Traditional MPA Program

Degree Program Requirements

The MPA degree requires 36 classroom hours of graduate level courses. Of these hours, 18 are specified as core curriculum, and must be completed by all students. The remaining 18 hours include a combination of courses required in a major field of concentration and electives. Electives are chosen to meet individual career objectives and may be selected from the course offerings of one or more of the colleges in the university. In addition to the 36 classroom hours, there is a 6-hour internship requirement for those lacking public service work experience. Detailed program requirements can be found in the MPA Handbook.

Required Courses

All students must take the following courses:

PUAD 5319: Research Methods in Public Administration (currently offered as PUAD 5348)
PUAD 5320: Program Evaluation and Quantitative Analysis
POLS 5341: Public Policy Theory and Process
PUAD 5343: Public Personnel Administration
PUAD 5344: Public Budgeting
PUAD 5337: Organization Theory

Beyond the core courses listed above, students must take 18 hours of courses in an area of concentration. Students have the option to select a concentration area based on his or her specific career objectives. The following concentration areas (tracks) are currently offered in the program: Public Management, Fiscal Administration, Health Care Administration, and Public Policy Analysis.

Concentration Areas (Track Descriptions)

Fiscal Administration (Track coordinator: Dr. Aman Khan)

Fiscal administration deals with a wide range of activities essential to the successful operation of a government. At a minimum, it deals with all aspects of the budget process, including demand for and provision of public goods, structure and processes of revenue generation, administration of public debt, and management of idle cash. Fiscal administration also requires knowledge of collective bargaining, policies that deal with risk management and insurance, and purchasing and inventory policies. This track aims to develop within students a basic understanding of fiscal administration concepts and how they are applied in real-world situations. The track also helps students acquire an appreciation for analytic frameworks for financial administration, allowing them to gain important technical skills vital for careers in public management. To that end, the fiscal administration track is structured around courses that student will be required to take both within and outside the department. In addition to taking the six core courses that all public administration students are required to take, students within this track will be required to take four required and two elective courses related to their field of specialization.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

Health Care Administration (Track coordinator: Dr. Clarke Cochran)

Heath care administration focuses on the application of the principles and practices of public administration to the policy and practice of health care and medicine. Health administration is a professional activity associated with public administration because administrators must be able to make intelligent choices about alternative courses of action that their agency might take in reference to the challenges of administering health care-related programs in a rapidly changing medical and policy environment. Program graduates work in a variety of organization settings, such as federal, state, and local agencies; legislatures; consulting firms; interest group associations; nonprofit organizations; and research institutes. Specific sites include hospitals, clinics, the Health Care Financing Administration, Texas Department of Health, and private health care consulting companies. The health administration track in the MPA program aims to prepare students to enter the workforce by giving them a strong set of tools and specific health care knowledge necessary for effective administration. The track is structured so that, in addition to the MPA core, all students will take four track requirements to develop analytic skills and tools. Students also take two electives designed to allow them to develop specialized expertise.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

Public Management (Track coordinator: Dr. Brian Collins)

The primary objective of the public management track is to prepare students for careers as public, county, state, and federal administrators. The curriculum provides the professional skills that employers demand and the critical analytic skills needed for career advancement. There are two specific objectives for the track. First, the track provides students with the technical and managerial skills necessary for the effective delivery of public services. Second, it provides students with the analytic skills to understand the formulation and implementation of public policy in the context of political, social, and economic challenges. The required courses in the public management track further develop skills from the core classes by focusing on key skills that today’s public managers need: program management; an understanding of analytic and ethical issues related to public administration; information technology; and financial management. Electives allow students to have a more interdisciplinary experience and to develop specific areas of expertise such as urban planning or administrative law.

