Master of Public Administration Program

Barry D. Friedman, Professor of Political Science
     Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Ross C. Alexander, Assistant Professor of Political Science
     Ph.D., Northern Illinois University

Faculty in Associated Areas:
Carl D. Cavalli, Assistant Professor of Political Science
     Ph.D., University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Leo C. Downing, Head of the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice and
          Professor of Criminal Justice
     Ph.D., Oklahoma State University
K. Michael Reese, Professor of Criminal Justice
     J.D., University of Alabama; LL.M., Emory University; Ph.D., Georgia State University
 

INTRODUCTION TO THE M.P.A. PROGRAM

The M.P.A. Program combines the rigor of practical and theoretical education with the flexibility of evening classes and other accommodations for working individuals.  In-service professionals who have completed the M.P.A. Program report that they have been promoted to positions of greater responsibility and authority.  Pre-service graduates have been extremely successful in finding attractive employment opportunities for their first professional positions. Some of these positions include program analyst, legislative analyst, budget analyst, nonprofit executive director, caseworker, and teacher.

Many M.P.A. students present their scholarship at conference, including the annual meeting of the Georgia Political Science Association, the Georgia Public Administration Academic Con- ference (sponsored by the Georgia Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration), and NGCSU's annual Honors Day Research Conference.  To view a list of presentations made by M.P.A. students in recent years, click here.

The M.P.A. Degree

The Program

Admission

      1.  Transcripts from all institutions attended.
      2.  A completed bachelor's degree.
      3.  Three letters of recommendation on forms provided.

In addition regular admission status requires an earned undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75 and a GRE score of at least 800 (a GMAT score of at least 420 may be substituted).

Download an application for admission at the Graduate Studies web site, or send an E-mail message to Dr. Barry D. Friedman, program coordinator.

The Curriculum

      1.  9 core courses (27 semester credits).
      2.  3 courses in a concentration (9 semester credits).
      3.  An internship for pre-service students.  (The internship is required of all students who do not have at least two years of professional experience in public service organization. The internship requires full-time professional work in a public service organization for ten weeks.)
      4.  Successful completion of the comprehensive exam.

The requirements include nine core courses.

     List of core courses:

POLS 7200 -- Seminar in Public Administration
POLS 7300 -- Public Budgeting
POLS 7320 -- Public Policy Analysis
POLS 7380 -- Public Personnel Administration
POLS 7600 -- Statistics for Public Management
POLS 7640 -- Technology for Public Management
POLS 7890 -- Public Management
Choose two out of three:

MGMT 6669 / PSYC 6690 -- Organizational Behavior
POLS 7220 -- Politics and Bureaucracy
POLS 7290 -- Ethics for Public Service

• Criminal Justice Administration
  
• Public Affairs
• Public Health Administration

Most courses meet on Monday and/or Wednesday evenings.

Refer also to the "Regulations of the MPA Program" (just click on the link).

Notice about the style of research papers:  It is mandatory that M.P.A. students use the style of research papers prescribed by the American Psychological Association (APA).  The current version of the APA style manual is available from virtually all bookstores and from on-line book vendors.  Each new student in the program is advised to purchase a copy of the APA style manual and to apply the contents in all respects in the composition of every research paper.  Please note that the M.P.A. faculty has prescribed some modifications to the APA style manual; click here to view these modifications.
 

M.P.A. PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

Click here to see the M.P.A. Program in action!
 

SCHEDULE OF M.P.A. COURSES DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS

Click here to access the tentative schedule of M.P.A. courses during the next several years.
 

RESEARCH RESOURCES FOR M.P.A. STUDENTS

     If you are wondering about how to get a start when looking for research resources, NGCSU's Stewart Library maintains a Web page to help students who are conducting research in the area of public administration.  The URL address of the Web page is:
   http://www.NGCSU.edu/adminsrv/library/subject1/PublicAdministration/PublicAdmin/Home.html
 

SOURCES OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER SOURCES OF FINANCIAL AID, PAID INTERNSHIPS, AND OTHER PROGRAMS

Click here for information about scholarships, other sources of financial aid, paid internships, and other programs that are available to M.P.A. students. 
 

AFFILIATIONS

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The M.P.A. Program maintains close associations with several organizations.  These contacts have benefited many of our students.

NGCSU's M.P.A. Program hosts the NGCSU subchapter of the Georgia Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.  Our subchapter representative serves on the chapter council of the Georgia Chapter.

