February 01, 2026
See Details

Description

The Sturgis Fellowship is available to incoming freshmen who plan on majoring in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. You must demonstrate exceptional academic performance to be considered for this renewable award. In addition, you must have a minimum 30 ACT/1320 SAT score and a minimum 3.8 GPA to be...

View Scholarship Details
 

UNCF/CVS Health Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship

UNCF, Inc

$10,000 May 15, 2025 See Details

Description

The UNCF/CVS Health Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship is available to full-time, junior-level undergraduate students who identify as African American/Black or Latino/a/e. To be considered for this renewable award, you must be majoring in pharmacy, nursing, business management, biology, biochemistry, finance, operations/supply chain,...

View Scholarship Details
 

UNCF/CVS Health Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship

UNCF, Inc

award

$10,000

deadline

May 15, 2025
See Details

Description

The UNCF/CVS Health Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship is available to full-time, junior-level undergraduate students who identify as African American/Black or Latino/a/e. To be considered for this renewable award, you must be majoring in pharmacy, nursing, business management, biology, biochemistry, finance, operations/supply chain,...

View Scholarship Details
 

Herbert Roback Scholarship

National Academy of Public Administration

Up to $7,500 May 31, 2025 See Details

Description

The Herbert Roback Scholarship is available to full - time graduate students enrolled in a master's degree program in public administration, public and international affairs, or political science. To be eligible, you must be attending the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, Brandeis University, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton...

View Scholarship Details
 

Herbert Roback Scholarship

National Academy of Public Administration

award

Up to $7,500

deadline

May 31, 2025
See Details

Description

The Herbert Roback Scholarship is available to full - time graduate students enrolled in a master's degree program in public administration, public and international affairs, or political science. To be eligible, you must be attending the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, Brandeis University, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton...

View Scholarship Details
 

Mat-Su Health Foundation Vocational Scholarship

Mat-Su Health Foundation

Up to $5,000 Varies See Details

Description

The Mat-Su Health Foundation Vocational Scholarship is available to students who have been a resident within the Mat-Su Borough of Alaska for a minimum of one year. To be considered for this award, you must be pursuing studies in health and human services at a vocational/technical school and be a U.S. citizen/permanent resident.

View Scholarship Details
 

Mat-Su Health Foundation Vocational Scholarship

Mat-Su Health Foundation

award

Up to $5,000

deadline

Varies
See Details

Description

The Mat-Su Health Foundation Vocational Scholarship is available to students who have been a resident within the Mat-Su Borough of Alaska for a minimum of one year. To be considered for this award, you must be pursuing studies in health and human services at a vocational/technical school and be a U.S. citizen/permanent resident.

View Scholarship Details
 

Feinstein Scholarship

Providence College

Up to $5,000 Varies See Details

Description

The Feinstein Scholarship is available to students majoring in public and community service studies at Providence College. You must demonstrate a significant contribution to community service, a proven record of community involvement and a strong academic record to be considered for this award.

View Scholarship Details
 

Feinstein Scholarship

Providence College

award

Up to $5,000

deadline

Varies
See Details

Description

The Feinstein Scholarship is available to students majoring in public and community service studies at Providence College. You must demonstrate a significant contribution to community service, a proven record of community involvement and a strong academic record to be considered for this award.

View Scholarship Details
 

Frank L. Roberts Community Service Endowed Scholarship

Portland State University - School of Urban and Public Affairs

Up to $5,000 May 15, 2025 See Details

Description

The Frank L. Roberts Community Service Endowed Scholarship is available to graduate students at Portland State University-College of Urban and Public Affairs whose activities reflect the importance of civic responsibility either through career choice or desire to use higher education to achieve specific goals shared by a community.

View Scholarship Details
 

Frank L. Roberts Community Service Endowed Scholarship

Portland State University - School of Urban and Public Affairs

award

Up to $5,000

deadline

May 15, 2025
See Details

Description

The Frank L. Roberts Community Service Endowed Scholarship is available to graduate students at Portland State University-College of Urban and Public Affairs whose activities reflect the importance of civic responsibility either through career choice or desire to use higher education to achieve specific goals shared by a community.

View Scholarship Details
 

Carl Abbott Fellowship

Portland State University - School of Urban and Public Affairs

Up to $5,000 May 15, 2025 See Details

Description

The Carl Abbott Fellowship is available to doctoral students at Portland State University-College of Urban and Public Affairs.

View Scholarship Details
 

Carl Abbott Fellowship

Portland State University - School of Urban and Public Affairs

award

Up to $5,000

deadline

May 15, 2025
See Details

Description

The Carl Abbott Fellowship is available to doctoral students at Portland State University-College of Urban and Public Affairs.

View Scholarship Details
 

Ruth Segal Scholarship

Out of Home Advertising Association of America, Inc. (OAAA)

$5,000 June 02, 2025 See Details

Description

The Ruth Segal Scholarship is available to undergraduate and graduate students. You must be studying government affairs, urban affairs, public affairs, or political science to be eligible for this award.

View Scholarship Details
 

Ruth Segal Scholarship

Out of Home Advertising Association of America, Inc. (OAAA)

award

$5,000

deadline

June 02, 2025
See Details

Description

The Ruth Segal Scholarship is available to undergraduate and graduate students. You must be studying government affairs, urban affairs, public affairs, or political science to be eligible for this award.

View Scholarship Details