Program Requirements

Background Course

PA 5389: Internship in Government

Students without public or non-profit administrative experience will be required to take PA 5389: Internship in Government within the first 24 credit hours of the program. In order for the internship requirement to be waived, a letter from an employer or past employer briefly documenting the student's administrative experience needs to be sent to the director of the MPA Program. 

Core Courses

All MPA pathways must take the following 24 credit hours of public administration courses:
*It is advised that PA 5300 be taken within the first six hours and PA 5390 within the first 12 hours.

PA 5300: Introduction to Public Policy and Administration
PA 5310: Public Finance Administration
PA 5320: Organizational Theory, Change, and Behavior
PA 5330: Public Personnel Administration 
PA 5340: Introduction to Public Law
PA 5350: Public Policy Processes
PA 5370: Public Management and Ethics
PA 5390: Applied Research Methodology

ARP and Thesis pathways must take an additional 6 credit hours of public administration core course work:

Electives

Through our electives, students can gain expertise in human resources, non-profit management, public law, and public policy. There are also courses which develop technical skills such as program evaluation, performance management and information technology.

Students take 9 credit hours (15 credit hours if pursuing the Non-Thesis pathway), which can be chosen from 18 different elective courses:

PA 5311: Introduction to Statistical Analysis
PA 5312: Program Evaluation and Administrative Statistical Analysis
PA 5313: Public Sector Economics
PA 5314: Public Administration and Information Technology
PA 5315: Public Performance Management
PA 5331: Labor Management Relations
PA 5332: Management Practices in Public Personnel Administration
PA 5351: Urban Transportation Policy
PA 5352: Comparative Public Administration
PA 5353: Ecology and the Politics of Sustainability
PA 5355: Environmental Policy
PA 5361: Introduction to the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
PA 5362: Alternative Public Service Delivery Systems
PA 5388: Directed Reading and Research
PA 5389: Internship in Government
PA 5387: Research Practicum

*If you have not made a B or better in an undergraduate statistics courses no more than five years before enrollment into the MPA program, then one of the electives must be PA 5311: Introduction to Statistics.

**Contingent upon the MPA program director's approval, you may have the ability to take elective courses from other Texas State programs.

For a comprehensive list of courses, please visit the Graduate Catalog.

The Director of the MPA Program has the responsibility of evaluating graduate courses taken at other universities to see if they can be applied toward the MPA degree and making a recommendation to the Dean of Graduate Studies. As a rule up to nine credit hours may be transferred to Texas State University MPA Program prior to admission. To be eligible for transfer, these courses must have been taken while enrolled and accepted in a graduate program at the institution from which transfer credit is desired. All transfers are subject to the final approval of the Dean of the Graduate College. Courses taken over six years prior to admission to the Graduate School normally cannot be transferred. To request transfer credit, a copy of the official transcript and a copy of the catalog course description must be provided to the Graduate Director.

Under certain unusual circumstances, students may be unable to take all the courses required by their degree outline or may have a specific career need that is not met by the required curriculum. In such cases, the MPA Graduate Director may recommend a substitution of courses. Any degree outline change request must be completed prior to the student's registering for a course that is not included in the degree outline. All recommended course substitutions must be requested in writing on the appropriate Graduate College form. The form must be signed by the Graduate Director and forwarded to the Dean of the Graduate College for approval. The Dean of Graduate College has the final authority to approve or disapprove course substitutions. Any course taken without an approved degree outline change request is taken at the student's own risk and may not count toward the degree.

*Any course taken outside of the Degree Works degree plan is taken at the student's risk as the courses completed may not count toward the degree requirements. Students should seek the approval of the MPA director before considering courses outside of the degree plan. 

Any changes in the degree outline must be requested in writing on the official Degree Audit Change Form, and a justification of the requested change must be stated. Any Degree Works plan change request should be completed prior to the student's registering for a course that is not included in the degree outline. Students should consult with the MPA program director to request changes to the degree plan. Any courses taken without an approved degree outline change request is taken at the student's own risk and may not count toward the degree.