Public Policy and Administration Major, MPPA

Public Policy and Administration Major, MPPA

The Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) degree with a major in Public Policy and Administration prepares students for careers in the public and not-for-profit sectors. After completing a common core of foundational courses, students specialize either in public management or public policy. The program consists of a total of 36 credit hours and includes a recommended internship. No thesis is required for the completion of the degree.

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, all students must submit acceptable scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general.

Requirements

The MPPA is a non-thesis program requiring 36 hours. Specific requirements include the following.

I. Foundations of Public Policy and Administration - 21 hours

Part A  (all four of the following courses are required)

POLS 550 Public Administration 
POLS 548 Public Policy Process 
POLS 560 Public Financial Administration 
POLS 562 Public Management 

Part B  (two of the following courses are required)

POLS 512 Quantitative Political Analysis 
POLS 513 Quantitative Political Analysis 
POLS 514 Research Design and Methodology in Public Administration 

Part C  (one of the following courses is required)

POLS 539 State and Local Government and Politics  
POLS 542 Legal Foundations of Public Administration 
POLS 558 The Politics of Administration 
POLS 566 Ethics, Values, and Morality in Public Administration 

II. Specialized Track - 9 hours

Students must choose either the Management track or one of the Policy tracks.

Management Track  (three of the following courses are required) 

POLS 539 State and Local Government and Politics 
POLS 542 Legal Foundations of Public Administration 
POLS 558 The Politics of Administration 
POLS 564 Human Resource Management in Public Organizations 
POLS 566 Ethics, Values, and Morality in Public Administration  
POLS 660 Contemporary Perspectives on Public Administration 
NOTE: With prior approval of the program director, students may use one course outside the department to meet this requirement.

General Policy Track  (three of the following courses are required)

POLS 549 Environmental Policy 
POLS 556 Policy Analysis 
POLS 581 Fundamentals of Planning 
POLS 654 Contemporary Public Policies 
NOTE: With prior approval of the program director, students may use one course outside the department to meet this requirement.

Global Security Policy Track  (three of the following courses are required)

POLS 556 Policy Analysis 
POLS 580 International Politics 
POLS 682 Theory and Analysis of U.S. Foreign Policy Processes 
POLS 684 International Law 
POLS 685 Conflict Processes 
POLS 686 Arms Control, Deterrence and Nuclear Nonproliferation 
NOTE: With prior approval of the program director, students may use one course outside the department to meet this requirement.

III. Internship - 6 hours

POLS 569 Internship in Public Administration 
NOTE: Although an internship is highly recommended, students may choose to take two additional approved courses in lieu of an internship. With prior approval, students may take these courses outside the department to meet this requirement.