Public Administration

Notice: The MPA Public Policy Analysis and Management Option has been suspended as of Fall 2022.

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) is the appropriate professional degree program for administrators who are currently employed in the public, private or nonprofit sectors and who want to improve their management knowledge and skills. The program has been designed to provide an academically sound and effective course of study for midcareer professionals who have successfully earned their baccalaureate or master’s degrees in fields other than public administration, but whose career paths and interests have heightened their need for advanced professional study and preparation in public administration. Because most MPA students are busy professionals, the program is designed to fit their schedules and is offered in two formats—open enrollment and cohort. Students joining the open-enrollment MPA have the flexibility of taking classes at their own convenience. In the cohort model, a group of approximately 25 students moves through the program as a unit, starting and finishing at the same time. The schedule is fixed and classes, which are offered off campus, are guaranteed for each cohort student.

A. Admission Requirements for Classified Status

1. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
2. Minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0.

B. Admission Requirements for Conditionally Classified Status

1. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
2. At least two years of work experience in the public sector.
3. Minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.50-2.99.
4. Students with less than a 3.0 GPA must provide three letters of reference from supervisors that include information about work assignments and their completion, overall work performance and growth in responsibility in the workplace.

C. Graduation Requirements

1. Completion of a minimum of 33 semester units of approved graduate courses.
2. Completion of at least 24 of these units in residence.
3. Completion of all coursework with a GPA of at least 3.0.
4. Completion of a comprehensive examination equivalent to 3 semester units (in addition to the 33 units of coursework).
5. Students must be fully classified at the time of graduation. (In order to be fully classified, students must have the following: bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and a 3.0 GPA in their cumulative postgraduate coursework.)

D. Course Requirements

1. Required Core Courses (18 units)

MPA 610 Introduction to Contemporary Public Administration (3)
MPA 620 Research Methods for Public Administrators I (3)
MPA 630 Organization Theory and Human Behavior (3)
MPA 642A Ethics and Professionalism (3)
MPA 644 Public Finance and Budgeting in the Public Sector (3)
MPA 650 Contemporary Public Policy Making (3)

2. Elective Courses (15 units)

Note: Due to the cohort nature of the program, electives are prescribed for students enrolling though The Tseng College.

MPA 612A Intergovernmental Relations (3)
MPA 622A Policy Implementation and Program Evaluation (3)
MPA 623A Seminar in Effective Public Sector Management (3)
MPA 623B Applied Program Evaluation (3)*
MPA 623C Performance Reporting Measures in Government (3)
MPA 632B Strategic Management (3)
MPA 640 Public Policy Analysis (3)**
MPA 642D Community and Economic Development (3)

*MPA 620 is a prerequisite.
**This is a required course for this Track only.

3. Culminating Experience (3 units)

MPA 698S Graduate Project (3)

Total Units Required for the M.P.A. Degree: 36