Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.)

As the public and private sectors increasingly evolve and overlap, there will be an increasing demand for leaders and managers who are scholar-practitioners. The Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program prepares professionals to excel in this increasingly complex and collaborative environment. The program offers students an opportunity to directly apply academic theories and skills in their own communities, making the learning experience personally meaningful while creating positive social change.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the program, students will be able to:

1. Explain the evaluation of the major theories, ideas, and concepts associated with the development of American public administration, including those of scholars and practitioners who have contributed to the field’s development.
2. Analyze how organizations work by explaining the concepts, theories, and methods of organizational theory and behavior.
3. Demonstrate the application of terminology, structures, cultures, values, history, and relationships among the three socio/economic sectors.
4. Apply a variety of data analysis methodologies and research methodologies to scholarly work.
5. Describe and assess the applicability of technology to the cultures, management styles, and legal climates of governmental and nonprofit organizations.
6. Articulate the principal theories concerning financing government and nonprofit activities.
7. Be conversant in the assumptions, philosophies, and methods of human resource management.
8. Understand and apply moral development theory at the individual and organizational level of analysis.
9. Demonstrate knowledge of how policies are developed, approved, implemented, and evaluated.
10. Integrate the concepts of public policy development and analysis with implementation practices of public administration and nonprofit management fields.

Specializations

Students who wish to gain additional knowledge in a specialized area can complete three courses in a specialization area. Courses must be taken in the order presented.

• General Program
• Criminal Justice 
• Emergency Management 
• Health Policy 
• Homeland Security Policy 
• Homeland Security Policy and Coordination 
• Interdisciplinary Policy Studies 
• International Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) 
• Law and Public Policy 
• Local Government Management for Sustainable Communities 
• Nonprofit Management and Leadership 
• Policy Analysis 
• Public Management and Leadership 
• Terrorism, Mediation, and Peace 

Degree Requirements

• 51–66 total quarter credit hours
• Foundation course (1 cr.)
• Core courses (45 cr.)
• Specialization courses* (15 cr.)
• Capstone course (5 cr.)

*Note: Not required for General Program

Curriculum