Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Students enter the MPA at all different points in their lives. Some students enter directly out of college, looking to fine-tune their skills and jump-start their careers. More experienced students recognize the importance of professional education to position themselves for career advancement. Still others are looking to change careers. All are students committed to important issues of public interest.

We make it easy for students to fit the MPA program into their lives by providing options. Students can work toward their MPA full-time, part-time, or only on weekends in our Executive MPA program. The MPA program is a 42 to 45-credit program. The three-credit difference is due to an Internship that is required for those students who have limited work experience. Your faculty advisor will decide if you will be required to do an internship or not. Each evening class meets one day a week from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. Afternoon classes are from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. There are also a few Saturday classes available, although it is not possible to complete the MPA degree program by taking only Saturday courses, unlike the Executive MPA program which meets only on Saturdays.

Sample Schedule for Part-time students
Sample Schedule for Full-time students

Specializations
Nonprofit Administration
Policy Analysis and Evaluation
Public Management
Health Care Policy

The Curriculum
The School of Public Affairs MPA program features a comprehensive, integrated curriculum designed to meet the needs of students and employers in an environment that is undergoing profound change. The heart of the MPA program is a set of seven core courses. Taken at the onset of the program, the core continues to thread through the rest of the curriculum, giving you the solid foundation and tools necessary to excel. These core courses make up 21 out of the 42-45 credits required for the program. MPA students are also required to take 6 elective courses in their program of study. These courses should be selected in consultation with the faculty advisor who is assigned to you when you enter the program.

A specialization is not required inorder to complete the MPA program. Students can choose not to specialize and would then take any six electives that they choose, in consultation with an advisor. The MPA program is the same number of credits whether a student chooses to specialize or not.

If you are following one of the Specialization tracks, there are certain elective courses that you must take, depending on the track. If you do not choose a track, you can choose electives from the variety of Non-profit, Public Management, Policy Analysis and Health Care Policy courses we offer, thereby creating your own mix. Students may also take a limited amount of courses outside the School of Public Affairs and use them as electives in the MPA with your faculty advisors permission and if other relevant criteria are met.

Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society
Every spring, a select group of students is inducted into the Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA) Honor Society for Public Affairs & Administration. To qualify, students must have completed at least 21 credits of the MPA program and must have a minimum GPA of a 3.7. An application and invitation to apply are mailed in the spring semester to qualifying students. Click here to see the list of 2007 PAA Inductees.

Special Courses – The School of Public Affairs offers PAF 9199 courses, which are “Selected Topics” courses that are offered every semester with varying topics each time. There are a great variety of topics from Homelessness to Leadership Strategies to Housing and Urban Policy. MPA students may take more than one PAF 9199 for elective credit towards their MPA. All PAF 9199 courses are 3-credit courses. The school also offers 1-credit workshops with varying topics every semester. MPA students can take up to three 1-credit workshops to count towards the MPA elective requirements.