Public Administration, M.P.A.

Program Requirements

• Credit Hours: 36

Core Courses

• PUBA 600 Foundations of Public Sector Management and Leadership (3)
• PUBA 601 Research and Quantitative Methods for Public Administration (3)
• PUBA 602 Public Policy (3)
• PUBA 604 Managing Human Resources (3)
• PUBA 605 Managing Financial Resources (3)
• PUBA 701 Public Administration Capstone (3) *

Elective Requirement

Students must complete an additional 18 credit hours (pre-service students complete an internship plus 15 elective credit hours).  Given the interdisciplinary nature of the field, MPA students are encouraged to think broadly about their elective courses. 

Elective hours must be completed from PUBA coursework, ARCM coursework, or the approved elective courses below. In addition, with written permission of the MPA Director, students may apply to have no more than two elective courses outside the program, to count toward their elective credits.

• COMM 514 Social Media (3)
• COMM 540 Uses and Effects of Media (3)
• EVSS 549 Geographic Information Systems (4)

Internship

Pre-service students are required to complete to complete PUBA 777 Internship (3). To satisfy the requirement, students must work no fewer than 150 hours over the course of the semester for three hours of internship credit. Every internship requires a written agreement between the supervisor, student, and program director outlining the expectations of the internship. At the conclusion of the internship, both the student and the internship supervisor will be asked to evaluate the work and the overall experience. Students must also fulfill the academic expectations of the internship which are likely to require written reflection of their experiences in relation to public service competencies.

Students who are in-service or who have relevant prior work experience are exempted from the internship requirement by submitting their resume to the MPA Director for verification.

Transfer Credit Policy

All transfer credits (no more than twelve [12] hours) completed at other institutions must be approved by the director.