Information for employers and sponsors of students

Why online professional development?

Professionalising public service delivery is at the forefront of the drive to modernise services and to provide value for money for those who pay for them.

The York Online Masters Programmes in Public Management provide:

  • challenging and relevant learning opportunities,
  • for people who work in UK and internationally-based organisations,
  • that are engaged in the development and delivery of public services,
  • at local, national and international levels.

If you, or your organisation, support the delivery of public services in any way, there is a York Online Masters Programme or subject-specific short course in Public Management that will equip you and your organisation to manage more strategically in what are increasingly challenging environments.

Each of our acclaimed Masters programmes:

is modular-based, focused specifically upon those subject areas that are important for organisational success and can be studied at Certificate, Diploma or Masters levels.

Subject Modules can be studied independently of the programmes either by individuals or by groups. Subject Modules offer a unique and cost effective training solution and can provide a commitment-free route to the wider programmes.

How does it work?

Online learning is efficient and effective. It has the unique capacity to facilitate the professional development of public service managers, who increasingly share common challenges that span organisational boundaries, through a collaborative approach to learning based upon real life problem solving. Online learning enables work and study to be combined and managed in tandem, with immediate benefits to both:

  • Insights, ideas, skills and good practice acquired through the programme can be directly applied at work.
  • Professional experience that participants share within the programme greatly enriches their studies.
  • Study can be undertaken at any time and place within the structure of the programme.
  • There is requirement to visit York or to take time away from work in order to study.

This approach to study enables greater benefits and value to be quickly realised – vital in a climate where value for money remains a key consideration.

Why choose York?

The University of York is one of the world’s top 100 universities, with an international reputation for teaching and research. These strengths are reflected in our Online Masters Programmes in Public Management, which currently deliver benefits to over 200 students working in UK local and central government, non-government and international organisations across 37 countries. The programmes have a strong tradition of international learning with our 91 alumni from 26 countries.

Supporting development of your staff

At York we recognise that individuals need to develop their professional competence alongside their busy working lives and that increasingly organisations are looking for more than generic management skill-sets within their workforce. The UK Professional Skills for Government Competency Framework, the Skills Strategy for Government, the Leitch report and numerous UK Governmental Capability Reviews have all highlighted the need for enhanced skills and professionalism in delivering effective public services.

Generic management skills are no longer sufficient, and neither are traditional approaches to learning. At York we have worked with our public sector partners to develop innovative online solutions for public management learning.

How much does it cost?

Fees are highly competitive and discounts are available for corporate clients. Please contact us for further details spsw-online@york.ac.uk.