Curriculum for Master of Public Policy and Administration

The MPPA program prepares students for careers in the public and not-for-profit sectors.  All students are required to complete six core courses (18 credit hours) and 5 elective course (15 credit hours) in addition to take an internship course (3 credit hour) and a capstone seminar (3 credit hour). The MPPA program requires the total of 39 credit hours for graduation.
Students must take all six of the following core courses:

POLS 550   Public Administration
POLS 512   Quantitative Political Analysis
POLS 548   Public Policy Process
POLS 560   Public Financial Administration
POLS 566   Public Service Ethics and Values
POLS 556   Public Policy Analysis

Students should generally select the fifteen credit hours of elective courses from the courses offered in the MPPA program. However, for students with specialized interests, electives may be chosen from other programs, departments, or some combination of these alternatives. Elective courses must be approved by the MPPA director prior to enrollment in the specific course and courses outside of the MPPA program will only be approved if they have clear relevance to a student's professional interests.

A three-credit-hour internship (POLS569) is required for all students who lack significant administrative experience. Students who have had such experience in the past or who are currently employed in administrative positions may have the requirement waived, if they have more than one year of continuous professional and/or managerial experience. Anyone wishing to waive the internship requirement should address his/her request to the MPPA Director. If a student waives the internship, then he/she must take an additional elective to obtain the 39 required credits.

All MPPA candidates are required to take the 3-credit hour Capstone course, preferably during the last semester in the program.