Public Administration (MPA/JD)

Admissions

Admission is competitive and is open to all students holding a bachelor’s degree in any major. Applicants must have a minimum 3.00 GPA, 2 letters of recommendation, a letter of intent, and a short analytic writing sample. Foreign students, who are non-native English speakers, must also pass the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI).

Only one class, POLS 5000, may be taken prior to full admission into the program with permission of the MPA director.

Plan B (non-thesis)

Thirty-nine hours of graduate credit, to include:

• 24 hours of core credit,
• 15 hours of approved elective credit.

Significant administrative experience is required of all M.P.A. graduates. If the M.P.A. student has little or no administrative experience an internship is required and will be included as 3 hours of the required elective credits.

Students entering the M.P.A. Program are expected to possess basic computer literacy, and to have access to a computer for such purposes as communicating with professors via e-mail, receiving M.P.A. Program memos, conducting research on the Web, retrieving articles from course documents libraries, working on course projects, and for conducting interactive/electronic class discussion.

Students must maintain a graduate GPA of 3.000.

Current Core Courses

• POLS 5690 - Capstone in Public Management Credits: 3

Academic Regulations

• A student in the joint Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration program must be admitted to both the College of Law and College of Arts and Sciences. The degrees are awarded concurrently by each college upon successful completion of the combined degree program requirements. In fulfillment of the J.D. degree, the College of Law will accept up to nine hours of MPA credits in courses approved by the law faculty (see Academic Regulations). In fulfillment of the MPA degree, the College of Arts and Sciences will accept up to 12 hours of credits earned in the J.D. program. For additional information regarding these joint degree programs, contact the College of Law or the joint program of interest. 
• Significant administrative experience is required of all M.P.A. graduates. If the M.P.A. student has little or no administrative experience an internship is required and will be included as 3 hours of the required elective credits.
• Students entering the M.P.A. Program are expected to possess basic computer literacy, and to have access to a computer for such purposes as communicating with professors via e-mail, receiving M.P.A. Program memos, conducting research on the Web, retrieving articles from course.
• Students must maintain a graduate GPA of 3.000.

Juris Doctor

The Juris Doctor requirements are found here: Juris Doctor