Public Policy Administration MPPA Accelerated Master's Degree
The Department of Political Science offers an Accelerated MA degree program that allows students to simultaneously earn their undergraduate degree in Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy Administration, or Sociology, and their Master of Public Policy Administration (MPPA) in as few as 10 semesters of full-time study.
The combined program requires a minimum of 148 credit hours.
For each student in this program, the MPPA director and the undergraduate advisor will jointly identify and approve four MPPA courses totaling 12 credit hours that cover, at a more advanced level, undergraduate courses that would otherwise be taken for the undergraduate degree. These courses will replace (but should not duplicate) undergraduate courses, and will count toward the completion of both the undergraduate degree and MPPA requirements.
Any 4000-level course taken before admission to the Accelerated MA program will apply to the undergraduate requirements only. Students are encouraged to work closely with the Undergraduate and Graduate Directors to ensure that required courses are timed appropriately. It is strongly recommended that students meet with the MPPA Director as soon as possible and ideally before their junior year.
Eligibility
Students must have completed the 1000-level courses required for the undergraduate major prior to applying for the Accelerated MPPA program.
Admission Requirements
Provisional Admission
Applicants are considered for provisional admission if they meet the following criteria.
- Completed 60 undergraduate credit hours
- Achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher
- Submitted two letters of recommendation from faculty
- A personal statement explaining how the MPPA program fits with the applicant’s professional and educational goals.
The MPPA Director, in consultation with the undergraduate director of the relevant major, will determine whether the student can apply for provisional status. Graduate courses completed by undergraduate students who have been provisionally admitted to Accelerated Master’s program will be charged at the undergraduate tuition rate; however, these courses will count toward the master’s degree. These courses must be approved before the semester starts. Therefore, it is recommended to apply for provisional status as a junior, preferably in the first semester of junior year.
Graduate Admission
Students are considered for admission to graduate school in their final semester as an undergraduate student. Students should meet with the MPPA Director each semester. Applicants are considered for graduate admission if they meet the following criteria.
- Are in their final semester as an undergraduate
- Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 since being granted provisional status
Final decisions concerning graduate admission are made by the Graduate School in consultation with the MPPA Director. Students admitted to the graduate program must take graduate courses until the completion of the MPPA degree.
Program Requirements
Junior/Senior Year Courses
| P P ADM 6600 | Managing and Leading in Organizations | 3 |
| P P ADM 6010 | Introduction to Policy Research | 3 |
| Two additonal P P ADM graduate courses | 6 | |
Final Year Courses
| Core MPPA Curriculum | ||
| Policy Analysis and Economics | ||
| P P ADM 6000 | Introduction to Policy Analysis | 3 |
| ECON 5550 | Economics for Public Policy Analysis | 3 |
| P P ADM 6900 | Cases in Public Policy Administration | 3 |
| Public Administration and Budgeting | ||
| P P ADM 6180 | Governmental Budgeting and Financial Control | 3 |
| P P ADM 6400 | Public Administration: Theory & Practice | 3 |
| P P ADM 6490 | Human Resources in the Public Sector | 3 |
| Statistics, Research Methods, and Information Technology | ||
| P P ADM 6010 | Introduction to Policy Research | 3 |
| P P ADM 6750 | Applied Research Design | 3 |
| P P ADM 6850 | E-Governance in the Public Sector | 1 |
| Total Hours | 25 | |
Electives
Fifteen credit hours are taken as electives, which includes an internship. The electives are organized into three emphasis areas: Policy Research and Analysis, Local Government Management, and Nonprofit Leadership and Management. An individualized emphasis area is also available with the approval of the MPPA Director.
A thesis is not required to complete the program. However, writing is an important component of the degree, and students will complete written analyses as part of their coursework and or internships.
Internship Requirement
Students need to complete a 300-hour internship at the graduate level (P P ADM 6950). Students can appeal to waive the internship requirement; however, only students with significant work experience are successful. The PPA Director evaluates waivers on a case-by-case basis.
Awarding Degrees
The student may apply for and receive the bachelor’s degree in the semester when all the undergraduate requirements are completed. In their final semester in undergraduate status, the student must apply and be admitted to the graduate program, to begin the following semester. The student will apply to receive the master’s degree in the semester that the requirements for the graduate degree will be completed.
If the student fails to enroll for more than one year after receiving the bachelor's degree, the student can still earn the master’s degree, but the graduate-level credits earned as an undergraduate cannot be used for the graduate degree.