Master of Public Administration

Admission Requirements

The student must apply to and meet all criteria for admission to the Graduate School. In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, the student must comply with departmental requirements. Students may enroll in the MPA program by applying to one of the participating universities. Acceptance by any one of the three universities admits a student into the MPA program. A matriculated student should complete graduate studies at the institution that offers the area of specialization that she/he wishes to emphasize. Each student’s program will be established by an advisory committee consisting of three faculty members. It is anticipated that students will come from widely differing academic preparations, since no specific undergraduate program is required in preparation for the MPA program. However, some course work in humanities and social sciences is essential to the foundation of the MPA program for all students.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, students seeking admission must have completed a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution, demonstrate satisfactory academic competency by attaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in upper-division undergraduate course work, or a 3.5 GPA in previous graduate courses, submit three letters of recommendation from individuals who are qualified to evaluate the applicant’s academic potential, and submit a statement of the student’s personal goals. The letters and statement of goals will be weighted equally with the applicant’s GPA. Please contact the Department for specific guidelines for letters of recommendation and statement of goals.

The program employs an admission scoring system that awards MPA applicants points based on the evaluation and scoring of four components:

1. upper-division undergraduate GPA or GPA in an M.A. program;
2. the quality of letters of recommendation; and
3. the quality of the applicant’s goal statement.

General Requirements

The MPA degree may be achieved through the completion of at least 36 semester credit hours of approved course work with an additional 3 credits of public service internship for students who are not mid-career. The internship requirement may be waived for students who have substantial professional work experience in public service or the not-for-profit sector. The MPA director will determine if a student’s experience is substantial, and if so, can approve waiver of the internship requirement. Twenty-four credit hours must be completed in courses selected from prescribed “core areas” with 12 additional credit hours completed in designated optional areas of emphasis. Students may follow a thesis or non-thesis option in pursuing the MPA. Students choosing to write a thesis (POLS 6650 - 6 credits) do so in addition to normal MPA course work and internship requirements. Students must have completed 21 credit hours of core course work before taking the Capstone in Public Administration course. Those following the thesis option will complete an oral examination covering the thesis and program course work. The academic program of each student must satisfy the general requirements of an integrated program designed to meet career objectives of the student in public administration.

Interdisciplinary Specialized Area in Criminal Justice

For the specialized area in Criminal Justice, students need to take the 9 core courses (27 credits) and three credits of internship (for students without career experience) required for the MPA program and take an additional 12 credits from the courses listed below to fulfill the elective requirements. The specialized area is an interdisciplinary curriculum shared between the Department of Political Science and the Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. Other courses appropriate to the Criminal Justice emphasis may be offered by both departments and can be taken by the student with permission of the MPA advisor.