Public Administration
A Master’s Degree in Public Administration
The Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) is designed to prepare students for a career in administration in the public sector. The program is accredited by the prestigious National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration and boasts a faculty exceptional faculty combining prominent academics and practitioners. At least two graduate level courses in this program are offered at the Palm Desert Campus each academic year. Between the face-to-face classes, and the online classes for which there is an additional fee, students can complete all their courses at Palm Desert at a speed of their choosing. Students must be prepared to travel to the San Bernardino campus for orientation and the Comprehensive Examination.
The Coordinator for the MPA program is Dr. Jonathan Anderson, who can be contacted by email or phone 909-537-5759, is happy to provide information and advising. Chuck Borden, Program Assistant, can assist you in admissions, registration, etc. He can be reached by email and by phone 909-537-5758.
Program Requirements
In addition to application, application fee and all undergraduate and graduate transcripts, specific requirements for admission are:
- A bachelor’s degreefrom an accredited college or university;
- A GPA of 3.0 or above for the last 90 quarter units (or 60 semester units) of coursework including postbaccalaureate course work
OR
- At least a 2.75 and a combined score of (GPA x 350) + GRE = 1950. For example, a 2.75 GPA in the last 90 quarter units would require a GRE score of 988 and a GPA score of 2.95 would need a GRE of 918;
- Competence in the following prerequisite sourses or their equivalents:
- MGMT 306. Expository Writing for Administration (with a grade of "B" or better; formerly 490), or passing the Writing Requirement Exemption Exam (WREE). Petitions to the Graduate Dean for a waiver of the writing requirement generally require the submission of a high quality research paper.
- Any statistics course such as SCM 210. Applied Business Statistics (or MATH 305)
- PA 575. Internship in Public Administration. This requirement is waived for students with work experience in the public or non-profit sectors. Students who meet all entrance requirements except course pre-requisites may be admitted to the program in a conditionaly classified status until those pre-requisite deficiencies are removed.