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M of Public Adminstration

Chapter 6 Graduate Program Regulations/Course Descriptions
College of Public Policy

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Master of Public Administration Degree

The Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) is a professional degree designed to prepare individuals for positions in management and policy analysis at several levels of government, in nonprofit agencies, and in the private sector where knowledge of government is important.

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Program Admission Requirements. Applicants must satisfy University-wide graduate admission requirements, submit either Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores, submit a letter of intent, and complete undergraduate courses in research methods or statistics, economics, and U.S. government (politics). The letter of intent should state the applicant’s reasons for pursuing the M.P.A. and how the degree will help the applicant achieve her or his career goals. Three letters of recommendation are optional. Applicants may be admitted as unconditional, conditional, or special students. Admission as a special graduate student does not guarantee subsequent admission as a degreeseeking student; such students must reapply for degree-seeking status.

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Degree Requirements. The minimum number of semester credit hours required for the degree, exclusive of coursework or other study required to remove deficiencies, is 36. In addition to these basic degree requirements, students without previous public service employment must complete an additional 6 semester credit hours. Students have the option of taking 3 or 6 hours of PAD 6963,6 Internship or PAD 6983,6 Master’s Thesis, or they can take PAD 6923 Applied Research twice or a combination of courses that meet the 6-hour requirement.

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Degree candidates must complete

A. 21 semester credit hours of core courses:

PAD 5003 Introduction to Public Administration
PAD 5023 Quantitative Methods for Public Administration
PAD 5033 Theories of Public Bureaucracy
PAD 5323 Public Policy Formulation and Implementation
PAD 5343 Personnel Management in the Public Sector
PAD 5363 Public Sector Financial Management
PAD 5393 Economics for Public Administrators

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Normally, students enroll in PAD 5003 during their initial semester.

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B. 9 semester credit hours in one of the following general tracks, chosen in consultation with the M.P.A. faculty advisor and approved by the Graduate Program Committee Chair:

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Public Management and Administration

Public Policy

C. 3 semester credit hours of electives

D. Comprehensive examination. Degree candidates are required to pass both written and oral comprehensive examinations. The examinations are administered in the form of a professional quality exit paper written by the student in the required

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PAD 6923 Applied Research course, and presented to a faculty committee.

E. Thesis option. Students may also elect to complete a thesis as part of their M.P.A. degree program. Arrangements for this option are made through the Graduate Advisor of Record.

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