School of Public Administration

Program information, deadlines and application requirements

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School faculty and staff

The School of Public Administration welcomes all of our new and returning students who are developing skills that will positively impact government, communities, and organizations in BC, Canada, and all around the world. By embodying the values of integrity, engaged and courageous scholarship, sustainability, and inclusivity, we are grateful for your contribution to building a better world.

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hand offering diploma

Congratulations 2023 SPA Graduates

We wish you all the best in your next endeavor!

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Climate Plan

SPA supports Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities Regional Climate Plan

Land Acknowledgement

The School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria is situated on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish People. Our commitment as a School to build respectful relationships with the various Nations and diverse people, and to better respect our environment, creates an amazing momentum for contributing to social betterment. 

Our vision

The School of Public Administration develops creative thinkers and professionals who contribute a positive impact on the different orders of government, nonprofit organizations, and communities in British Columbia, in Canada, and around the world.

We work across disciplines and through our research, teaching, and engagement, and we contribute to collective action and democratic governance for a healthier and more sustainable world.

Our mission

Teaching: The School is dedicated to the training of public sector and community leaders. The School builds on its values, research, and interdisciplinary expertise to offer high quality education to its students. Our students are able to navigate complex settings and are capable of assessing whether and how programs and policies add value to society in a way that respects the broader public interest and ethics of their profession. We prepare our students to work with diverse parties in a challenging and rapidly evolving environment. We train inquisitive students to strategically speak truth to power with ethics and integrity. We offer transformative learning, knowledge, and experience.

Contribution to knowledge: The School contributes to cutting edge knowledge and is a resource to communities and to all orders of government. Our faculty members, who have different disciplinary backgrounds, are engaged in applied research relevant for analyzing and solving challenges of policy, management, government, and community. We are committed to a mutually supportive research culture and knowledge mobilization that includes collaboration with a broad range of actors including students, other universities, and practitioners.

Engagement: As engaged scholars, we develop and offer creative and even disruptive knowledge to better serve society. We work with communities, governments, and the nonprofit sector to advance connections, relationships, and meaningful action. We like to work on important contemporary challenges with diverse partners and beyond disciplinary boundaries. We value reciprocity in our work.

Our values

Integrity: We value all beings and the land, reciprocity, democracy, fairness, openness, honesty, accessibility, participation, accountability, and transparency.

Engaged and courageous scholarship: We value transformative and disruptive thinking, innovation, creativity, social justice, interdisciplinarity, and collaboration.

Sustainability: We value the building of healthy and sustainable communities and societies where each person has access to an environment that will support and sustain health and biodiversity.

Inclusivity: We value human rights, equity, and diversity, and a respectful and inclusive work, research, and teaching environment. Our work is grounded in the values of listening and honouring Indigenous cultures, knowledge and perspectives. We value different knowledge systems and ways of being.

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