For additional information contact: Joseph Cernik Department Chair of Political Science & Public Administration jcernik@lindenwood.edu 636-949-4810

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree is offered online. All required and elective courses are available online, although they may not necessarily be available every graduate session. Students and prospective students will work with an advisor who will help plan a schedule regarding courses and the sessions of offerings. The MPA degree is a professional graduate program that prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state, and federal/national government. The MPA degree is also useful if a student is interested in employment with an international organization or agency. The MPA degree is designed to educate students in the applications of inter-disciplinary skills needed in government operations. Public administration is a blending of business administration, human services, and core topics covered in the required public administration courses. Working in the public sector often requires skills that cannot be confined to a single discipline: the public sector and the private sector cross paths, and public officials need the skills of both to function effectively. The MPA program requires 36 credit hours of coursework. Students can start any of the four MPA foundation courses (MPA 59300, MPA 59400, MPA 59600, MPA 59800) whenever it is convenient for their schedules. Each course is nine weeks.

PLANNING A PROGRAM: BEGINNING TO END

There are five nine-week sessions in a year. Assuming two courses per session, then ten courses can be completed in a year. With twelve courses required for the MPA (which is based on the assumption that a student has taken an undergraduate course in Accounting), then the MPA can be completed in six sessions.  If no undergraduate courses in Accounting were taken, then ACCT 21010 (Principles of Financial Accounting), a course available online, is needed as part of the program.  If in one of those sessions, three courses were taken, with ACCT 21010 as one of the courses, then the MPA can still be completed in six sessions (with two courses taken for five out of six sessions).  
All four required MPA courses (MPA 59300, MPA 59400, MPA 59600, MPA 59800) are available each of the five sessions during the year.  
If you currently have a masters degree and want the MPA, nine credits can be transferred, requiring nine courses instead of twelve to complete the MPA.  

Core Curriculum

The following courses are required for all students completing the public administration degree (21 hours):

ACCT 51011 Managerial Accounting (3)*
FIN 52010 Financial Policy (3)
MPA 59300 Governmental Budgeting (3)
MPA 59400 Public Administration: Principles, Applications, and Ethics (3)
MPA 59600 Program Implementation and Evaluation (3)
MPA 59800 The Business-Government Environment (3)
NPA 50300 Human Resource Management/Nonprofit Organizations (3)

Elective Courses:

Students are to choose 15 credit hours from the following courses:

ACCT 51011 Managerial Accounting (3)
ECON 53081 Economics Concepts (3)
MGMT 56025 Business Marketing Concepts (3)
MGMT 56030 Management Practices (3)
MIS 54001 Management Information Systems (3)
INTL 58001 International Business Operations (3)
MGMT 56060 Business Law & Ethics (3)
MGMT 56070 Statistics and Quantitative Analysis (3)
HRM 56501 Organizational Behavior (3)
MRKT 55010 Marketing Principles & Issues (3)
ENTR 57515 Small Business Management (3)
MGMT 56056 Leadership in Structured Situations (3)
MGMT 56085 Operations Management (3)
NPA 50000 Fundraising and Planning (3)
NPA 55000 Management of Nonprofit Organizations (3)
NPA 56000 Leadership of Nonprofit Organizations (3)
NPA 57000 Organizational Behavior for Nonprofit Organizations (3)
NPA 57100 Grant writing (3)
NPA 58000 Nonprofit Budgeting and Financial Management (3)
NPA 59000 Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations (3)
NPA 52000 Program and Organizational Evaluation (3)
NPA 53000 Volunteer Management (3)
NPA 54000 Problem Solving (3)
NPA 58100 Strategic and Program Planning for Nonprofit Organization (3)
EDT 50010 Educational Technology Theory and Practice (3)
EDT 50020 Transforming Learning with Technology (3)
EDT 50030 Multimedia Applications (3)
EDT 50040 Digital Communication (3)
EDT 50050 Andragogy (Adult Learning) and Distance Education (3)
EDT 50060 Ethics & Issues in Educational Technology (3)
MPA 59900 Special Topics in Public Administration (3)

 * Requires prerequisite  ACCT 21010 Principles of Financial Accounting (Available Online)

This program is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
www.ncahlc.org