Public Administration, MPA
36 credit hours
This degree is offered online.
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 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.
Admission to the MPA program requires students to meet the university graduate admissions requirements. Students must submit an online application, official transcripts showing a completed bachelor’s degree, transcripts for any coursework completed since their bachelor’s degree, a current resume, and letter of intent. Students may also be required to submit three letters of recommendation through the 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
Major Coursework
21 credit hours of coursework from the following options:
| 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 |
Research Design Coursework
3 credit hours of coursework from the following options:
Budgeting and Finance Coursework
3 credit hours of coursework from the following options:
| MPA 54500 | Policy and Budgetary Forecasting | 3 |
| MPA 56500 | State and Local Public Finance, Taxation and Auditing | 3 |
Accountability in Public Administration Coursework
3 credit hours of coursework from the following options:
| MPA 52500 | Government Institutions: Performance and Accountability | 3 |
| MPA 57500 | Legal Issues in Public Administration | 3 |
Elective Coursework
6 credit hours of coursework from the following options:
Note: Some elective options may have prerequisites that are not included in the list.