Orientation program

All MPA students must attend a department sponsored orientation program before the first fall term they enroll in classes as a matriculated student.

MPA core courses (24 credits)

All students must complete the following core curriculum component of the degree program:

• POLI 501 - Foundations of Public Administration
• POLI 514 - Organizational Planning and Assessment

• or POLI 516 - Techniques of Policy Analysis 

• POLI 515 - Data Analysis and Presentation for Public Administration
• POLI 518 - Public Policy for Public Administration
• POLI 521 - Public Finance
• POLI 531 - Leadership in Human Resource Management
• POLI 532 - Organizational Theory and Behavior for Public and Nonprofit Institutions
• POLI 591 - Capstone Seminar in Public Administration

Electives (15 credits) *

• * As part of the required credits in electives, each student must take three one-credit professional development modules, selected from the following: 
   

• POLI 504 - Basic Quantitative Skills for Public Management
• POLI 506 - Public Administration Training Module
• POLI 517 - Basics of Survey Research for Public Administration
• POLI 519 - GIS Basics
• POLI 520 - Information Technology Security
• POLI 522 - Social Media in Public Administration
• POLI 541 - Legislative-Executive Relations
• POLI 542 - Administrative Law and Regulation
• POLI 580 - Administrative Law in Public Administration
• POLI 581 - Introduction to Certified Public Management
• POLI 582 - Change Management
• POLI 583 - Conflict Resolution and Negotiation in Public Management
• POLI 584 - Managing Human Resources in Public and Nonprofit Leadership
• POLI 585 - Legal Practices in Human Resources
• POLI 589 - Understanding and Promoting Ethical Behavior
• POLI 590 - Leadership Self-Awareness
• POLI 594 - Grant Writing and Administration
• POLI 595 - Strategies for Organizational Assessment
• POLI 596 - Capstone Experience
• POLI 597 - Budgeting Process in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
• POLI 598 - Internship: Public Administration

• 
  The remaining elective credits must be selected, with advisor approval, from the 500-level political science (POLI) course offerings.

Exit Requirement

The MPA program offers some degree of flexibility for exit from this program. All students are required to fulfill an exit requirement, which in most cases will require developing and orally presenting a comprehensive professional portfolio. This portfolio requires students to demonstrate mastery of fundamental principles and issues covered in the core curriculum. Eligibility requires that students complete all core curriculum courses except POLI 591 - Capstone Seminar in Public Administration , during which development and presentation of the portfolio will take place. Students will have two opportunities to pass the portfolio requirement.

In appropriate circumstances, such as a student interested in pursuing further graduate work at the doctoral level, a master’s thesis (POLI 588 ) with an oral defense is available. Students approved for this option must complete the full 39-credit program. The master’s thesis will carry an additional six hours of graduate credit for a total of 45 hours of credit. The thesis option is especially appropriate for students wishing to pursue a doctorate after completing the MPA, but is open to all students who meet the criteria established by the department. Departmental standards require the student to work closely with their advisor and to phase the work so that the project proposal is carefully designed and approved before the student advances to the next stage.

Total minimum credits: 39