Public Administration (MPA)
UNG offers a 36-credit-hour Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree in order to serve qualified, professionally-oriented college graduates who aspire employment in the public sector, in a nonprofit organization, or in a corporate setting having extensive interaction with governmental agencies. All program instruction is delivered online.
The MPA program is intended to be challenging in order to make a student’s investment of time worthwhile and is open to all majors. The program is also flexible to accommodate the schedules of both full-time and part-time students and to allow students with a variety of interests to profit from the program’s curricular options.
MPA Program Quick Facts
- Online program, no campus visit required
- Asynchronous online classes
- Program length 36 credit hours
- 24 hours of core courses, 12 hours of elective courses
- Graduate Assistantship Opportunity
- Scholarships available to graduate students
- Internship opportunities
- Open to enrollment any semester
- GRE or GMAT not required with minimum GPA
- Rolling admissions - applications are reviewed as received
Program Application Deadlines
If program capacity is met prior to established admission deadlines, we will stop accepting applications for admission and cancel remaining incomplete applicants. Completing your application earlier is better.
Fall Deadline
Spring Deadline
Summer Deadline
MPA Program Curriculum
This 36 credit hour program (9 credit hours per semester) can be completed in two years. However, the majority of students in the program are working professionals enrolled part-time; they generally take three to three and a half years to complete the requirements for their degree.
The program offers eight core classes and four electives in our Public Affairs concentration. Our curriculum enhances theoretical and practical skills in the areas of public policy and public administration. You will learn about: public budgeting, public financing, the legal and ethical environment of public administration, how to conduct applied research, and so much more. We prepare you to become leaders in the public and human service settings and to lead and manage public and non-profit organizations.
Core Courses ( 24 credit hours)
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This course examines how people behave in organizations and how organizations function. We assume that the behavior of people in an organization ultimately determines the success or failure of that organization.
Hours:
3
View Course in Catalog
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This course is an introduction to the profession of public administration. Topics covered in the course include the historical development of public administration, the role of politics and administration, and the central concepts and major theoretical orientations in the field of public administration.
Hours:
3
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An examination of the development and structure of the public financial sectors, the principles and roles of operating and capital budgets in public organizations, and the relationships between funding mechanisms and public policy. The course includes an introduction to public economics and financial reporting.
Hours:
3
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A study of models explaining the development of public policies and of empirical methods of analyzing and evaluating public policy. The course includes discussions of principles of strategic planning and public economics, designs for conducting policy research, and ethics as a criterion of sound public policy.
Hours:
3
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This course introduces the basic legal framework of administration organization and the rules governing administrative powers and their exercise. The legal procedures for the enforcement of bureaucratic responsibility in the democratic state will be examined. The course examines the ethical theories and applications in the public sector and values in the context of public administration.
Hours:
3
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Study of systems of employee recruitment, appointment, career development, reductions in force, and termination of employment in the public service. Employee-management relations, including public-employee unions, will be examined. Fair employment practices will be discussed.
Hours:
3
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This course is an introduction to research methods and techniques used by public administrators. The course covers descriptive statistics, contingency tables, and other statistical procedures such as simple regression that are commonly found in applied research and frequently used by public managers. This course emphasizes methods, design, analysis and application rather than calculation of statistics.
Hours:
3
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This course provides an examination and critical analysis of important theories, concepts, and current issues relevant in the field of public administration. The course is design as a culmination of the topics and issues covered in the MPA core curriculum.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
Prerequisites: POLS 7202 and approval of MPA Coordinator
Hours:
3
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Electives (12 credit hours)
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Study of the laws and traditions that determine the structures and operations of state and local governments in the U.S.
Hours:
3
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A study of the impact that the public and private sectors exert on one another. The seminar will focus on governmental regulation of business, government's role as referee of commercial disputes, business's influence on public policy making, and the opportunity for the rank and file of the public and labor to influence decision making by elected officials and management.
Hours:
3
View Course in Catalog
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This course examines the linkages that have developed between the public and private sectors in the delivery of goods and services in the United States. The course examines the context of privatization and the different forms of public-private partnerships practiced in the United States. Topics covered in this course include the public-private dichotomy, the provisions of public goods, market and government failures, models of privatization and the future of public-private partnerships.
Hours:
3
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This course presents two approaches to operating a public or nonprofit agency productively. One approach involves the use of information technology with such software as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access. The other approach involves the application of operations management for optimizing the efficiency of the agency. Operations- management methods include linear programming, computer simulation, job design, facility location, forecasting, aggregate planning, inventory control, scheduling and quality assurance.
