Clinton School of Public Service

Real World Curriculum

The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service gives students the knowledge and experience to further their careers in the areas of nonprofit, governmental, volunteer, or private sector service.

While learning valuable lessons in the classroom, Clinton School students also complete “hands-on” public service projects, ranging from local work in Arkansas communities to international projects on all of the world’s six inhabited continents.

A two-year graduate program with a “real world” curriculum, the Clinton School is located on the grounds of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Ark. The school embodies former President Clinton’s vision of building leadership in civic engagement and enhancing people’s capacity to work across disciplinary, racial, ethnic, and geographical boundaries.

Clinton School Online offers the first-of-its-kind Executive Master of Public Service (EMPS) degree, a two-year, 36-hour program offered entirely online, giving mid-career professionals the enhanced knowledge, skills and network they need to advance their careers without relocating or disrupting their personal lives. Clinton School Online is a distance program, entirely formatted through online courses. Grounded in critical analysis and the formulation of program and policy options, the online program teaches students to build stronger communities by understanding, engaging, and transforming complex systems to ensure equity and create positive social change.

Clinton School students come from many different backgrounds, with public service interests and experience ranging from Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and military veterans to medical, business, and nonprofit professionals. Whether your passion is education policy, health care, legal issues, corporate responsibility, the environment, or the fight against poverty and hunger, the Clinton School can give you the skills and experiences necessary to make a difference.

Clinton School students also benefit from participating in the school’s renowned public lecture series, which features leaders in government, politics, business, foreign policy, journalism and philanthropy addressing issues in public service. Whether discussing education policy with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, reviewing foreign affairs with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright or learning about starting a philanthropic business from TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, Clinton School students interact with many of the most influential public servants in the world.

With its exciting curriculum and diverse public programs, the Clinton School is committed to making a global impact through training the next generation of public servants.

A Member of the University of Arkansas System

The Clinton School was established by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees on January 29, 2004, as a new academic institution within the University of Arkansas System. The Master of Public Service degree program is accredited through a consortium of the three largest graduate campuses within the system: the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Each campus brings a wealth of resources to the partnership, including a history of scholarship and academic integrity, with specialty faculties that provide an instant infusion of excellence into the UACS teaching program. Additionally, the Clinton School offers concurrent degree programs and elective course offerings through its partners in the system.