Requirements include completion of eight (8) required courses and
six (6) elective courses for a minimum of 42 semester hours (24 hours
of required credits and 18 hours of elective credits). The required
courses include a substantive core of five courses, a two-course methodology
sequence and an applied research project called the Action Report
(see below). Successful completion of the required courses (the core
courses, methodology courses, and the Action Report) is defined as
a grade of B- or better. Students who receive grades of C+ or less
in any of the seven required courses must repeat them (see Forgiveness
Policy below). If grades of C are received in elective courses, the
courses need not be repeated if the overall grade point average remains
at or above a 3.0.
Students who lack one year of full-time professional experience must take the internship class (PAD 5946) for an additional three (3) credit hours (see below). All students who have more than a year of full-time professional work experience, defined as a job requiring a BA degree (and totaling some 2,000 work hours), shall give a short letter to the MPA Director asking to be waived from the internship requirement, and attach a copy of your current resume. The letter should spell out the professional jobs that have been held (including descriptions of duties if required), the inclusive dates, and the number of hours per week that the position entailed. The jobs that students hold during their master’s program can count towards the internship waiver, and more than one job can be used to compile the year’s work experience. For more on the internship, see the internship section.
The program enables students to choose from the university's resources in a way that best fits their career needs and aspirations. As noted, the School has designed professional career paths oriented toward certain career paths.
Core Courses (15 credit hours)
PAD 5035 Policy Development and Administration
PAD 5050 The Profession of Public Administration
PAD 5106 Public Organizations
PAD 5227 Public Financial Management
PAD 5417 Human Resource Management
Methodology Sequence (6 credit hours)
PAD 5700 Research Design in Public Administration
PAD 5701 Quantitative Analysis in Public Administration
Internship (3 credit hours) [If you have less than
one-year full-time professional work experience.]
PAD 5946 Internship
Applied Research Project (3 credit hours)
PAD 6908 Action Report
Electives (18 credit hours)