The MA – Financial Management is a two-year, part-time programme that combines study of subjects central to public management broadly with subjects that are specific to financial management in the Irish public sector. It seeks to raise the level of financial analysis in the public service and equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for effective financial management. On completing the first year of the programme, which covers subjects such as economics and human resource management, students receive the interim award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management. The second year of the course is divided into two semesters. In the first of these, students study three key topics in financial management, attending the IPA for weekend seminars. In the second, students write a dissertation on a specific financial management issue.
Year two will normally only commence in autumn of each year. Students that do not wish to take all three subjects in any particular semester may choose to study one or two on a phased basis.