Public Administration Master's

Program Overview

Public Administration Master's

Program Overview

The Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program at the University of North Texas is designed to prepare leaders for management and leadership roles in public and nonprofit organizations. The program's mission is to advance ethical, accountable, and inclusive governance, with graduates serving diverse local and global communities through competent, professional public service.

Program Details

• Program Type: Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.)
• Format: On Campus
• Estimated Time to Complete: 2-3 years
• Credit Hours: 36-40

Requirements

• Pre-career (40 hours, including an internship): For students with little to no managerial experience
• In-career (39 hours): For students with some managerial experience
• Mid-career (36 hours): For students with significant managerial experience

Tuition and Aid

• Scholarships: Approximately $50,000 per year available

Marketable Skills

• Governmental budgeting, accounting, and analysis
• Coordination of governmental operational activities
• Recruit, train, and retain staff
• Statistical analysis for managerial decisions
• Program evaluation/performance measure identification

Public Administration Master's Highlights

• Faculty with professional and relevant work experience
• Monthly Public Administration Colloquium Series
• Public Administration Student Association for networking opportunities
• Courses focus on timely and critical topics such as city and county management, economic development, and smart city technology

Career Opportunities

• City managers
• Assistants to city managers
• Budget/finance analysts
• Legislative liaisons
• Economic development administrators
• Administrators in nonprofit organizations
• Chiefs of police
• Finance directors
• Directors of human resources

Employers

• 100+ cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth region
• 30+ Public Safety and Emergency Management organizations
• 50+ Special Districts
• 80+ Private firms
• State of Texas agencies
• Federal government agencies
• County government agencies
• Nonprofit organizations

Courses

• Leading and Managing Public Organizations (3 hrs)
• Managing Human Resources (3 hrs)
• Managing Financial Resources (3 hrs)
• Cultural Competency in Public Management (3 hrs)
• Financial Accountability in Government (3 hrs)
• Public Administration and Society (3 hrs)

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program at the University of North Texas is a 2-3 year on-campus program designed to prepare students for leadership and management roles in public and nonprofit organizations. The program aims to cultivate leaders dedicated to ethical, accountable, and inclusive governance. Graduates will serve diverse local and global communities through competent, professional public service that values critical analytic skills and the ability to communicate and solve problems in partnership with a diverse and changing workforce and public.

Outline:

The program offers three categories of coursework based on the student's experience level:

• Pre-career (40 hours, including an internship): This track is for students with limited professional experience.
• In-career (39 hours): This track is for students with some professional experience.
• Mid-career (36 hours): This track is for students with significant professional experience.

Course Examples:

• Leading and Managing Public Organizations (3 hrs): This course explores contemporary theories and applications of managing high-performance public organizations, focusing on leadership approaches, strategy, decision making, change management, networks and collaboration, privatization, and groups and teams.
• Managing Human Resources (3 hrs): This course covers the theory and application of managing human behavior in public organizations, including motivation, supervision, conflict management, workplace diversity, and the functions of public personnel systems.
• Managing Financial Resources (3 hrs): This course examines the theory and practice of budgeting at all levels of government and nonprofit organizations, with a particular emphasis on local government.
• Cultural Competency in Public Management (3 hrs): This course focuses on cultural competencies and diversity in modern public management, examining the contemporary meaning of workplace diversity, the identification and evaluation of governmental policies, processes, and management techniques for promoting diversity, and the effect of workplace diversity on government performance.
• Financial Accountability in Government (3 hrs): This course introduces financial control in government, including fund accounting, financial reporting, internal controls, and auditing.
• Public Administration and Society (3 hrs): This course examines the political, institutional, organizational, ethical, social, legal, and economic environments in which public administrators operate.

Teaching:

• The faculty have professional and relevant work experience, hold leadership roles in professional associations, and have contributed to the study and practice of public administration through the publication of numerous books and articles in leading journals.
• The faculty members sponsor a monthly Public Administration Colloquium Series that engages students in a vigorous discussion of current research and competing viewpoints on public administration issues.
• The Public Administration Student Association provides networking opportunities and insightful discussions.

Careers:

Recent graduates are employed as:

• City managers
• Assistants to city managers
• Budget/finance analysts
• Legislative liaisons
• Economic development administrators
• Administrators in nonprofit organizations
• Chiefs of police
• Finance directors
• Directors of human resources
Recent graduates are employed by:
• 100+ cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth region
• 30+ Public Safety and Emergency Management organizations
• 50+ Special Districts
• 80+ Private firms
• State of Texas agencies
• Federal government agencies
• County government agencies
• Nonprofit organizations

Other:

• The M.P.A.
program offers approximately $50,000 per year in scholarships.
• Courses focus on timely and critical topics such as city and county management, economic development and growth management, management of nonprofit organizations, and smart city technology, among others.
• The program is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration, which provides recognition that the program meets or exceeds high standards of excellence in education.
• U.S. News and World Report ranks the M.P.A.
program at UNT as the best in Texas and the Southwest, and 11th in the nation, in the area of local government management.
• The program has a strong network of more than 1,500 alumni who support the MPA program with internship opportunities, scholarships, and mentoring.