Nov 27, 2024  
2009-2011 Graduate Catalog 
    
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2009-2011 Graduate Catalog ARCHIVED CATALOG: CONTENT MAY NOT BE CURRENT. USE THE DROP DOWN ABOVE TO ACCESS THE CURRENT CATALOG.

Public Administration M.P.A.
 
The Master of Public Administration degree is designed to provide the public administrator with an understanding of the governmental and economic environment in which he or she must work. In addition to serving administrators in governmental organizations, the program is appropriate for career military personnel, nonprofit organization administrators, and those in the private sector especially Health Care Administration professionals whose responsibilities involve extensive contact with governmental agencies and public sector personnel.

Courses within the program are scheduled during the evenings and weekends to meet the needs of employed students. Graduates of the program will have an understanding of governmental structure and organizations, the essential principles of public management, and the theory and methods of research concerning public administration and the development of public policy. Graduate work in the program provides an awareness of the organizational contexts within which public sector administrators make and implement decisions, as well as training in the skills of administration and management. The M.P.A. is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (N.A.S.P.A.A.).

Admission Requirements

All applications for admission to the M.P.A. program are made to the Graduate College but are reviewed by the M.P.A. Admission’s Committee. The committee considers all training and preparation, general abilities, and previous experience.

An application form, and official transcripts of all college level work, must be submitted to the Graduate College.

In addition, the applicant should have:

  1. An earned bachelor’s degree in an acceptable field of undergraduate study.
  2. A GPA of at least 2.75 overall or 3.00 in the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate study.
  3. Satisfactory score on either the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)—combined score of at least 900 on the verbal and quantitative sections—or a comparable score on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). Applicants with an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 and five years of responsible administrative or professional work experience in the public or nonprofit sector need not submit GRE or GMAT scores. Applicants who have completed the department’s Graduate Certificate in Public Management with a GPA of 3.5 or higher need not submit GRE or GMAT scores. The GRE scores should be sent directly to the Department.
  4. At least one year of responsible administrative or management experience in a public agency or permission of the coordinator of the M.P.A. program.
  5. Three letters of reference sent to the Department.
  6. A resumé indicating educational and professional experience sent to the Department
  7. A personal statement describing how the MPA fits into the applicants professional goals.
  8. An official transcript from the college or university where the applicant received a bachelor’s degree should be sent to the Department.

Degree Requirements

The M.P.A. degree requires 36 credits of approved course work. For students without appropriate professional administrative experiences, the degree requires an internship and a total of 39 hours. All students entering the program should start with:
PUA 701 - Principles of Public Administration , a class designed to provide a general overview of the field. With this foundation, the student then embarks upon the rest of the program.

There are four main parts to the M.P.A. program: a core set of courses focusing on general administrative and management skills; a set of courses developing students’ analytical skills; a concentration developed through electives; and completion of a final project. Students enroll in:
PUA 791 - Topics in Administration  to complete their final project which is taken after completing either PUA 725 or PUA 726. The final project applies analytical skills to an issue of interest to a governmental or nonprofit agency and should be completed near the end of a student’s program of study.

All electives must be approved by the Director of the M.P.A. program in a concentration area.

In selecting courses to distribute over these four areas, the student will meet with an academic advisor and write a formal degree plan, which must have the approval of the M.P.A. coordinator. At least one course taken as an elective must be designated as a writing extensive.

Students must obtain a B average in order to graduate. A student can have no more than one grade less than a B-. It is assumed that students working full time and taking courses on a part-time basis can complete the M.P.A. program in two and one-half years of study.

General Program Structure - Total Credits: 12

Analytic Studies - Total Credits: 9

Electives - Total Credits: 9

Applied Analytical Project

M.P.A. with Non-Profit Management Concentration

Students interested in the Nonprofit concentration enroll in all of the courses listed in the Certificate program.