HSE Public Administration Programmes Become the First in Russia to Receive International Recognition

HSE BA and MA programmes in public administration have received European accreditation by the EAPAA.

The European Association for Public Administration Accreditation has accredited HSE BA and MA programmes in public administration for 7 years. The EAPAA is member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and the European Alliance for Subject-Specific and Professional Accreditation an Quality Assurance (EASPA). Programmes offered by the following universities are among those to have been EAPAA accredited: Universität Potsdam, Corvinus Universität Budapest, Erasmus University, Universität Tilburg, and several other famous European universities.

The decision on accreditation was taken in late August at an EAPAA Accreditation Committee meeting in Milan. This is the first and only time that Russian programmes in public administration have received  international recognition at this level, which testifies to their quality and compliance with European standards regarding content, organization, teaching methods, staff qualification, and many other criteria and requirements.

‘Preparation for accreditation took over a year. It involved almost all teachers, study office staff and a lot of students,’ says Andrey Klimenko, Head of the School of Public Administration. EAPAA experts analyzed the structure and quality of BA and MA programmes, the results achieved over the last 5 years, contents and teaching methods, students’ knowledge, and employers and alumni assessed the quality of training offered under these programmes.

Students who graduate from an accredited programme gain competitive advantages when applying for jobs in the programme field, or when pursuing their academic career further at an international level.

‘European accreditation of public administration programmes is the most prestigious in the world, along with NASPAA accreditation (USA). The programmes accredited at such a high international level gain a certain prestige among programmes in public administration. There are not many programmes like this in Europe at the moment: about 50 at MA level and 10 at BA level. Strong exchange communications based on the international recognition of course quality are established among these programmes,’ says Alexey Barabashev, Academic Supervisor of the School of Public Administration.

‘When applying for a job in organizations that cooperate with international partners, employers often take into account not only the successful completion of a higher education programme, but also the presence of appropriate accreditation,’ says Vadim Prokofiev, Academic Supervisor of the BA programme in Public Administration. ‘Thus, we are expanding employment opportunities and international academic mobility for our graduates.’

This international accreditation also sends a signal to international researchers, encouraging them to give lectures at HSE.

‘In Europe there are hundreds of MA programmes in public administration, but not all of them have received ЕАРАА international accreditation, like our programme, which is the first public administration programme to receive this accreditation,' says Nikolai Klishch, Academic Superviser of the MA programme in  Public Administration. ‘This means that the level of education in this area at HSE exceeds that on offer in many European universities’.

This accreditation expands opportunities for international cooperation and further facilitates the conclusion of partnership agreements — from student exchange and credit system to establishing joint double degree programmes.

EAPAA Сertificate for HSE bachelor’s programme in public administration
EAPAA Сertificate for HSE master’s programme in public administration