MPA Program - The Curriculum

Mission:

The NASPAA accredited Master of Public Administration Program at Bridgewater State University provides rigorous graduate public education, developing core competencies in leadership and service in the public and nonprofit sectors. Consistent with the mission of the University, the Program also uses its resources to engage and advance the economic, cultural, civic, and political life of southeastern Massachusetts, other domestic communities, and our global community.

The MPA Program embraces three guiding principles:

1. Public and community service

2. Integration of theory and practice

3. Ethical and accountable practice

The MPA program accommodates the needs of both pre-career students and in-career professionals by offering alternative program requirements that take into account students' academic and professional backgrounds. Students with bachelor's degrees and no professional work experience are expected to complete a 45-credit hour degree program (including six hours of professional internship), while in- career professionals are expected to complete a 39-credit hour program. Up to six hours of appropriate graduate course work taken elsewhere may be transferred into the degree program.

Goals:

1. Learning Goal:  Develop students' core competencies in leadership and service in the public and nonprofit sectors.

2. Learning Goal:  Develop leadership and administrative skills in strengthening organization capacity, fostering civic and democratic life, and building social capital through an understanding of the historical, political, economic, social, and technological aspects of civic and nonprofit organization.

3. Learning Goal:  Develop leadership and administrative skills in integrating sustainable economic development, environmental protection, and social well-being at local, regional, national, and international levels of governance.

4. Research and Service Goal:  Engage and advance the economic, cultural, civic, and political life of southeastern Massachusetts, other domestic communities, and our global community.

5. Program Infrastructure Goal:  Enhance the quality of program experiences, learning, service, and research for students and faculty through program infrastructure development.

General Learning Objectives:

All students who successfully complete the MPA Program demonstrate that they:

1. Understand the institutional structures and political processes of southeastern Massachusetts, other domestic communities, and, in specific instances, our global community.

2. Possess the ability to develop and implement research designs, applying a variety of quantitative and qualitative research techniques such as surveys, focus groups, primary data, secondary data, and field research to policy and program analysis and evaluation.

3. Understand the full policy making process, including the political , legal, and technical decision making aspects of problem identification, design of policy alternatives, selection of evaluative criteria, assessment of policy alternatives, policy choice and adoption, implementation, and evaluation.

4. Understand public sector economics, finance, and effective budget processes and techniques, including information management, technology, and policy.

5. Understand the wide range of human resource management issues in an increasingly diverse work force and develop skills in leadership, decision-making, and management control, including information management, technology, and policy.

6. Possess knowledge of various theories of organization that describe how and why organizations work as they do, and the ability to apply concepts to real-world situations.

7. Possess the ability to synthesize the theoretical underpinnings of public administration with the practical content of ethical and accountable practice in public and community service work.

8. Develop competency in participative practice through service learning.

Civic and Nonprofit Leadership and Administration Learning Objectives:

In addition to fulfilling the general learning objectives, students who successfully complete work in the MPA concentration in Civic and Nonprofit Leadership and Administration (CNLA) demonstrate that they:

1. Understand the history, philosophy, and theories of the nonprofit sector and civil society.

2. Understand the values and ethics of nonprofit sector and civil society.

3. Understand inter-organizational, inter-sectoral and international relations.

4. Understand the governance and legal structure of nonprofit organizations and their policy making processes.

5. Understand marketing, external relations, and alignment with the environment.

6. Understand resource development and management, including information management and technology applications.

7. Understand human resources (both paid and volunteer) management, including information management and technology applications.

8. Understand program design, implementation, and evaluation including information management and technology applications.

Sustainable Community Development Learning Objectives:

In addition to fulfilling the general learning objectives, students who successfully complete work in the MPA concentration Sustainable Community Development (SCD) demonstrate that they:

1. Understand systems theories and principles, values, and history of economic, environmental, and social sustainability as applied to both organizations and communities.

2. Understand the breadth of public policy pertaining to sustainability and related trends in policy making, particularly in regard to economic and land development.

3. Develop competency in community planning.

4. Develop competency in strategic planning and performance measurement, including outcomes-based and deliberative decision-making and problem solving.

5. Develop competency in community building, including conflict resolution, and various techniques of civic engagement.

6. Understand mega-project development.

7. Understand the implications of the differences and interactions among sectors as well as local, regional, national, and international levels of governance, including public, nonprofit, and civil society stakeholders.

Programs of Study

Core Courses

• POLI 501 Introduction to Public Institutions and Administration

• POLI 510 Introduction to Research in Public Administration

• POLI 511 Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis

• POLI 521 Public Finance

• POLI 531 Public Personnel

• POLI 532 Organizational Theory and Behavior for Public and Nonprofit Institutions

• POLI 541 Legislative-Executive Relations

          or

• POLI  542 Administrative Law and Regulation

• POLI  591 Capstone Seminar in Public Management

Electives

As part of the 15 credits required in electives, each student must take three one credit professional development modules (POLI 506 Public Administration Module).  For the Generalist (no concentration) program of study, the remaining 12 credits in electives must be selected, with advisor approval, from the 500 level Political Science (POLI) course offerings.

