The Master of Public Administration program provides students the knowledge, skills, and values for functioning with distinction throughout their careers at different levels of responsibility within the U.S. constitutional context and abroad.

Admission to the Program

Applicants must meet the minimum university requirements for graduate study. Admission decisions are based on each applicant’s academic record, two letters of recommendation, test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and an essay written by the applicant on his or her background and career interests. Applicants may substitute test scores from similar tests, such as the GMAT or LSAT, for the GRE where appropriate. Applicants who received their undergraduate degree more than eight years prior to their date of application may waive the requirement for test scores by submitting a statement describing their professional experience. The department values applicants who have acquired practical experience before beginning their professional degree program. Admission decisions are based on each applicant’s total record and not on any single strength or deficiency.

Degree Requirements

• 42 credit hours of approved graduate work

A student who has performed successfully for several years as a manager in a supervisory role in a public service organization before admission to the M.P.A. program may apply to the department chair to have the total program reduced by up to 6 credit hours. Such application must specify relevant responsibilities and be submitted so as to permit evaluation prior to the commencement of the 13th credit of course work. Waiver of the full 6 credit hours is reserved for students at the GS-13 level or its equivalent who exercise significant responsibilities for supervision and program management; a 3-credit waiver may be granted to students with significant responsibilities for supervision or program management. Credit earned as part of an internship may not count toward the total degree requirement of any student receiving such a reduction.

Due to a special arrangement, students admitted to the M.P.A. may utilize qualifying courses offered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Executive Management Training Centers toward the credit hours required to earn the degree. Qualifying courses from these two institutions have been certified for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE).

Students who successfully complete the SPA Key Executive Leadership Development Program may apply to reduce the overall degree requirement for the 42-credit hour M.P.A. by up to an additional 6 credit hours. Students who avail themselves of this provision remain eligible to request the 3 or 6 credit hour waiver for prior professional experience as noted above. At least 30 credit hours must be earned in residence for the M.P.A.

Up to 6 credit hours may be waived for qualifying courses and/or transfer credit from another academic institution, and up to 6 credit hours may be waived for significant management experience, for a total not to exceed 12 credit hours. Students who avail themselves of this provision will be encouraged to take advanced level work in designated areas as a consequence.

• Comprehensive examination including an exercise in management analysis and a reflective essay
• The research requirement is satisfied by completing two of the following courses with grades of B or better:

PUAD-605 Problem Solving for Managers or PUAD-601 Methods of Problem Solving I

PUAD-610 Management Analysis

PUAD-616 Legal Basis of Public Administration

PUAD-630 Public Managerial Economics

Course Requirements

• PUAD-605 Problem Solving for Managers (3)

or

PUAD-601 Methods of Problem Solving I (3)

• PUAD-610 Management Analysis (3)
• PUAD-612 Public Administration in the Policy Process (3)
• PUAD-616 Legal Basis of Public Administration (3)

or

PUAD-608 Comparative Administrative Systems (3) (for international students returning to countries without Anglo-American or European legal traditions, with permission of the academic advisor)

• PUAD-630 Public Managerial Economics (3)
• PUAD-653 The Individual and the Organization (3)
• Two courses from the following:

PUAD-609 Topics in Public Management (3)

PUAD-611 Government and Non-Profit Informatics (3)

PUAD-615 Public-Private Partnerships (3)

PUAD-617 Project Management (3)

PUAD-650 Leadership in a Changing Workplace (3)

PUAD-652 Facilitation and Team Development (3)

PUAD-665 Human Resource Management Strategies (3)

• One course in public finance, financial management, or government budgeting from the following:

PUAD-631 Financing Government Services (3)

PUAD-632 Budget and Cost Analysis (3)

PUAD-633 Financial Aspects of Public Management (3)

• PUAD-691 Internship (3) Preservice students about to begin their career participate in a supervised internship.

Area of Concentration (9-12 credit hours)

• 9-12 credit hours in an area of concentration

Areas include: public financial management; state and local administration; international management; policy analysis; human resource management; arts management; non-profit management; information systems management; management consulting; and public management. Students may create special areas of concentration by consulting program faculty and their academic counselor.

Combined Bachelor’s and Master of Public Administration

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its accelerated bachelor’s/master’s programs. Undergraduate students may complete up to 3 credits for every 9 credits required for the graduate degree that may be applied to the requirements for both degree programs. The department that oversees the graduate program the student enters will determine if the courses the undergraduate student completes will satisfy master’s degree requirements. Bachelor’s/master’s students must complete at least 18 in-residence credit hours at the graduate level after the bachelor’s degree is earned and maintain continuous, sequential enrollment in the two programs.

This program enables qualified students to earn, in a continuous plan study, both a bachelor’s degree with a major in any related discipline and the Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.).

Requirements

• Admission to the combined bachelor’s /M.P.A. program requires junior standing, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00, a completed application form available from the Department of Public Administration and Policy (DPAP), a written faculty recommendation, an essay on the student’s interests and abilities in public administration, and an interview with the DPAP department chair or academic advisor.
• All requirements for a bachelor’s degree with a major in any related discipline

Undergraduate students may apply up to 12 credit hours of approved graduate-level course work to satisfy the requirements for both degrees. Students take courses in statistics, public administration, and other courses approved by DPAP.

• All requirements for the M.P.A., including a minimum of 18 credit hours completed in residence in graduate status after the undergraduate degree has been awarded. Students must finish the master’s degree requirements within three years from the date of first enrollment in the master’s program.