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Home » Master of Public Administration »
The MPA degree is designed to accommodate demanding schedules. The program requires a commitment of approximately 20 hours per week over an 18 month period. The core curriculum consists of 36 credits of online coursework divided into six seminars. Coursework is followed by a one-week residency and graduation at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.
Semester 1:
Foundations in Public Administration
Seminar 1
This seminar is an introduction to the scope, theory, and practice of public administration. It provides an overview of the history of public administration in the United States, the roles of public administrators, relationships between organizations, federal, state and local government relations, public budgeting, and public personnel management. The objective of the seminar is to introduce public administration theory and to provide an understanding of its historical foundations, its present state, and its future direction. Upon completion of this seminar, you should be able to think, speak, and write critically about public administration and to understand current issues in the field. (6 credit hours)
Public Organization and Resource Management
Seminar 2
This seminar presents an overview of major theories of managing complex public organizations. Among the topics studied are leadership, human resources and information systems management, organizational and political environments, and organizational development. You will study the theories of organization and management and examine models, current administrative philosophy, and contemporary trends in the field of public organizations management. Issues associated with public information technology and its impact on organizational change and governance are discussed. (6 credit hours)
Semester 2:
Research Methods in Public Administration
Seminar 3
This seminar covers the basic methods and language of social science research. It prepares you to appreciate the complexities of public policy analysis and explores both quantitative and qualitative methodologies pertaining to public administration research. The seminar also reviews major research method designs with a focus on applications for policy development and evaluation research. Statistical techniques commonly found in public administration and social science research literature are presented to provide the expertise necessary to be an informed consumer of research findings. Research designs including surveys, experiments/quasi-experiments, content analysis, secondary analysis, and observation methods are studied along with their application to evaluation research design. Data needs for statistical analysis and evaluation are also reviewed. (6 credit hours)
Legal and Ethical Issues in Public Administration
Seminar 4
This seminar provides an overview of the legal and ethical issues commonly faced by public administrators. The seminar includes an examination of public employment law, civil liability of public agencies, and administrative law. This seminar also includes an examination of ethical theories and processes in public administration. Ethical topics considered include prejudice and discrimination, corruption, abuse of authority, equal enforcement of the law, and conflict of interest. (6 credit hours)
Semester 3:
Public Administration Processes
Seminar 5
In this seminar, you will select a course appropriate to your professional goals. Electives include Local/State Government, Public Management, Law and Policy, and Justice Administration. Each seminar will include content specific to the selected topic area, along with a survey of the processes of public finance, budgeting, and planning. (6 credit hours)
Public Policy and Planning
Seminar 6
This seminar represents the capstone seminar for Public Administration students. It provides an opportunity to apply prior learning while examining the policy development and planning process. Topics include the process and models of policy formation, policy implementation methods and evaluation components typically associated with planned change. A significant proportion of the seminar will be devoted to development of a Capstone paper in an area of public administration chosen by the student and presented at residency. (6 credit hours)
Capstone Paper or Project
An important learning component of the Public Administration program is the capstone paper/project exercise. It requires you to exhibit all of the skills you have developed over the course of the program: critical analysis, integration of relevant concepts and principles, research, use of recent and important information, and effective writing. You will have the opportunity to go one step further than your program, however, as you will actually present your capstone paper/project to your peers and faculty at residency. During the various phases of the capstone exercise you will work under the guidance of program staff and faculty throughout the capstone exercise. The mentoring process will provide you with guidance, suggestions and constructive assistance to maximize your learning experience.
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Norwich University - Master of Public Administration
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Admissions: 1.800.460.5597 Ext. 3377
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