Master of Public Administration Courses

The 36 credit hour MPA program is a fully online professional degree suitable to all students interested in pursuing a career in management within the public and nonprofit sectors.

Some courses require instructor approval. In such cases, you will need to complete an add course request to register for these courses.

The core requirements and electives associated with each emphasis are outlined in the general catalog:

• Criminal Justice
• Higher Education Administration
• Nonprofit Management
• State and Local Government

Experiential Learning

Our MPA program is committed to developing students’ leadership and administration skills within a hands-on, experiential learning environment. Many courses will include projects that involve working with community partners or working through case studies to develop students’ decision making skills. Experiential Learning is integrated into the curriculum in three ways:

MPA Capstone (PADM 6990)

Our primary experiential learning focus is our MPA Capstone course. The Capstone is taken at the end of a students’ coursework and involves a team based project in their area of interest that is conducted with community partners. This builds students’ professional experience and networking abilities while fulfilling our civic responsibility to serve our communities.

Examples of MPA Capstone projects include:

• Creating a Police Department Personnel Manual
• Creating a local town’s Economic Development Plan
• Conducting a citizen survey to get feedback and insights for a community
• Creating a Parks Master Plan
• Helping with a Higher Education Accreditation Review project
• Creating a Roads Master Plan

MPA Internship (PADM 6890)

Students who do not have one year of professional experience in a public or nonprofit sector organization are considered pre-service and must complete an Internship. These students are encouraged to seek out contacts and organizations they are interested in working for in the future, and will work with the organization and the MPA Director to secure an internship experience for 3 credit hours.

Sample internship placements in which our MPA students have participated include:

• Lt. Governor’s Staff Office
• Campus & Community Outreach
• Honors Aid and Advising
• Budget and Finance in International Affairs
• Zion National Park
• American Language and Culture Center (ALCC)
• Office of Enrollment Management
• Iron County Water District
• Non-traditional Students Office
• Washington City
• SUU Title IX Office
• Student Affairs, Completion and Student Success

Internship Waiver

Students who have more than one year of professional experience in the public or nonprofit sector by the time they graduate from the program can apply to receive an internship waiver. This means that students will have an additional 3 hour elective of their choice to complete in reaching the 36 hours to graduate. Students seeking a waiver should provide a current resume that outlines their work experience, and contact their MPA Advisor for assistance.