The Local Government Program’s Graduate Diploma in Public Administration is an interdisciplinary professional development program for mid-career managers who work in a local government environment. It is the only program of its kind in Canada. The program combines rigorous academic instruction with a hands-on, case-study approach. The objectives of the program are to: a) give students a broad-based, academically grounded understanding of the structure and operation of local government in Ontario and Canada; b) foster strong research, analytical, writing and verbal expression skills grounded in social science methods; and c) substantially enhance students’ ability to be effective, ethical, creative and strategic managers in local government. The program, which is usually taken on a part-time basis, consists of four courses: Advanced Local Government, Policy Process in Local Government, Organizational Behaviour, and Local Government Management. In addition, all students complete a final, Faculty-supervised independent Research Report of about 30 pages in length.