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. 

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. 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. The GRE requirement can be waived if the applicant earned a 3.25 overall undergraduate GPA or has previously earned a graduate degree, from an accredited university.
4. A letter expressing interest and motivation for pursuing the degree should be submitted.
5. A course in research methods is recommended before admission.

MPA Degree Requirements

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

Core Curriculum (24 hours required)

MANA 5320	Organizational Behavior
PADM 5331	Information Systems in Public Administration
PADM 5332	Public Budgeting and Finance
PADM 5336	Administrative Ethics
PADM 5350	Seminar in Human Resources Management (Same as MANA 5350)
PADM 5396	Research Methods
PADM 5397	Advanced Social Science Analysis
PADM 5353	Public Administration Capstone Seminar

Area of Concentration (12 hours)

The MPA program offers 3 areas of concentration: criminal justice, municipal management, and non-profit management.

Criminal Justice

CRIJ 5302	Judicial Policy and Social Process
CRIJ 5303	Contemporary Criminological Theory
CRIJ 5307	Criminal Justice Policy
CRIJ 5313	Contemporary Issues in Corrections
	or
CRIJ 5332	Law Enforcement: Environment and Practice

Local Government

PADM 5307	Metropolitan Problems
PADM 5339	Urban and Regional Planning
PADM 5385	Studies in Demography
PADM 5308	Local Government Management
	or
PADM 5309	Public Sector Grant Writing

Non-profit

PADM 5307	Metropolitan Problems
PADM 5312	Non-Profit Management
PADM 5309	Public Sector Grant Writing
PADM 5313	Strategic Planning for Non-Profit

Graduation Requirements

All candidates for the Master of Public Administration degree 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.