MPA Core Curriculum

The MPA program is designed to provide students with basic administrative skills that can be utilized in a variety of administrative careers.  it is based on a core curriculum of required public administration and quantitative analysis courses with a variety of related electives that will provide students with a choice of emphases depending upon career objectives.

Pre-service students are required to complete a 3 s.h. internship prior to the semester before graduation (approximately 300 hours of work.) This requirement may be waived if the student has substantial previous or current work experience in the public sector or non-profit employment. To have this requirement waived, the student must submit a request documenting the nature of this work experience to the MPA director.

The MPA curriculum has four major components: 

  • Core Curriculum (27 hours)
  • Electives (12 hours)
  • Internship for Pre-Service Students (3 hours)
  • MPA Professional Paper/Capstone (3 hours)

MPA Requirements

Core Public Administration Courses

PADM 6100 Politics and Management in Public Agencies (Fall)

PADM 6101 Analysis for the Public Sector (Fall)

PADM 6102 Quantitative Methods for Public Administration (P: PADM 6101; Spring)

PADM 6110 Human Resource Management in Public Agencies

PADM 6120 Public Budgeting and Finance

PADM 6161 Applied Policy Analysis (P: 6101 & 6102; Fall)

PADM 6220 Leadership and Ethics in the Public Sector

21 Credit Hours                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
Elective Courses (look for graduate certificates you can earn)
15 Credit Hours
Internship (for pre-service students)
3 Credit Hours
PADM 6900 MPA Professional Paper/Capstone 
3 Credit Hours
Total Semester Hours
39-42 Credit Hours

With permission, students can complete PADM 6898 or 6899 for a maximum of 6 s.h. of credit for independent study. These courses must be completed under the direction of a public administration professor in the Department of Political Science and are open only to students who have completed a minimum of 12 s.h. of coursework. Both the faculty adviser and the MPA director’s written approval are required prior to registration.

 

Graduate Certificate Programs

As noted, students have the opportunity to complete a graduate certificate program with their MPA electives. Students may have to take an additional course or two, beyond the 15 required elective hours, to complete a certificate. They should also review the requirements for the certificate to see if any of the courses have prerequisites, which could lengthen the duration of the program. The requirements for certificate programs MPA students have found of interest in the past are detailed in the Graduate Catalog, which is linked below.

Other electives

With approval, courses from other departments may be substituted or counted as elective hours. Please note that some courses may have pre-requisites that will not count toward the degree and may require permission from the offering program prior to registration.

Internship: 3 s.h.

Pre-service students seeking the MPA are required to complete a 3 s.h. internship in a local, state, federal, or approved not-for-profit agency (approximately 300 hours of work). Students with relevant work experience in excess of one year may apply to the director of the MPA program for exemption from this requirement. Students with existing relevant professional service will be asked to document those experiences prior to a final waiver being approved. Those students who are exempted from this requirement will complete 39 s.h. instead of 42 s.h. However, no academic credit will be awarded for work experience. Please see Appendix E for more information. For Guidelines for the Internship Program, See Appendix D.

MPA Professional Paper/Capstone – 3 s.h.

All students must enroll in PADM 6900 (P: 6101, 6102, & 6161) and complete an MPA professional paper in which they identify a public management problem or policy issue and develop a problem-resolution strategy. The completed paper must be presented to the MPA faculty and relevant stakeholders.