Journal of Public Affairs Education 541 Social Network Analysis (SNA) Applications in Evaluating MPA Classes Naim Kapucu, Farhod Yuldashev, and Fatih Demiroz University of Central Florida Tolga Arslan University of Georgia–Athens Abstract This paper examines how social network analysis (SNA) methods and tools can be used to evaluate instruction and teaching methods in an MPA program. With a unique way of collecting and analyzing data—both statistically and visually— SNA tools enable public affairs educators to (a) identify patterns of interaction among students, (b) identify characteristics of student friendships and advice networks, (c) design teaching methods and interventions to facilitate student interaction, and (d) develop students’ interpersonal skills so they can learn in collaborative environments. The case study in this paper provides an example of how SNA was used to evaluate changes in student interactions and collaborative learning during an MPA class at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Social network analysis (SNA) is a unique methodology with its own version of data collection, statistical analysis, and presentation of the results. Its most important tenet is that it enables researchers, practitioners, and educators to see how “actors are located or ‘embedded’ in the overall network” (Hanneman, 2001, p. 3). This way of thinking creates an advantage of multilevel analysis. Its methodology enables the analysis of relationships between individuals, groups, teams, cliques, agencies, and organizations. Thus, most of the time, a net- work analyst would be concerned with how an actor is located in the network and how that very structure is created by the relationships among those actors (Hanneman, 2001; Provan, Veazie, Staten, & Teufel-Shone, 2005). With the increase of network-related research and its applications, several analysis tools were developed to examine social network dynamics (STOCNET, VISONE, JPAE, 16 (4), 541–563