Public Policy and Administration Major, MPPA

The MPPA program 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 degree consists of a total of 39 credit hours and includes a recommended internship. No thesis is required for completion of the degree.

Admission

Applicants for admission to the program must have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. An overall average of 3.0 and an average of 3.2 in the last two years of political science courses are required. In addition, a composite score of 302 on the verbal and quantitative parts of the GRE is desired.

Requirements

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

I. Foundations of Public Policy and Administration - 18 hours

Students must take all six of the following courses.

POLS 550 Public Administration 
POLS 512 Quantitative Political Analysis 
POLS 548 Public Policy Process 
POLS 560 Public Financial Administration 
POLS 566 Public Service Ethics and Values 
ECON 570 Economics of the Public Sector  

II. Specialized Track - 15 hours

Students must complete either the Public Management Track or the Public Policy Track.

A. Public Management Track  (Must complete the following three courses)

POLS 514 Research Design and Methodology in Public Administration 
POLS 542 Legal Foundations of Public Administration 
POLS 562 Public Management 

Must take two of the following courses*

POLS 539 State and Local Government and Politics 
POLS 543 Law, Regulation and Public Policy 
POLS 553 Non-Profit Management 
POLS 556 Policy Analysis 
POLS 558 The Politics of Administration 
POLS 564 Human Resource Management in Public Organizations 
POLS 581 Fundamentals of Planning 
*One course may be taken in another department with prior approval.

B. Public Policy Track  (Must complete one of the following courses)

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

Must complete two of the following courses

POLS 543 Law, Regulation and Public Policy 
POLS 556 Policy Analysis 
POLS 654 Contemporary Public Policies  

Students taking the Public Policy Track must complete the requirements in one of the following specialized areas.

1. Energy and Environment Specialization* (must complete two of the following courses)

POLS 549 Environmental Policy 
POLS 551 Energy Policy 
POLS 554 Sustainable Communities 
*One course may be taken in another department with prior approval.

2. Global Security Specialization*  (must complete two of the following courses)

POLS 571 Foundations of Security Studies 
POLS 573 War, Peace, and Grand Strategy 
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 
*One course may be taken in another department with prior approval.

3. Customized Policy Specialization

Must complete any two graduate courses in a particular policy area in Political Science or another      department with prior approval.

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. Students may take these courses outside the department to meet this requirement with the prior approval of the program director.