| |
Sep 30, 2024
|
|
|
|
|
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog
Public Administration, MPA
|
|
Hobby School of Public Affairs > Public Administration, MPA
The Master of Public Administration Program (MPA) provides higher levels of training and education for pre-service and in-service public managers, and public officials to address major public policy issues in a metropolitan scenario.
|
Admission Requirements
Admissions decisions for the MPA program will be made on the totality of the student’s application. However, it is expected that the typical well-qualified student will have an undergraduate GPA above 3.0 with scores above 152 on the verbal, 150 on the quantitative, and 4.0 on the analytical writing sections of the GRE.
Applicants must show through either their quantitative GRE score or their performance in previous coursework that they possess the ability to handle the quantitative elements of the curriculum. Students must have an undergraduate degree, although no particular major is required. Applicants to the MPA program are not required to have any professional experience, although such experience enhances their application.
GRE Waiver Option
The Hobby School’s GRE requirement is waived for applicants to the Hobby School’s Master of Public Administration who have at least one of the following from an institution accredited as specified in the UH Minimum Qualifications for Admission to Master’s and Doctoral Programs:
- Overall undergraduate GPA of 3.3 and higher (on a 4-point scale)
OR
- Master’s or terminal degree
Application Information
For full information on application processing, required documents, and admissions deadlines, please visit the MPA Admission page.
MPA Curriculum and Degree Requirements
Credit hours required for this degree: 36
The MPA degree focuses on the management side in the public sector. The program is designed to be completed in two years, but program length will vary depending on full-time or part-time enrollment. In order to accommodate working students, required classes are offered in the evenings, Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The total core curriculum consists of nine courses or 29 hours. The remaining three courses are electives oriented to your specialization. This results in an overall total of 12 courses or 36 hours for the MPA degree.
Required Courses (10 courses required: 30 credit hours)
Specialization Electives (2 courses required: 6 credit hours)
The specialization and elective courses are selected by the student and must be approved by the department. Some examples of specializations include Urban Politics, Health Care Policy, Emergency Management, and Non-Profit Management.
Internship (optional: 3 credit hours)
Completing the internship requirement can fulfill one of the two electives. This requirement is intended for students who have not had full-time work experience in the private, public, or non-profit sector.
MPA Comprehensive Exam
At or near the completion of course work, students are asked to demonstrate their familiarity with the literature in the field and their ability to apply it to problems of public administration in a one-day exam. This exam is typically taken during the last term of course work.
Dual Degrees
The Hobby School currently has a dual degree with the UH Law Center (Juris Doctorate/MPA).
Dual degree programs allow students to earn two graduate-level degrees in less time than it would take to complete them sequentially. Students interested in this option must be admitted separately to each of the programs and admission to one has no official bearing on admission to the other.
For more detailed information concerning these dual degree programs, please visit the Dual Degree Programs page.
|
|
|