Public Administration, MPA

Admissions to the Master of Public Administration are currently suspended

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a professional degree designed to prepare students for their public service careers in local government public management and administration as well as the management of non-profit organizations. The program of study consists of a core of 27 credit hours, 12 credits hours of electives, and three credit hours of internship. Students with sufficient professional work experience in the public sector may petition for a waiver of the internship requirement.

Admission Requirements

Admission is open to students who have completed a bachelor’s degree. No specific field or undergraduate major is required for admission. The GPA requirements for consideration for full admission is an overall bachelor GPA of 2.8 or greater or 3.05 for the last 60 credit hours. Provisional admission may be granted for those with an overall GPA between 2.5 and 2.79. Additionally, applicants must submit the following:

• For students who have an overall GPA below 3.0 a standardized test score from the GRE, GMAT, or LSAT.
• A copy of their current resume (especially important for in-service students to ascertain their professional experience).
• A personal essay explaining why the study and completion of a MPA degree will help with their personal or professional goals.

Admission decisions are made by the department committee considering the entire application file.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; however, all application materials should be received by the department three weeks before the start date of the term for the department to make admission decisions for that term.

Degree Requirements

Satisfactory completion of a minimum 42 credit hours of graduate study, including 27 credit hours of core classes, 12 credit hours of elective courses, and three credit hours of internship. Students with sufficient professional work experience may petition for a waiver of the internship requirement, and those students that are granted an internship waiver have a minimum of 39 credit hours for the degree. Procedures for an internship waiver are included in the student handbook. For more program details students should refer to the Public Administration and Urban Studies Master’s Degree handbook that is available online.