Master of Public Affairs
http://www.utdallas.edu/epps/public-affairs/
Faculty
Professors: Euel Elliott, L. Douglas Kiel, Richard Scotch
Associate Professors: Simon Fass
Assistant Professors: Paul Battaglio, Jeremy
Hall, Young-joo Lee and Meghna
Sabharwal
Clinical Professors: Donald Arbuckle, Calvin Jamison, Robert Whelan
Clinical Associate Professor: Wendy Hassett
Clinical Assistant Professor: Kimberly Aaron, Karen Jarrell, Nick Valcik
Senior Lecturers: Ted Benavides
Mission
The mission of the Master of Public
Affairs is to educate professionals in public and non-profit management, policy
analysis, and applied technology for effective careers in public policy and
public management organizational environments. The program serves local,
regional, and national communities through professional development programs,
public policy, and management analyses, program and policy design, and as a
forum for new ideas and approaches to policy and management problems. The
curriculum is intended to train students who will ultimately assume senior
staff, managerial and leadership roles in public agencies and other
organizations.
Objectives
The Master’s degree in Public
Affairs is a professional degree with a focus on public management, policy
analysis, and applied technology. The MPA program emphasizes public management,
management analysis, implementation, and evaluation of public policies. The
curriculum is intended to train students who ultimately will assume senior
staff, managerial and leadership roles in public agencies, non-profit
organizations, consulting firms, and businesses significantly affected by
public policies.
The MPA program faculty is committed
to producing clear and specific results for our students. Thus, the specific
objectives for all graduates of the MPA program are:
1.To Demonstrate Knowledge: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the
theoretical foundations of public management and leadership, non-profit
management and leadership, policy analysis, and civic engagement in governance.
2.To Learn Specific Skills and Knowledge:
Students will learn specific skills and knowledge that will prepare them for
challenging positions of management responsibility and/or policy analysis in
the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
3.To Develop Research and Writing
Skills: Students will develop their
research and writing skills so that they can effectively communicate their
ideas based on study and research.
4.To Present Complex Ideas and
Research Findings Orally: Students will
have the ability to present complex ideas and research findings orally.
Facilities
Students have access to the
computing facilities in the
Admission
Requirements
The
University’s general admission requirements are discussed here.
The Master of Public Affairs program
seeks applications from students with a baccalaureate degree for an accredited
university or college. A 3.0 undergraduate grade point average (on a 4.0 scale)
and a combined verbal and quantitative score of at least 1000 on the Graduate
Records Examination (GRE) or equivalent score on the Graduate Management
Aptitude Test (GMAT), are preferred.
Students may also wish to consider submitting their score from the writing
component of the GRE test as additional evidence of their writing skills. An
analytical writing score of at least 4.5 in the GRE is considered
desirable. Standardized test scores are only one of the factors taken
into account in determining admission. Students should also submit transcripts,
three letters of recommendation and a one-page essay outlining the applicant’s
background, education, and professional objectives.
Prerequisites
Some students may need to take
courses that prepare them adequately for core coursework. In general, students
who lack a background in mathematics or microcomputing may be required to take
courses designed to prepare them for the material to which they will be exposed
in these courses. Students should consult with the graduate advisor regarding
specific courses to be taken.
Degree
Requirements
The
University’s general degree requirements are discussed here.
Students seeking a Master of Public
Affairs (MPA) degree must complete at least 42 semester credit hours of work in
the program. The program has three components: a 24 hour core, 15 hours of
directed electives within a chosen specialization and 3 hours of internship or
policy research workshop.
Grade Point Requirements
Students must maintain at least a
3.0 grade point average in the core courses and an overall grade point average
of 3.0 to graduate. If a student’s GPA does not meet these
Core
Courses (24 hours)
All MPA students should complete the
core courses as soon as possible. A full-time student entering the program will
normally take three core courses and one additional course each semester. The
workshop or internship is usually undertaken when the student has completed
most of the other degree requirements.
Required
core courses for the MPA:
PA 6313 Public Policymaking and
Institutions
PA 6317 Economics for Public Policy or PA 6342 Local Economic Development or PA
7317 Microeconomics for Policy
PA 7318 Ethics, Culture and Public Responsibility
EPPS 6313 Descriptive and Inferential Statistics for the Economic, Political
and Policy Sciences
PA 6311 Public Management
PA 6321 Government Financial Management and Budgeting
PA 6320 Organizational Theory
PA 6345 Human Resource Management
Professional
Specialization Core Courses (9 hours)
Students who specialize in Public
Management take 15 hours from: PA 6300 Quality and Productivity Improvement in
Government, PA 6326 Decision Tools for Managers, PA 6328 Management Process and
Analysis, POEC 6336 Bureaucracy and Public Policy, PA 7322 Negotiation
Strategies for Effective Management, PA 6344 Local Government Management, or
other appropriate courses approved by the MPA Director.
Students who select the Local
Government Management Track take 15 hours from: PA 6344 Local Government
Management, PA 6345 Human Resources Management, PA 6342 Local Economic
Development, SOC 6341 Urban Development and PA 6321 Government Financial
Management and Budgeting.
Students who choose Policy Analysis
complete 15 hours from: PA 7317 Economics for Public Policy,
Students who specialize in Applied
Technology take: GISC 6381 Geographic Information Systems Fundamentals (
Students who wish to focus on the
Non-profit Management Track take 15 hours from: PA 6380 Non-profit
Organizations, PA 6381 Non-profit Management, PA 6374 Financial Management for
Non-profit Organizations, EPPS 6352 Evaluation Research Methods and PA 7V62
Policy Research Workshop in Non-profit Organizations.
Other courses may substitute for
those listed in any specialization with the approval of the Associate Dean for
Graduate Education or the Director of the MPA degree.
Elective
Courses (6 hours)
Students must also complete 6 hours
of elective coursework within the professional specialization. These courses will be determined in
consultation with the MPA advisor. Other courses, including online
offerings, may be authorized for all tracks at the discretion of the MPA
Program Director.
Workshop or Internship (3 hours)
The Policy Research Workshop applies
the student’s knowledge and professional skills to a research project. Problem
definition and project development occur in a team environment under faculty
direction, sometimes in concert with an external client who is funding the
research. The effort places the student in an environment where cooperative
skills and timely product delivery are essential. The workshop is recommended
for students specializing in policy analysis, for those who already have
substantial professional experience, and for part-time students for whom an
internship is not practical. GISC 6387
The internship involves work in a
professional capacity in an organization, under the joint supervision of an
experienced professional mentor at the internship site and a member of the
faculty. The standard three hour internship requires approximately a
one-quarter time commitment to the work experience. Six-hour internships
normally are half-time appointments for a semester or the summer. The objective
of the internship is to provide an introduction to professional life and to
establish sound approaches to the practice of public affairs. Full-time
students choosing public management will normally choose the internship.
