Program Overview

BA/MPA Public Administration Joint Degree

The BA/MPA Public Administration Joint Degree is an Accelerated Joint Degree program designed to reduce the time to complete a master's degree for undergraduates wishing to prepare for a public service or nonprofit career. This curriculum allows undergraduate students majoring in public and nonprofit administration to complete coursework applied to the Master of Public Administration degree, thus reducing their time to completion.

Program Description

In the Accelerated BA/MPA program, students will meet all MPA program prerequisites by meeting the requirements of the BA program. Additionally, students will receive credit towards the MPA for the following:

• PAD 501: Induction to the Profession. The program will waive the introductory MPA course because students will already have experienced an introduction to the profession through the acquisition of the BA/MPA.
• Core or Elective Credit: BA/MPA students can also take up to 9 hours of 400/500 level PAD core or elective credits to also be applied to the MPA. Thus, the Accelerated undergraduate student would have 12 hours to apply to the MPA. As a graduate student, they must complete any remaining core and elective courses, as outlined below, not included in those 12-credit hours.

Requirements

The remaining core requirements for the MPA degree are as follows:

• PAD 502: Organization Dynamics (3 hours)
• PAD 503: Analytical Tools (3 hours)
• PAD 504: Budget And Finance (3 hours)
• PAD 505: Human Resource Management (3 hours)
• PAD 506: Public Policy for Managers (3 hours)
• PAD 507: Information for Decision Making (3 hours)
• PAD 571: Capstone Seminar (3 hours) Total Hours: 21

Electives (up to four hours can be internship):

• At least six hours of elective courses must be selected from Public Administration (PAD) courses.
• Any combination of PAD 400- or 500-level courses may count toward the MPA degree.
• Only one 400-level elective from a program outside the Department of Public and Nonprofit Administration may be counted toward the MPA.
• A student in the accelerated BA/MPA may take up to six 400-level hours of electives and apply these toward the MPA.

Concentrations

The Public and Nonprofit Administration program offers several concentrations, including:

• Child Advocacy Studies Concentration
• Environment and Society Concentration
• Global Public Health Concentration