Master of Public Administration (MPA) Degree Courses / Curriculum

Our program offers two tracks:

1. Public Administration Track
2. The University and College Student Affairs Administrative Track

This programs is also offered as a Public Administration 4+1 Option

View MPA Course Catalog

Public Administration Track (36 credits)

• MPA 510 - Introduction to Public Administration 3 cr
• MPA 520 - Communication for Administrators 3 cr
• MPA 560 - Conflict Management in the Organization 3 cr
• LS 565 - Organizational Finance 3 cr
• LS 570 - Intercultural Communication 3 cr
• LS 580 - Human Resources Development 3 cr
• LS 615 - Ethics in the Professions 3 cr
• LS 625 - Legislatures: Politics and Policy 3 cr
• LS 655 - Program Evaluation 3 cr
• LS 660 - Organizational Leadership 3 cr
• MPA 670 - Experiential Learning in Public Admin 3 cr
• MPA 680 - Research Trends in Public Admin 3 cr

University and College Student Affairs Administrative Track (36 credits)

This track provides graduates of MPA students both academic and applied experiences in the administration of university and college student affairs. The track provides students with knowledge of the history, theories, administrative practices and contemporary research in post-secondary student affairs administration with a special emphasis on leadership and management skills.

Core Courses (21 cr)

• LS 570 - Intercultural Communication 3 cr
• LS 580 - Human Resources Development 3 cr
• LS 615 - Ethics in the Professions 3 cr
• MPA 510 - Introduction to Public Administration 3 cr
• MPA 520 - Communication for Administrators 3 cr
• MPA 560 - Conflict Management in the Organization 3 cr
• MPA 680 - Research Trends in Public Admin 3 cr

Student Affairs Administrative Specialization (9 cr)

• MPA 585 - Found Amer Univ/College Stud Affairs Adm 3 cr
• MPA 590 - Enrollment Management & Student Services 3 cr
• MPA 600 - Contemporary Univ/College Student Dev 3 cr

Advanced Administration (6 cr)

Choose two of the following three courses:

• LS 565 - Organizational Finance 3 cr
• LS 625 - Legislatures: Politics and Policy 3 cr
• LS 660 - Organizational Leadership 3 cr

Public Administration 4+1 Option

The Public Administration 4+1 Option is an opportunity for qualified bachelor’s degree students to gain early entry to SVSU’s Master of Public Administration program. Participating undergraduate students will be allowed to take 12 credit hours toward the MPA degree. These 12 credit hours will also count as elective credit toward the completion of the bachelor’s degree. Students will have the opportunity to complete the remaining 24 credit hours for the MPA degree during the subsequent academic year. This opportunity is open to students of any major who meet the criteria listed below.

To be admitted to the MPA under the 4+1 option applicants must…

• be entering their final year of study for the bachelor’s degree.
• have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• have completed PS 225 Statistics.
• have the approval of the MPA program coordinator.
• have completed a minimum of 15 credits from the following list.
  • PS 260 Understanding and Managing the Bureaucracy
  • PS 262 State and Local Government
  • PS 319 Gender and Politics
  • PS 327 Equal Protection and race Discrimination
  • PS 329 Con Law Institutions
  • PS 331 The American Presidency
  • PS 333 The American Congress
  • PS 345 Public Policy Making in the US
  • PS 355 Public Budgeting and Finance
  • PS 365 Public Human Resource Management
  • PS 370 Federal and State Courts
  • PS 392 Politics and Policies of Cities and Suburbs

Sample Two-Year Advising Schedules