Graduate School of Public and International Affairs - Master of Public Administration (MPA)

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program stresses the interplay of public policy and management processes. The course of study encompasses the examination of political, social, economic, bureaucratic, and regulatory areas, focusing on urban and regional, state, federal, and international issues. Students are exposed to substantive course work in managing organizations and in analyzing and evaluating public policies.

This program is designed to enhance students' knowledge of the political, social, economic, bureaucratic, and regulatory climate in which decisions are made both in the U.S. and in other countries. Above all, the objective of the instruction in this degree program is to help students not only to understand what is, but also what can be.

Students who have international interests are encouraged to take courses that have an international focus. Courses selected in consultation with faculty advisors can be substituted from those listed above under Master's Degree Requirements.

In rankings compiled by U.S. News and World Report, the school placed in the top 20 among schools of public policy and public administration. In the same March 1998 report, the MPA's nonprofit management specialization ranked sixth nationally (see Requirements for Minors: Management of Public and Nonprofit Organizations).

Requirements for the Master of Public Administration

The MPA degree requires a minimum of 48 credits, distributed as follows:

MPA students are required to select a major from among the three listed below. These three majors (Policy Research and Analysis, Public and Nonprofit Management, and Urban and Regional Affairs) are also offered as minors.

Policy Research and Analysis (PRA)

The PRA major incorporates elements from economics, operations research, management science, decision theory, political science, and applied ethics. PRA students will be qualified for a range of professional positions, including: managers and staff of nonprofit organizations and think tanks; financial and budget analysts in national, regional, and local agencies; program evaluators in nonprofit human services organizations; legislative analysts working at the state and national levels; consultants to public and nonprofit sector clients; and advisors on ethical issues facing policy makers and managers.

The major curriculum, comprised of 15 credits, follows:

Required courses:

PIA 2001 Quantitative Methods II

PIA 2004 Microeconomics for Public Management and Policy (prerequisite: PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs)

PIA 2117 Public Program Evaluation

Two additional courses from the following areas:

Operations Research/ Management Science

PIA 2145 Benefit Cost Analysis

PIA 2151 Introduction to Management Science

PIA 2152 Decision Theory

PIA 2154 Topics in Management Science

PIA 2165 Advanced Information Technology and Public Management

Ethics and Public Policy

PIA 2192 Ethics and Public Life

PIA 2518 Ethics in International Affairs and Development

Research Methods

PIA 2003 Research Methods

PIA 2150 Quasi-Experimental Design and Quantitative Policy Modeling

PIA 2715 Economic and Demographic Spatial Data Analysis

PIA 3000 Applied Multivariate Analysis

PIA 3050 Practicum in Qualitative Research

To qualify for a minor in PRA, students must complete a minimum of nine credits, which must include the required courses for the major.

Public and Nonprofit Management (PNM)

In the PNM major, students develop skills in the management of human resources; management and control of financial resources; development and implementation of organizational direction and strategy; understanding of the unique issues and opportunities facing private nonprofit organizations; and use and interpretation of advanced analytical techniques in addressing issues of organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Students who complete this major are likely to be competitive for jobs that require a solid foundation in the principles of organizational behavior and general management. Such jobs might include assistant town managers, program directors in nonprofit agencies, assistant directors of finance, or assistant directors of human resources.

The major curriculum, comprised of 15 credits, follows:

Required courses:

PIA 2103 Personnel Management and Labor Relations in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors

PIA 2117 Public Program Evaluation

PIA 2185 Strategic Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Two additional courses from the following:

Operations Analysis

PIA 2010 Managing Organizations

PIA 2143 Productivity in the Public Sector

PIA 2152 Decision Theory

PIA 2154 Topics in Management Science

PIA 2160 Introduction to Computers for Administrators

PIA 2165 Advanced Information Technology and Public Management

Financial Management

PIA 2004 Microeconomics for Public Management and Policy (prerequisite: PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs)

PIA 2122 Urban Public Finance

PIA 2140 Budgeting as a Program and Policy Instrument

PIA 2144 Public Sector Accounting

To complete a PNM minor, students must complete a minimum of nine credits, which must include the required courses for the major.

Urban and Regional Affairs (URA)

URA majors gain expertise in regional governance theory and practice, spatial analysis, technical skills, and regional problem-solving applications to prepare them to help improve metropolitan and urban environments and the lives of those living in them. Students acquire skills that include managing regional institutions, planning and managing economic development activities, sustaining public-private linkages, delivering regional services, implementing neighborhood and community development, managing nonprofit agencies and organizations, etc.

Students engage in participatory research with regional and urban governments, nonprofit organizations, and community-based groups. And as graduates, they will qualify for a wide variety of professional positions, including: economic and community development specialists, managers and staff administrators in regional governance institutions, regional policy analysts, local government administrators and financial analysts with a regional perspective, city managers, and managers of regional services.