Emphasis:

• City Management: The primary objective of city management emphasis is to provide education and professional training to students interested in securing mid- or executive-level positions in municipalities. There is a strong emphasis upon management skills particularly important in modern municipalities. Performance measurement, contracting out, financial management and accounting are examples. Other required classes in this area of emphasis provide students with opportunities to develop ethics, leadership, networking, and planning skills.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

• Nonprofit Management: The primary objective of the nonprofit emphasis is to provide education and professional training to students interested in securing mid- or executive-level positions in small- or mid-sized, charitable, nonprofit organizations. The nonprofit emphasis incorporates a strong emphasis on the acquisition of the critical thinking skills and administrative competencies necessary for executive directors and board members to manage effectively within their organizations and across organizational boundaries. The required classes in the nonprofit track build on the core courses offered in the program by providing students with opportunities to develop leadership, networking, grant writing, and other administrative skills.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

• Organizational Management: Students that are not interested in the more specific emphases in nonprofit organizations or municipal management take the organizational management track. This track provides the most flexibility for electives in public management. Students acquire a strong foundation in financial management and accounting and have the flexibility to pursue managerial skills that are useful in local, state, or federal public organizations. Examples include planning, grant-writing, and advanced quantitative analysis. Yet, like others in the public management track, these students develop ethics, leadership, and information technology skills.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

Policy Analysis (Track coordinator: Dr. Brian Gerber)

The policy analysis track prepares students to prepare policy-relevant information and provide guidance that aids governmental decision makers in making informed choices. Policy analysis is a professional activity associated with public administration because administrators must be able to both produce and consume information intelligently when making decisions about an agency’s course of action. Policy analysts work in a variety of organizational settings including federal, state, local agencies and legislatures, consulting firms, interest group associations, nonprofit organizations, and research institutes. The policy analysis track aims to prepare students to enter the workforce by providing them with a set of tools and skills they will need to engage in policy-related research and analysis. The track is structured such that, in addition to the MPA core, students will complete three courses related to a particular substantive policy area such as those listed below. Students may develop other areas of emphasis with approval from the track coordinator and the MPA program director.

Emphasis:

• Economics: Students interested in an economic emphasis develop high level analytic skills that can be applied in a variety of contexts. Much of the formal policy analysis in areas from education to environmental regulation use economic theories and skills as a framework for analysis. In addition, economic development, workforce development, regulatory policy, and public finance are other areas of interests for students in this area. Most students in this track take at least some electives in the Department of Economics.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

• Environmental: Students interested in an environmental emphasis can focus on the regulatory and administrative components of environmental policy. Students can develop expertise in water management, hazard mitigation, or EPA compliance issues. Most students in this track can take electives in the the School of Engineering or the Environmental Toxicity program among others.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

• Health Care: Students interested in the health care policy track can develop expertise in some of the most complex public policies at all levels of government. Students in this track gain exposure to a variety of health policy issues such as health services delivery at the local level, the economics of national health care programs, or public health issues such as epidemiology. In addition to our own health policy courses, students can take electives in the School of Business and the Health Science Center.

Degree Plan (for incoming Fall 2004 students)

Comprehensive Examination

MPA students are expected to take a comprehensive examination in the area of concentration and on public administration during the last long semester of their enrollment. Information on the comprehensive exam and program grading procedures used are described in the MPA handbook.

Internships

An integral part of each student’s program is an internship assignment with a governmental or nonprofit agency. The experience provides students with the opportunity to develop further managerial and policy skills and to apply classroom knowledge in work settings. Agencies are asked to assign the intern to at least one project for which he or she is responsible from start to finish, and to provide the intern with an opportunity to participate in as broad a range of activities as possible. In addition, students complete an internship paper to fulfill the internship requirements. Information on internship requirements are described in the MPA handbook.

Mid-Career and Part-Time Students

The MPA program welcomes part-time students who desire to return to school for additional professional training or to prepare for a change in careers. To accommodate part-time students, MPA courses are offered during evening hours. In addition, the internship requirement may be waived by the MPA program director for students with substantial public-sector administrative experience.

Fall Orientation for New Students

A mandatory orientation session is held early in the Fall semester to welcome and acclimate new students to the MPA program. Students will have an opportunity to meet faculty members and to socialize with other students entering the program.