http://www.utdallas.edu/epps/pa/mpa/
Professors: Euel Elliott, L.
Douglas Kiel,
Associate Professors: Marie Isabelle Chevrier,
Simon Fass
Assistant Professors: Paul Battaglio, Jeremy Hall, Stephanie Newbold,
Alicia Schortgen
Clinical Professor: Donald
Arbuckle
Clinical Assistant Professor: Kimberly
Aaron
Clinical Associate Professor:
Wendy Hassett
Senior Lecturers: Ted Benavides
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.
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 Spesific
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.
Students
have access to the computing facilities in the
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.
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.
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 four components:
a 24 hour core, 15 hours of directed electives, and 3 hours of internship or
policy research workshop. 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.
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.
PA 5303 Public
Policymaking and Institutions
PA 5307 Economics for Public Policy or PA 6342 Local Economic Development or PA
5305 Microeconomics for Policy
PA 5308 Ethics, Culture and Public Responsibility
PA 5313 Descriptive and Inferential Statistics for the Economic, Political and
Policy Sciences
PA 5315 Public Management
PA 5321 Government Financial Management and Budgeting
PA 6320 Organizational Theory
PA 5343 Human Resource Management
Students who
specialize in Public Management take 15 hours from: PA 5323 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 5343 Human Resources Management, PA 6342 Local
Economic Development, PA 6341 Urban Development and PA 5321 Government
Financial Management and Budgeting.
Students who
choose Policy Analysis complete 15 hours from: PA 5307 Economics for Public
Policy,
Students who
specialize in Applied Technology take: GISC 6381 Geographic Information Systems
Fundamentals (GIS), GISC 6382 Applied Geographic Information Systems (GIS),
GISC 6383 GIS Management and Implementation.
Students who
wish to focus on the Non-profit Management Track take 15 hours from: PA 5371
Non-profit Organizations, PA 5372 Non-profit Management and Leadership, PA 7315
Fundraising and Media Relations for Non-profit Organizations, PA 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.
Students in
Local Government Management, Non-profit Management and Public Management or
Policy Analysis also select, in consultation with the MPA Coordinator, an
additional 9 hours of appropriate coursework from the courses below. Students
in Applied Technology also select another 9 hours, 6 of which are from
appropriate electives described in the section on the Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) certificate.
PA 5306 Macroeconomic
Theory and Policy
PA 5318 Information Systems in Policy Environment
PA 5371 Non-Profit Organizations
POEC 6304 Advanced Analytical Techniques
POEC 6318 Structural Equation Modeling
PA 6381 Geographic Information Systems Fundamentals
GISC 6382 Applied
PA 5302 Law and The Policy Process
PA 6341 Urban Development
PA 6352 Evaluation Research Methods
PA 6381 Geographic Information Systems Fundamentals
GISC 6383
POEC 6V91 Evaluation Research
POEC 7320 International Negotiations
PA 6340 Domestic Social Policy
POEC 7341 Health Policy
Other courses, including online offerings, may be
authorized for all tracks at the discretion of the MPA Program Director.
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 GIS Workshop
fulfills the policy workshop requirement for students who specialize in applied
technology; in addition, these students may choose to do an internship.
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.