For the Civic and Nonprofit Leadership and Administration (CNLA) concentration, the remaining 12 credits in electives must be selected from the courses listed below:

• POLI  502 Research

• POLI  503 Directed Study

• POLI  513 Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement in Public Administration

• POLI  533 Administrative Ethics

• POLI  534 Public Service Leadership

• POLI  571 Introduction to Nonprofit Theory and Management

• POLI  572 Nonprofit Resource Development and Management

• POLI  592 Special Topics in Public Administration

• POLI  598 Internship:  Public Administration

For the Sustainable Community Development (SCD) concentration, the remaining 12 credits in electives must be selected from the courses listed below:

• POLI  502 Research

• POLI  503 Directed Study

• POLI  513 Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement in Public Administration

• POLI  533 Administrative Ethics

• POLI  534 Public Service Leadership

• POLI  551 Managing Economic and Community Development

• POLI  552 Municipal Organization and Management

• POLI  561 Sustainable Development and Globalization in Public Administration

• POLI  592 Special Topics in Public Administration

• POLI  598 Internship:  Public Administration

Internship

Students with a bachelor's degree and no professional work experience must complete a 6 credit hour internship in addition to the requirements above.

NOTE:  Internship (POLI 598), directed study or research (POLI 503 and POLI 502), and special topics (POLI 592) in political science credits may be applied to the four elective courses and other concentration requirements only if they are related to the student's concentration.  This determination is made by the MPA Coordinator.

Please click on the link to see provisional 2006 - 08 course scheduling.

Concentrations

Students may pursue a generalist MPA track or select from one of two program concentrations. For students seeking to earn a degree in a concentration, a minimum of twelve elective credit hours must be taken in the substantive area. The program concentration areas are as follows:

• Civic and Nonprofit Leadership and Administration (CNLA)

• Sustainable Community Development (SCD)

Professional Development Modules

As part of the 15 elective credit hours, each student must take three one-credit professional development modules. Courses are scheduled each semester for either two Saturday sessions or for weekend "intensive" classes. Students must successfully pass any three modules, which cover a range of topics.

Internship Experience

A six-hour internship experience at the local, state or federal level is required for all pre-professional students and will be available as an elective (three or six hours) for those professionals who wish to enhance their backgrounds.

MPA program faculty members believe that a public agency internship is an essential part of the public manager's education. An internship provides an opportunity to apply and test what has been learned in the classroom and allows students to develop professional skills. It also gives practitioners and faculty the chance to determine how well each student is able to function in a "real world" setting. Moreover, internships frequently provide students with entry into permanent positions.

Normally, students do not begin an internship until they have completed at least 12 hours of formal course work. Program faculty provide placement assistance for MPA students.

Graduation Requirement

The MPA program offers some flexibility for its completion. Most students will be required to pass a written comprehensive examination. This one-day exam allows program faculty to test students' mastery of fundamental principles and issues covered in the core curriculum. Students must have completed at least 30 hours of the degree program to sit for the exam. In appropriate circumstances, a master's thesis may be substituted for the comprehensive exam. The master's thesis will be directed by a committee of three faculty members and be covered under graduate guidelines and regulations at Bridgewater State University.

Policy on Thesis Option

Students approved for this option must complete the 39-45 hour program, depending on their program admission category. The master's thesis will carry an additional six hours of graduate credit. Credit for a public service internship is granted under this option if the student completes both an internship and a thesis plus 39 hours of course work for a total of 51 hours of credit. The thesis option is especially appropriate for students wishing to pursue a doctorate after completing the MPA, but is open to all students who meet the criteria established by the department. Departmental standards require the student to work closely with his/her advisor and to phase the work so that the project proposal is carefully designed and approved before the student advances to the next stage.

Admissions Requirements

To be admitted to the MPA program, applicants must hold a bachelor's degree from a four-year accredited college or university. Applicants must submit acceptable GRE scores and three letters of reference from professors or practitioners familiar with their academic abilities. They must also undergo an interview with the MPA program faculty. Students failing to meet the standard graduate admissions criteria may be considered on a conditional basis. Contact the Office of Graduate and Continuing Education at (508) 531-1300 to request application materials.

MPA Admissions Categories

Depending on the amount of managerial experience, students accepted into the MPA program are placed into one of the following three categories, which determines their exit requirements:

Pre-Career I
No Managerial Experience
Students must complete 45 hours of graduate course work, including the internship for six hours of credit.

Pre-Career II*
Less than Three Years' Full-Time Managerial Experience
Students must complete 42 hours of graduate course work. An internship is not required but may be elected for three to six credits, for a program total of 45-48 graduate credit hours.

In-Career*
Three or more years' full-time managerial experience.
Students must complete 39 hours of graduate course work; the internship is not required.

*Students requesting admission to these categories upon acceptance into the MPA program must work in consultation with their advisor to write a letter to the graduate committee at the time of application and provide a recent resume documenting work history and managerial experience and a letter from a supervisor with knowledge of that experience.