The 15-credit URA major includes:

Required courses:

PIA 2004 Microeconomics for Public Management and Policy

PIA 2125 Metropolitan Regional Governance and Development

PIA 2715 Economic and Demographic Spatial Data Analysis

Two courses from the following:

PIA 2122 Urban Public Finance

PIA 2124 Comparative Regional Governance

PIA 2127 Urban Service Delivery and Policy

PIA 2188 Economic Development Strategies and Practice

PIA 2705 Neighborhood and Community Change

PIA 2715 Economic and Demographic Spatial Data Analysis

PIA 2740 Planning and Analysis for Sustainable Metropolitan Regions

To complete a URA minor, students must complete a minimum of nine credits, which must include the required courses for the major.

Requirements for the Minor

Nine credits are required to complete a minor. In addition to the three MPA majors, which can also be taken as minors, MPA students can also earn minors in criminal justice, environmental management and policy, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and personnel and labor relations. Minor areas of study requirements are described below.

Criminal Justice (CJ) Minor

The CJ minor is designed for students who want to pursue careers in areas of crime analysis, criminal justice policy, management of criminal justice agencies, and other relevant professional tracks. The minor builds skills in criminal law, transnational aspects of organized crime, criminal justice theory and research, and specialized and emerging types of criminal activity such as computer crime and drug-related crimes. Course requirements are as follows:

PIA 2281 Contemporary Theories of Justice (required)

PIA 2290 Topics in Public Administration: Criminal Law (required)

One additional course from the following:

PIA 2164 Computer Crime

PIA 2365 Transnational Organized Crime

PIA 2290 Topics in Public Administration: Advanced Crime Analysis

PIA 2290 Topics in Public Administration: Drugs and Crime

PIA 2290 Topics in Public Administration: Crime and Politics

Environmental Management and Policy (EMP) Minor

This interdisciplinary minor builds on knowledge regarding the economic, social, and political aspects of environmental policies; the environmental impact of policies and management options in other domains; and analytical tools and frameworks for environmentally conscious policymaking, including ecological, economic, social, scientific, and legal linkages.

Students must complete a minimum of nine credits in the courses outlined below. They will be strongly advised to take at least one additional course in this field as one of their electives.

PIA 2115 Environmental Economics and Management (required, prerequisite: PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs)

One additional course from the following:

PIA 2112 Environmental Economics and Law

PIA 2111 Health, Safety, and Environmental Risks

PIA 2116 Topics in Environmental Management

PIA 2114 Environmental and Economic Sustainability

PIA 2490 Development, the Environment, and the Economy

PIA 2715 Economic and Demographic Spatial Data Analysis

PIA 2751 Land Use Control and Development Control Law

Graduate level courses with environmental content, in the Schools of Law, Engineering, and Public Health, and in the Departments of Geology and Biology, will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) Minor

The private nonprofit sector is a vast and growing force in the political and economic environment, both in the U.S. and abroad. The NGO minor helps to prepare students for careers in the private nonprofit sector as managers, policy analysts, planners, and program specialists. Students learn to work on boards of trustees, raise funds for general operations and special programs, work effectively within the legal and political environment of nonprofit organizations, market nonprofit programs in a competitive environment, and work effectively with other institutional actors in government, business, and nonprofit organizations.

Students must complete a minimum of nine credits in courses related to the field of nonprofit management. They will be strongly advised to take at least one additional course in this field as one of their electives. The minimum requirements for this minor are as follows:

PIA 2170 Management of Nonprofit Organizations (required)

Two additional courses from the list below or from other courses offered in the University:

PIA 2524 Financing Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs for Development)

PIA 2561 Project Planning and Design

PIA 2526 Micropolitics: Nongovernmental Organizations and Development in a Civil Society

PIA 2171 Legal Issues in Nonprofit Management

PIA 2172 Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2173 Project Development and Proposal Writing

PIA 2174 Marketing and Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2175 Leadership and Governance for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2176 Training and Development for Nonprofit Organizations

Personnel and Labor Relations Minor

This program is designed for students who are planning for careers in personnel and labor relations or who wish to obtain further exposure to techniques for effective workforce management. The following knowledge and skills are emphasized:

1. The technical aspects of personnel administration (examinations and selection; position classification; cost forecasting; pay; fringe benefits and pension plans; human resource planning)
2. Collective bargaining, contract administration, and arbitration
3. Current issue areas (equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, workforce diversity, comparable worth, merit pay)
4. Productivity enhancement and more effective management of the workforce

Students must complete a minimum of nine credits in this field. The minimum requirements for this minor are as follows:

PIA 2103 Personnel Management and Labor Relations in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors (required)

