The M.P.A. degree normally requires the completion of 39-50 semester hours of approved graduate study. The student must complete a minimum of 39 semester hours of course work exclusive of internship hours. The distribution of hours is as follows:
24 semester hours of core courses (required of everyone)
15 semester hours within an area of specialization (required of everyone)
2-8 semester hours of PSPA 595: Internship in Public Administration (required of those without ¡°appropriate professional experience¡±)
3-12 semester hours of PSPA 599: Public Sector Research - hours awarded toward completion of the capstone paper
For more details, please refer to MPA Student Handbook.
Each M.P.A. student is required to pass a written comprehensive examination which is offered in March and October of each year. The examination is scheduled for two two-hour periods in one day. The exam will consist of two parts, theory and practice. The theory part will emphasize conceptual and analytical knowledge garnered from the core courses in the MPA curriculum. The practice part will emphasize problem solving and knowledge application employing a situation scenario or examples based on the student's experience.
An information session will be conducted several weeks prior to the administration of the examination. Students who submit a Request to Sit for Comprehensive Examination form by the specified dates will be notified by mail regarding the time and place of the information session, the exact dates for the examination, and any other information concerning the examination.
For more details, please refer to Comprehensive Exam and MPA Student Handbook.
Students will learn research methods in PSPA 504, Public Program Evaluation Methods. The student will develop a research design while taking this course which may be deemed appropriate for the capstone paper. The student may also choose an area of research which has interested him/her in the process of taking another course. Based on the de termination of a topic, the student will select a faculty member as the capstone paper director, for help in preparing the proposal for the paper and under whose direction the capstone paper will be completed. During the semester in which the capstone paper is to be initiated, the student will register for 3 semester hours of PSPA 599, Public Sector Research. Once capstone paper research has begun, students must continue to register each semester for 1 semester hour of PSPA 599 until they receive a satisfactory grade on the comprehensive examination.
For more details, please refer to MPA Student Handbook.