Public Administration & Policy Master of Public Administration Program (M.P.A.)

Program of Study

2. Cluster Course Requirements - 5 courses required 

3. Career Experience Requirement

Clusters

Non-Profit Management and Policy: This cluster of courses prepares students for management careers, leadership on boards of directors, and advocacy and volunteer opportunities in the diverse world of nonprofit organizations.  Course readings, cases, guest lecturers, and service learning opportunities expose students to a range of third sector entities, including those in human services, arts, social change, environmental advocacy and protection, and international development.

Public Economics and Finance: This cluster of courses provides students with a theoretical and practical understanding of the central concepts in public economics and finance. Students planning a career in budgeting, financial management, or taxation may choose to select all their courses from this cluster. Students planning a career in a particular institutional environment or programmatic area should consider taking additional courses in the Public Policy cluster. Students desiring skills in policy analysis or public management might combine courses in this cluster with those in the Public Policy and Information and Technology Management clusters.

Public Management: This cluster is designed to provide current and future managers with both a theoretical and practical understanding of the knowledge and skills needed to be an effective manager. This cluster provides a comprehensive approach to management in public and nonprofit organizations.

Public Policy: This cluster includes courses about methods for analyzing the impacts of policy; about the political institutions through which policy is decided and implemented; and about the specific challenges of various policy areas (such as education, the environment, or health). This concentration is thus suitable for students who want to work as policy analysts, or in the political/legislative sphere, or in agencies/organizations focused on specific policy areas.

Information and Technology Management: The Information Technology Management cluster addresses public policy and management innovations that are the consequence of rapidly changing information and communication technologies (ICTs) and dramatic changes in the nature, amount, and availability of information in government and society. This concentration prepares students for decision making roles related to the creation, management and use of information and information technologies as essential tools for problem solving and public management within single organizations and across multiple organizations, sectors, and levels of government. Drawing from public administration and other fields, students learn how policies, organizational factors, context, information content, and information and communication technologies influence decisions and performance.       

Career Experience Requirements

The career experience requirement may be met either by providing documentation of two years relevant professional administrative experience in the public or non-profit sectors, concurrent full-time employment in a public, nonprofit, or related organization, or by obtaining placement in internship(s) for the equivalent of two terms. Strong links with numerous state, local, federal, and non-profit agencies allow the Internship Program to offer the student a wide range of professional experience and the chance to sharpen administrative, policy making, communication, and research skills. Most internship positions are paid, part-time professional positions. Students thus supplement both their educational experience and their financial standing through participation in the Internship Program.

Capstone Experiences

The core capstone experience for the M.P.A. program includes successful completion of two integrative modules: Professional Applications I (two credits), and Professional Applications II (two credits). Professional Applications I emphasizes the early development of professional skills, the ability to work in teams, and an awareness of trade-offs in modern administration. The purpose of Professional Applications II is to help students develop a greater awareness of themselves as individuals and as professionals in public service. This course focuses on issues that students, as present and future public leaders and managers, will confront throughout their careers. In addition a credit bearing course associated with the career experience requirement, typically taken in the last semester of study, completes the capstone experience.  The core capstone experience is designed to help students appreciate how the different elements of the core curriculum contribute to effective management.