PIA 2134 Seminar in Personnel Management and Labor Relations (required)

Elective courses may be selected from the following:

PIA 2111 Health, Safety, and Environmental Risks

PIA 2133 Current Issues in Personnel Management

PIA 2132 Group Dynamics in Organizations

PIA 2134 Seminar in Personnel Management and Labor Relations

PIA 2143 Productivity in the Public Sector

PIA 2170 Management of Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2176 Training and Development for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2183 Organizational Development

PIA 2185 Strategic Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2193 Gender, Race, and Public Policy

BOAH 2537 Conflict Resolution in the Workplace: Part I

BOAH 2538 Conflict Resolution in the Workplace: Part II

Personnel and Labor Relations is also offered as an advanced certificate. Completion of the certificate requires the completion of 15 credits, including the required courses outlined in the minor.

Requirements for the Certificate in Personnel and Labor Relations

The MPA program offers a certificate of advanced study in Personnel and Labor Relations. Completion of the certificate requires the completion of 15 credits, including the required courses outlined in the curriculum for the minor (see Personnel and Labor Relations Management in Public and Nonprofit Sectors Minor for details on the curriculum requirements).

MPA Program Course Listings

PIA 2000 Administration of Public Affairs

PIA 2001 Quantitative Methods II (prerequisite: PIA 2007 Quantitative Methods I)

PIA 2003 Research Methods

PIA 2004 Microeconomics for Public Management and Policy (prerequisite: PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs or waiver)

PIA 2005 Macroeconomics (prerequisite: PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs or waiver)

PIA 2007 Quantitative Methods I

PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs

PIA 2009 Policy Analysis (prerequisite: PIA 2007 Quantitative Methods I)

PIA 2010 Managing Organizations

PIA 2090 Foreign Study

PIA 2095 Computer Competency

PIA 2096 Capstone Seminar

PIA 2097 Independent Study

PIA 2098 Internship

PIA 2099 Thesis

PIA 2100 Managing Information Technology

PIA 2102 Administrative Theory

PIA 2103 Personnel Management, Labor Relations in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors

PIA 2104 Financial Management

PIA 2111 Health, Safety, and Environmental Risks

PIA 2112 Environmental Economics and Law

PIA 2114 Environmental and Economic Sustainability

PIA 2115 Environmental Economics and Management (prerequisite: PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs)

PIA 2116 Topics in Environmental Management

PIA 2117 Public Program Evaluation

PIA 2119 Policy Design and Implementation

PIA 2122 Urban Public Finance

PIA 2123 Theory and Practice of Local Government

PIA 2124 Comparative Regional Governance

PIA 2125 Metropolitan Regional Governance and Development

PIA 2127 Urban Service Delivery and Policy

PIA 2132 Group Dynamics in Organizations

PIA 2133 Current Issues in Personnel Management

PIA 2134 Seminar in Personnel Management and Labor Relations in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2140 Budgeting as a Program and Policy Instrument

PIA 2142 Public Sector Accountability

PIA 2143 Productivity in the Public Sector

PIA 2144 Public Sector Accounting

PIA 2145 Benefit Cost Analysis

PIA 2150 Quasi-Experimental Design and Quantitative Policy Modeling

PIA 2151 Introduction to Management Science

PIA 2152 Decision Theory

PIA 2153 Calculus for Public Policy

PIA 2154 Topics in Management Science

PIA 2155 Theory of Games: Concepts, Methods, and Applications

PIA 2157 Dynamic Optimization for Policymaking

PIA 2160 Introduction to Computers for Administrators

PIA 2164 Computer Crime

PIA 2165 Advanced Information Technology and Public Management

PIA 2170 Management of Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2171 Legal Issues in Nonprofit Management

PIA 2172 Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2173 Project Development and Proposal Writing

PIA 2174 Marketing and Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2175 Leadership and Governance for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2176 Training and Development for Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2183 Organizational Development

PIA 2185 Strategic Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2188 Economic Development Strategies and Practice

PIA 2192 Ethics and Public Life

PIA 2193 Gender, Race, and Public Policy

PIA 2281 Contemporary Theories of Justice

PIA 2290 Topics in Public Administration

PIA 2705 Neighborhood and Community Change

PIA 2706 Urban and Regional Methods

PIA 2708 Urban and Regional Theory

PIA 2709 Critical Issues in Planning

PIA 2715 Economic and Demographic Spatial Data Analysis

PIA 2740 Planning and Analysis for Sustainable Metropolitan Regions

PIA 2746 Housing Policy and Urban Development

PIA 2751 Land Use Control and Development Control Law

PIA 2752 Linking Transportation Economic and Community Development: Urban Places

PIA 2755 Regional Development and Global Economy

PIA 2756 Locally Based Initiatives