Master of Public Administration Curriculum

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The Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree is the preferred degree for public sector and non-profit agency managers and leaders. The MPA at NMU requires 44 credit hours for pre-service students and 42 credit hours for in-service students. Pre-service students are required to complete 2 credit hours of internship credit. The MPA courses are offered nights and weekends to meet the needs of working professionals.

MPA Requirements

Core (24 Credits)

PS 500 Research Methods of Public Administration		4
PS 501 Seminar in Public Policy Analysis		4
PS 507 Principles of Public Administration		4
PS 511 Ethics and Public Administration		2
PS 516 Organizational Theory		4
PS 524 Politics of Public Budgeting		2
PS 528 Seminar in Public Personnel		2
PS 592 Experiential Applications		2

Areas of Concentration

Criminal Justice Administration (12 Credits)

CJ 504 Graduate Seminar in Criminal Justice		4
CJ 510 Planning Organizational Change in Criminal Justice		4
CJ 530 Principles of Criminal Justice Management		4
CJ 595 Special Topics in Criminal Justice		4
CJ 598 Directed Study in Criminal Justice		4

Human Resources Administration (12 Credits)

MGT 412 Compensation Management		3
MGT 424 Collective Bargaining		3
PS 529 Seminar in Public Personnel Law		2
SP 421 Organizational Communication		4
PS 595 Special Topics in Political Science		4
PS 598 Directed Study in Political Science		4

State and Local Government (12 Credits)

PS 509 Seminar in Intergovernmental Relations		4
PS 519 Municipal Management		2
PS 522 Public Budget Management		2
PS 545 Politics and Administration of Community Development		4
PS 595 Special Topics in Political Science		4
PS 598 Directed Study in Political Science		4

Public Management (12 Credits)
Students, in consultation with their adviser, will select 12 credits of work tailored to their specific career needs and expectations.

Internship Requirement

PS 591 Supervised Internship in Public Administration

(This internship may be waived for in-service students with approval by the program director)
44 hours required with internship.

Electives (6 Credits)

Elective Courses

PS 402 Political Economy		4
PS 405 Party Pressure and Politics		4
PS 415 Politics of American Foreign Policy		4
PS 430 American Constitutional Law and Politics		4
PS 517 Seminar in American Government		4
PS 520 Politics of Education		4
PS 521 Grant Writing in Public Administration		2
PS 530 Seminar in Administrative Law		2
PS 545 Political and Administrative Aspects of Community Development		4
PS 560 Principles of Health Care Administration		2
PS 561 Political Aspects of Health Care Administration		2
PS 562 Program Evaluation Public/Non-profit		2

Qualifying Exam

As part of the capstone course (PS 592) students will be required to take and pass an exam over basic public administration concepts and theories. Students who opt for the thesis option must set up a time with the MPA Director to take this exam prior to their thesis defense.

Thesis Option

Students who choose the thesis option will be required to sign up for 6 credits hours of thesis credit and AIS 435 instead of elective hours. Students who choose the thesis option do not have to take PS 592. Students should consult the thesis guidelines on the School of Graduate Studies Web site. Students will have to orally defend their final product.

Portfolio Option

To fulfill this requirement students must complete a portfolio of superior quality, and make a presentation based on its contents to a three person faculty review committee. This committee will evaluate both the portfolio itself and the presentation. The presentation should be scheduled for one hour. Most of the time will be devoted to a question and answer exchange between faculty members and the student based on the contents of the portfolio.

The portfolio must contain the following:

Resume and Professional Statement
Internship Paper or Work Experience Paper
Research Design
Qualitative Paper
Quantitative Paper
Original Case Study
Area of Concentration Summary Paper
Capstone Paper

Other material the student believes enhances the portfolio and represents their education may be added.