Public Administration (Master of Public Administration)

The MPA program consists of 39-42 credit hours.  In addition to the general MPA, students may specialize in one of four concentrations:

• Administration of Nonprofit Agencies  
• Criminal Justice Administration  
• Educational Administration  
• Health Care Administration  

MPA General Program

Knowledge Base.

1. A course in government or public sector administration or relevant experience.
2. PUB 571  / ECN 571  or a course in microeconomic principles taken within the last five years.
3. PUB 580  / ECN 580  or a course in statistics taken within the last five years.

Requirements. Thirty-nine credits (forty-two credits for students requiring an internship), as follows:

1. Core Courses (15 credits).
   PUB 500 - Politics, Policy, and Public Administration. 
   PUB 501 - Administrative Organization and Behavior. 
   PUB 506  /
   HCR 506 - Research Methods.
    
   Two From:
   PUB 502 - Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. 
   PUB 571  / ECN 571 - Public Economics. 
   PUB 596  / POL 596 - Intergovernmental Relations.  
2. Administrative Functions and Processes (12 credits). 
   From:
   PUB 503 - Personnel Issues in Public Service. 
   PUB 504 - Ethical Issues in Public Administration. 
   PUB 521 - Entitlement Programs Public Policy.  
   POL 541 - The Welfare State in Comparative Perspective.  
   PUB 518  / HCR 518 - Budgeting in Public and Nonprofit Organizations.  
   PUB 524  / HCR 524 - Employment, Law and Public Policy.  
   PUB 519  / POL 520 - Law and Administrative Processes. 
   PUB 522  / POL 522 - Environmental Law and Public Policy.  
   PUB 572  / SOC 566 - Work, Occupations and Professions.  
3. Analytical Methods (6 credits). 
   From:
   PUB 523 - Accounting in Government and Non-Profit Organizations. 
   PUB 575  / ECN 575 - Cost-Benefit Analysis.  
   PUB 580  / ECN 580 - Quantitative Methods for Public Administration. 
   PUB 508  / HCR 508 - Evaluation of Services and Programs. 
   PUB 527  / HCR 527  / PSY 527 - Personnel Selection and Evaluation.  
4. Applied Research (6 credits).
   PUB 593  / HCR 593 - Practicum in Research Design. 
   One From:
   PUB 595  / HCR 595 - Practicum in Applied Research.  
   PUB 502 - Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. *
   PUB 596  / POL 596 - Intergovernmental Relations. *
   PUB 571  / ECN 571 - Public Economics. *
   PUB 575  /
   ECN 575 - Cost-Benefit Analysis.
    * 
5. Internship (0-3 credits).
   PUB 590 . The internship is not required of those students who are practicing administrators or who have had two years or more experience in an administrative capacity.

*Each of these courses requires a substantial research project similar in scope to PUB 595  and cannot be double counted to meet requirements in any other section of the MPA program.

Transfer of Credit

Up to six (6) credit hours of graduate credit completed at an accredited institution may be accepted for transfer. Transfers of credit are subject to the approval of the program director. Transfers are made in accordance with the policies of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies.