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Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration degree is a professional course of study for persons in, or preparing for, mid-level or upper-level management positions in public and nonprofit organizations. The program emphasizes the theoretical, practical, and analytical abilities required of persons holding responsible public positions. Centered in the Department of Social Sciences, it also permits the incorporation of specialized fields of interest such as general administration, criminal justice, urban and regional planning, research and evaluation, and health care administration.

The program has two tracks/concentrations: The Generalist MPA and Executive Health Care Administration 

Admission Requirements

  1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
  2. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4 point scale on the last 60 hours of undergraduate and/or graduate coursework. Candidates with advanced degrees will be given preference.
  3. For applicants to the Generalist track:
    1. Three years of full-time employment in a public or non-profit organization is required. A curriculum vita should be submitted to document employment in a public or non-profit organization. A satisfactory score on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) may be substituted for the employment requirement in the Generalist track.
    2. A letter expressing interest and motivation for pursuing the degree should be submitted; and an interview may be required
    3. A course in research methods is recommended before admission to that track
  4. In addition to requirements 1. and 2., applicants to the Health Care Administration track must have at least three years of full-time employment in a health care profession. They must also submit:
    1. An Applicant Information Sheet 
    2. A 300 word written essay
    3. A resume’ 
    4. Three letters of recommendation; preferably one from a supervisor

      An on–campus interview with the Director of the Health Care Administration track or other designated faculty member is also required.
  5. Consideration is also given to one or more of the following: the applicant’s demonstrated commitment to his or her chosen field of study, socioeconomic background, first generation college graduate, multilingual proficiency, geographic region of residence, and level of responsibility in other matters including extracurricular activities, employment, community service, and family responsibilities.

MPA Generalist Concentration Degree Requirements

Each candidate for the degree must satisfactorily complete 36 hours of course work as indicated:

Core Curriculum (21 hours required)

MANA 5320Organizational Behavior
PADM 5331Information Systems in Public Administration
PADM 5332Public Budgeting and Finance
PADM 5336Administrative Ethics
MANA 5350Strategic Human Resources Management
PADM 5396Research Methods
PADM 5353Public Administration Capstone Seminar

Area of Concentration (9 hours)

The MPA program offers 5 areas of concentration: general administration, criminal justice, urban and regional planning, research and evaluation, and health care administration.

General Administration (9 hrs.):

3 hours selected from the following courses:

PADM 5335Topics in Policy Analysis
PADM 5338Program Evaluation
PADM 5397Advanced Social Science Analysis

6 additional hours in appropriate graduate courses in public administration, economics, geography, political science, and sociology. To be decided with the consent of the MPA coordinator.

Criminal Justice (9 hrs.):

CRIJ 5303Contemporary Criminological Theory
6 additional graduate hours in criminal justice

Urban and Regional Planning (9 hrs.):

GEOG 5330Geographic Information Systems
PADM 5339Urban and Regional Planning
SOCI 5307Seminar in Metropolitan Problems
SOCI 5385Studies In Demography

Research and Evaluation (9 hrs.):

PADM 5335Topics in Policy Analysis
PADM 5338Program Evaluation
PADM 5397Advanced Social Science Analysis

Health Care Administration (9 hrs.):

PADM 5344Health Policy and Politics
6 hours to be selected from the following courses:
ALHS 5350Public Health Administration
ECON 5340Economics of Public Policy
MANA 5320Organizational Behavior
PADM 5338Program Evaluation
HECC 5370Ethics
or
NURS 5308Contemporary Healthcare Ethics

ECON 5340: has economics prerequisites

Electives (6 hours)

To be chosen with the consent of MPA Coordinator to strengthen students’ programs and might emphasize either substantive content or skill development. Students without previous agency experience may elect to take an additional 6 hours of internship. Internship credit must be in addition to the 36 hour degree requirement.

Graduation Requirements

All candidates for the Master of Public Administration degree Generalist Track must also meet the following requirements:

  1. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 basis) on all work taken for graduate credit. No course with a grade below “C” may be applied toward this degree.
  2. A grade of no lower than "B" in the capstone course.

Executive Health Care Administration MPA Degree Requirements

The Executive Health Care (EHCA) concentration is designed for working members of the healthcare community. The program is taught using the "hybrid" model with one week of concentrated on-site instruction in Tyler and additional requirements to be met online using Blackboard course management system. Courses are taught by expert visiting faculty from around the country.

The EHCA program requires 36 semester credit hours. Students take three courses (nine credit hours) per semester and complete the degree in three regular semesters plus one summer session at the end of the program. The EHCA concentration is tightly sequenced and each cohort is admitted once a year in the Fall semester. A student who misses a course will be required to wait for the next cohort.

Each candidate for the degree must satisfactorily complete 36 hours of course work as indicated:

Core Curriculum (9 hours required)

PADM 5332Public Budgeting and Finance
PADM 5350Seminar in Human Resources Management (Same as MANA 5350)
PADM 5335Topics in Policy Analysis

Health Care Concentration (27 hours)

EHCA 5360Introduction to the American Healthcare System
EHCA 5361Healthcare Accounting
EHCA 5363Healthcare Negotiation and Communication
EHCA 5365Managerial Epidemiology
EHCA 5366Healthcare Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing
EHCA 5367Biostatistics
EHCA 5368Strategic Planning for Health Care
EHCA 5370Health Economics
EHCA 5371Health Services Capstone

Graduation Requirements

All candidates for the Executive Health Care Administration concentration must also meet the following requirements:

  1. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 basis) on all work taken for graduate credit. No course with a grade below “C” may be applied toward this degree.
  2. Satisfactory performance on the final project and oral defense of the project in EHCA 5371: Healthcare Capstone. Any student who fails the oral component may, upon recommendation of the Graduate Coordinator, be granted permission to take a second examination. Upon failing the second examination, the student will be dropped from the program.