Dr. Friedman is chancellor of the Atlantic Region for the Pi Gamma Mu social-science honor society.  He is the founding secretary-treasurer of the Georgia Kappa Chapter of Pi Gamma Mu.  Many M.P.A. students have qualified for membership in Pi Gamma Mu.

Dr. Friedman is faculty advisor of the Xi Kappa Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha.  Many M.P.A. students have qualified for membership in Pi Sigma Alpha.

M.P.A. students elect representatives to NGCSU's Graduate Student Senate.

Good question!  And we have a good answer:  Students enrolled in the M.P.A. Program, and recent graduates of the M.P.A. Program, have obtained their first professional jobs as a result of their involvement in the program.  In-service students report receiving promotions, raises, and new responsibilities as a result of their completion of the program.

Here is a profile of five graduates of the M.P.A. Program at NGCSU.

Steve Gooch earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from NGCSU in 1993 and was executive director of R-Ranch in the Mountains, a Lumpkin County resort, when he entered the M.P.A. Program in 1997.  While an M.P.A. student, Steve was initiated into the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society and served as president of NGCSU's Xi Kappa Chapter.  He was the second graduate of the M.P.A. Program.  In 2000, Steve was elected to be the last "sole commissioner" (the one-man legislature) of Lumpkin County.  As county commissioner, Steve stabilized the desperate fiscal crisis that he inherited from his predecessor.  In 2004, Steve was elected to become the first chairman of Lumpkin County's new Board of Commissioners.  Steve currently serves as chair of the General Government Committee for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG).  In 2003, Steve became one of the first five recipients of the Georgia "Excellence in Public Service Awards," presented by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia in partnership with Georgia Trend magazine.  The magazine's editors wrote that Steve's "tight-fisted, sunshine approach to finances includes a code of ethics, as well as travel and purchase policies unlike anything Lumpkin [County] had before."

Marsha Harper Moore already occupied a position of responsibility in Georgia's Office of School Readiness when she began her studies in the M.P.A. Program.  Her outstanding scholarship earned her membership in the Pi Gamma Mu social-science honor society and the Pi Sigma Alpha political-science honor society, and recognition in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges.  Marsha graduated from the program "with distinction."  Immediately upon her graduation, Marsha was promoted to division director of child-care services with responsibilities in policy development and regulation writing for the agency.  Later, Marsha was promoted to director of programs, and, from 2000 until 2003, Marsha was acting director of the agency until Governor Sonny Perdue appointed her to the position of director in September 2003.  On May 12, 2004, Governor Perdue named Marsha to be the first commissioner of the new state Department of Early Care and Learning.  During the fall semester of 2001, Marsha taught POLS 7380, "Public Personnel Administration," for the M.P.A. Program.

Jennifer M. Tucker was a vocational rehabilitation counselor for Georgia's Department of Human Resources when she entered the M.P.A. Program.  Her outstanding work as a graduate student earned her membership in the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society for leadership and the Pi Sigma Alpha political-science honor society.  She completed the M.P.A. Program with a GPA of 4.0. During her final semester, she applied and was selected for a prestigious federal-government Presidential Management Internship. Her first PMI assignment was in the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, in the office of the director of planning, evaluation, and legislation.

Holly R. Payne came to the M.P.A. Program as an accomplished alumna of NGCSU.  As an undergraduate in sociology, she won the Leger Sociology Award, was initiated as a member of the Phi Kappa Phi interdisciplinary honor society, and received a Presidential Scholar award for presenting a paper at NGCSU's Honor Day Research Conference.  Holly completed the M.P.A. Program with a GPA of 4.0, was initiated into the Pi Sigma Alpha political-science honor society, and was recognized in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges.   Within days of her graduation, she began work as a temporary full-time instructor of computer science at NGCSU for the 2000-2001 academic year.  Holly continues to teach for NGCSU's Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Student - Walter F. Georgia School of Law at Mercer University

Mason G. Bryan was the prototype of the student activist during his enrollment in the M.P.A. Program. Not only was he the president of the M.P.A. Student Association, but he was also elected to the position of executive chair of the Graduate Student Senate. In that capacity, he reorganized the Senate, participating in the development of a new constitution and creating a new, effective process for funding graduate students' travel to present research papers at academic conferences. He received the Graduate Student Senate Award for Extraordinary Service.  Mason was initiated into the Omicron Delta Kappa (leadership), Pi Gamma Mu (social sciences), and Pi Sigma Alpha (political science) honor societies, and was recognized in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges. While an M.P.A. student, Mason was appointed to the position of environmental-compliance officer of Lumpkin County, and thus became the youngest chief of any law-enforcement agency in the entire United States.