Public Administration Major, MPA

The MPA program is intended to prepare students for public service careers by acquainting them with management principles, analytical tools, and the ethical dilemmas they will face as public administrators. It consists of a total of 39 hours, including a core program, an elective specialization and a recommended internship.

Admission
Applicants for admission to the program must have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Normally, an overall average of 3.0 and an average of 3.2 in the last two years of political science or social science courses are required. In addition, a composite score of 1100 on the verbal and quantitative parts of the GRE is desired.

Students must demonstrate proficiency in the use of software applications for the personal computer. This requirement can be fulfilled by achieving a satisfactory grade in POLS 596 . Exceptions to this requirement will be considered on an individual basis.

Requirements
The MPA is a non-thesis program requiring 39 hours. Specific requirements include the following.

• Core Curriculum (24 hours)
  
• General Perspectives (9 hours) – POLS 550 , POLS 552 , and one from POLS 442 , POLS 539 , POLS 540 , POLS 548 , POLS 558 , or POLS 566 . 
• Analytical skills (6 hours) – POLS 512 , POLS 514 . 
• Management skills (9 hours) – POLS 560  and two from POLS 556 , POLS 562 , POLS 564 . 
• Specialization (9 hours) – A specialization is designed by the student in consultation with the coordinator of the MPA program. Possible specializations include general government, public health, budgeting and finance, planning, natural resources, program evaluation, criminal justice, public relations, personnel, and others. 
• Recommended Internship (6 hours) – Internships are arranged in consultation with the coordinator of the MPA program. 
• Final Examination – A written final examination, which may be followed by an oral examination, is required.