The Master of Public Policy and Administration (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 graduate credit hours and includes a recommended internship. No thesis is required for completion of the degree.
Campus Code
Knoxville Campus
Options Available
Course Only with Comprehensive Exams
Admissions Standards/Procedures
- Applicants for admission to the program must have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
- An overall average of 3.00 and an average of 3.20 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.
Credit Hours Required
39 graduate credit hours
Required Courses
- Students must take all six of the following courses.
- POLS 550
- POLS 512
- POLS 548
- POLS 560
- POLS 566
- ECON 570
- POLS 569 (6 credit hours)
- 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.
Additional Course Requirements
Public Management Track
- Must complete the following three courses)
- Must take two of the following courses
Public Policy Track
- Must complete one of the following courses
- Must complete two of the following courses
- Complete the requirements in one of the following specialized areas.
- Energy and Environment Specialization, must complete two of the following courses
- Global Security Specialization, must complete two of the following courses
- Customized Policy Specialization
- Must complete any two graduate courses in a particular policy area in Political Science or another department with prior approval.
Non-Course Requirements
- Comprehensive Examination
- The comprehensive examination is typically a measure of the student’s ability to integrate material in the major and related fields.
- Academic units determine the appropriate venue for the comprehensive examination.
- The exam should be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the examination.
- The results of the comprehensive exam must be submitted to the Graduate School.
- In case of failure, the candidate may not apply for reexamination until the following semester. The result of the second examination is final.
Five-Year BA/MPPA Program – Public Policy and Administration Major, MPPA
For qualified students, the Department of Political Science offers a 5-year BA-MPPA program with a BA major in Political Science and a non-thesis MPPA major in Public Policy and Administration. The primary component of the program is that a qualified student may take up to 9 credit hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both the BA degree and the MPPA degree. Students are typically considered for conditional admission to the program during, or immediately following, their third year of undergraduate study at UT.
To be considered for conditional admission to the program:
- A student must be a declared Political Science major with a minimum GPA of 3.40, must have completed at least 15 credit hours of course work in Political Science, and must have completed at least 90 credit hours of the 120 credit hours of coursework required for the BA degree with a major in Political Science.
- A student must provide three letters of recommendation and complete a personal interview with the Department of Political Science.
Applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to have completed ECON 201, POLS 240, and POLS 201. The Department may consider other relevant factors such as an applicant’s work experience and level of maturity before conditionally admitting a student to the BA-MPPA program.
Conditional admission of a student into the 5-year BA-MPPA program must be obtained before taking a graduate course that is to be used to satisfy the requirements of both the BA degree and the MPPA degree. Students will be informed of the outcome of their application for conditional admission prior to the beginning of their fourth year of undergraduate study.
A student who is conditionally admitted to the BA-MPPA program may, during his or her fourth year of undergraduate study, complete up to 9 credit hours of graduate credit that count towards the BA and towards the MPPA requirements, provided that these graduate credit hours were approved both by the Department head (or designee) and by the Graduate School prior to satisfying all requirements for the BA degree.
Conditional admission into the BA-MPPA program does not guarantee acceptance into either the Graduate School or the MPPA program. Students who have been conditionally admitted to the BA-MPPA program must apply for admission to the Graduate School and to the MPPA program during their fourth year of undergraduate study, following the standard application procedure. A GRE score must be submitted as part of the application for admission into any graduate program in the Department of Political Science. Students will be fully admitted to the BA-MPPA program after they have been accepted both by the Graduate School and by the MPPA program.
Once fully admitted to the MPPA program, BA-MPPA students are required to complete the standard curriculum for the MPPA program.
A student will not be eligible for a graduate assistantship until the student has satisfied all of the requirements for the BA degree.
