Dean’s Welcome Message

Welcome to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, home of the nation’s oldest, continuously operating professional degree in public administration, and – according to U.S. News & World Report -- America’s #1 ranked graduate school of public affairs.  

There are likely many reasons for our long record of success, but three stand out:

First, we offer a mix of advanced doctoral and professional masters programs like no other graduate school of public affairs, primarily because we serve both as the social science division of Syracuse University and as one of the leading graduate schools of public management and international affairs.  Housed within Maxwell are seven social science disciplinary departments, as well as nationally ranked professional master’s degree programs in public administration and international relations and the nation’s oldest interdisciplinary social science Ph.D. program.  Together with a network of eight research institutes, centers and programs, the School provides its nearly 900 graduate students with an unparalleled, multi-disciplinary academic experience.  The 200 graduate courses offered by Maxwell’s 150 full-time faculty members allow students to design a course of study that is uniquely suited to their individual interests and requirements.

Second, the Maxwell School has long been known as a place where an outstanding faculty “translates theory into practice.”  Through our scholarship, we develop and test social science and public management theory.  We have earned our reputation, however, through the highly focused application of theory towards the solution of societal and global problems.  Our faculty and our students, who come from more than 40 countries, are actively engaged in addressing the pressing issues in their communities and in the world at large, bringing to bear the knowledge and experience to be found in the social science disciplines resident in the School. 

Third, and perhaps most significantly, the Maxwell School has earned a reputation as an open and welcoming community of scholars and students.  Members of the faculty are accessible and engaged.  Students bond early and easily, and there are a number of highly active student organizations.  And, with so many disciplines and research programs, hardly a day goes by without a range of interesting lectures, seminars, films and colloquia from which to choose. 

Please explore our website to learn about our many degree programs and certificates of advanced study.  Prospective students will find information about admissions and financial aid; if you need more assistance, please contact directly the relevant department or program.  Alumni and friends will find useful and up-to-date information about activities and new initiatives underway at the Maxwell School. 

Please use our website to get to know us or to get reacquainted.   Then, if possible, please come pay us a visit.  As the School’s first alumnus dean, I know first-hand what a difference a Maxwell degree can make in one’s future career.  Come check us out!

Mitchel B. Wallerstein G’72

Dean
Professor of Political Science and Public Administration