Public Administration, MPA Online
36 credit hours
The Master of Public Administration (MPA) is offered online. All required and elective courses are available online, although they may not be offered every graduate session. Students and prospective students will work with an advisor who will help plan a schedule regarding courses, given the schedule of offerings.
The MPA is a professional graduate program that prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state, and federal/national government; the MPA is also useful if a student is interested in employment with an international organization or agency. Working in the public sector often requires skills that cannot be confined to a single discipline: the public sector and the private sector cross paths, and public officials need the skills of both to function effectively. Public administration is a blending of business administration, human services, and additional core topics covered in the required public administration courses and the MPA degree program is designed to educate students in the applications of inter-disciplinary skills needed in government operations.
The MPA degree program operates on a five-term calendar, meeting in the Fall I, Fall II, Spring I, Spring II, and Summer terms.
Admissions to the MPA program requires students to meet the University Graduate Admissions requirements. Students must complete an online application, official transcripts showing a completed bachelor’s degree and any coursework completed since completing their bachelor’s degree and submit a current resume, letter of intent. Students may also be required to submit letters of recommendation through the schools submission portal if their undergraduate GPA is below a 3.0. The admissions file will then be reviewed by the director of university admissions and MPA faculty.
Requirements
Core Curriculum
The following courses (21 credit hours) are required for all students completing the public administration degree:
| MPA 52000 | Public Administration: Principles, Applications and Ethics | 3 |
| MPA 53000 | Program-Implementation and Evaluation | 3 |
| MPA 54000 | Governmental Budgeting | 3 |
| MPA 55000 | Economic Analysis for Policy Makers | 3 |
| MPA 56000 | Public Finance and Taxation | 3 |
| MPA 57000 | Business-Government Environment | 3 |
| MPA 60000 | Capstone Course in Public Administration | 3 |
Students select one elective course (3 credit hours each) from each category below:
Category 1: Research design
Category 2: Budgeting and Finance
| MPA 54500 | Policy and Budgetary Forecasting | 3 |
| MPA 56500 | State and Local Public Finance, Taxation and Auditing | 3 |
Category 3: Accountability in Public Administration
| MPA 52500 | Government Institutions: Performance and Accountability | 3 |
| MPA 57500 | Legal Issues in Public Administration | 3 |
Students may choose remaining elective courses (six credit hours) from the list below:
MPA Elective Courses
MBA Elective Courses
Note: Some MBA elective options have specific prerequisites which may not be included in the list of MPA electives.
NPA Elective Courses
| NPA 50010 | Fundraising and Revenue Generation | 3 |
| NPA 50300 | Human Resource Management for Nonprofit Organizations | 3 |
| NPA 52000 | Program and Organizational Evaluation | 3 |
| NPA 55000 | Management of Nonprofit Organizations | 3 |
| NPA 56010 | Leadership Trends and Issues in Nonprofit Organizations | 3 |
| NPA 57000 | Organizational Behavior for Nonprofit Organizations | 3 |
| NPA 57110 | Grantwriting and Proposal Preparation | 3 |
| NPA 58000 | Nonprofit Budgeting and Financial Management | 3 |
| NPA 58100 | Strategic Planning & Performance Measurement for Nonprofit Management | 3 |
| NPA 58500 | Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations | 3 |
Note: Some NPA elective options may have prerequisites that are not included in the list of MPA electives.