Hours:
3
View Course in Catalog
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This course examines the fundamental concepts of intra-sectoral and cross-sectoral collaboration. Students examine issues pertaining to collaboration as practiced in, and by, the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Topics include distinctions between cooperation, coordination, collaboration, issues of public management within these arrangements, governance, accountability, and outcomes.
Hours:
3
View Course in Catalog
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This course focuses on the purpose of nonprofit organizations, the impact that nonprofits have on society, the functions of nonprofit governance and management, and the relationship of nonprofit organizations with other entities in their environment. Topics include the management of paid and volunteer staff members, nonprofit marketing, public relations, fund-raising, and international nonprofit activity.
Hours:
3
View Course in Catalog
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Determined by course content. A seminar on topics which will vary according to instructor and student interest. With a change in topic, this course may be repeated twice for up to 9 hours of credit.
Hours:
3
View Course in Catalog
Tentative Course Schedule
The schedule may change as circumstances necessitate. All of the MPA courses are taught fully online.
Research Practicum (POLS 7500) requires prerequisites of Foundations of Public Administration (POLS 7202) and Research Methods for Public Administration (POLS 7400). The Capstone Seminar (POLS 7410) must be taken after the other core courses have been completed or during the same semester as the last core courses are being completed. Students should note that core courses are scheduled during the summer term and should plan accordingly. Refer to the university's academic calendar for information on starting and ending dates of semesters and sessions, deadlines for withdrawing with a “W" mark, etc.
Any schedule of courses must be understood to be tentative, in that university authorities reserve the right to cancel courses because of inadequate enrollment, the need to staff other necessary functions, etc. On a semester-to-semester basis, the best way to ensure that the course you want to take will not be canceled is by pre-registering for it
Spring 2022
- POLS 6106 State & Local Government
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7300 Public Budgeting
- POLS 7410 Capstone Seminar in Public Administration
- POLS 7400 Research Methods for Public Administration
Summer 2022
- POLS 6106 State & Local Government
- POLS 7200 Leadership & Organizational Theory
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7360 Legal & Ethical Environment of Public Administration
- POLS 7900 Special Topics - Social Equity
Fall 2022
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7320 Public Policy Analysis
- POLS 7380 Public Personnel Administration
- POLS 7400 Research Methods for Public Administration
- POLS 7660 Information & Operations Management
Spring 2023
- POLS 7195 Global Governance
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7300 Public Budgeting
- POLS 7410 Capstone seminar in Public Administration
- POLS 7650 Public Private Partnership
- POLS 7900 Special Topics - More details to come
Summer 2023
- POLS 7200 Leadership & Organizational Theory
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7670 Collaboration
- POLS 7360 Legal and Ethical Environment of Public Administration
- POLS 7900 Special Topics - More details to come
Fall 2023
- POLS 6106 State and Local Government
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7320 Public Policy Analysis
- POLS 7380 Public Personal Administration
- POLS 7400 Research Mathods for Public Administration
Spring 2024
- POLS 7105 Global Governance
- POLS 7300 Public Budgeting
- POLS 7410 Capstone seminar in Public Administration
- POLS 7600 Information and Operations Management
- POLS 7900 Special Topics - More details to come
Summer 2024
- POLS 7200 Leadership & Organizational Theory
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7360 Legal & Ethical Environment of Public Administration
- POLS 7900 Special Topics - More details to come
- POLS 7900 Special Topics - Social Equity
Fall 2024
- POLS 6106 State & Local Government
- POLS 7202 Foundations of Public Administration
- POLS 7320 Public Policy Analysis
- POLS 7380 Public Personnel Administration
- POLS 7400 Research Methods for Public Administration
Spring 2025
- POLS 7105 Global Governance
- POLS 7300 Public Budgeting
- POLS 7410 Capstone seminar in Public Administration
- POLS 7670 Public Private Partnership
- POLS 7900 Special Topics – More details to come
Summer 2025
- More details to come
Fall 2025
- More details to come
About Our Graduate Assistantship
The MPA program offers one graduate assistantship annually that serve either as teaching assistants, research assistants or service assistants. Graduate assistants receive a tuition waiver and are paid a stipend.
Graduate Assistant Information Graduate Assistant Application
Questions?
For questions about the application process, contact:
Graduate Admissions
grads@ung.edu
706-864-1543