The University of New Orleans
Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Welcome to the MPA website. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina we continue to provide a quality education for public service careers. The MPA is a professional degree for leaders and analysts in public and nonprofit organizations. We promote competence, integrity, and leadership in public service. The experience of Hurricane Katrina highlights the importance of these values. If you want to make a difference, come join us.

The University of New Orleans MPA program offers:

Outstanding faculty who combine academic excellence and practical experience

Access to special expertise in hazard policy, nonprofit leadership, urban planning, community and economic development, and urban administration

Opportunities to work and learn in New Orleans during the recovery from Hurricane Katrina

Convenient class schedules

A diverse student body

Degree Requirements:

Prerequisites. Because people come to public service from many different backgrounds, any undergraduate major from an accredited institution is acceptable. Students are required to have one undergraduate course in American Government and one in Economics. These prerequisites may be taken early in the MPA program.

Requirements. Students must complete required course work and submit a satisfactory thesis or project. The course work requirement is 42 credit hours, exclusive of prerequisites. Core courses covering the general knowledge and skills necessary for public service administrators comprise 27 hours. Students then specialize with additional course work (nine hours) and capstone courses or thesis credit (six hours). Students without public service experience will do an internship, typically in conjunction with their capstone courses.

Core Courses (27 hours)
PADM 6010 The Profession of Public Administration
PADM 6020 Bureaucracy and Democracy
PADM 6110 Public Budgeting
PADM 6160 Law and Ethics in Public Administration
PADM 6180 Human Resource Administration in the Public Sector
PADM 6201 Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation
PADM 6401 Administrative Behavior
PADM 6410 Technology in Public Organizations
URBN 6001 Research Methods

Electives:
Students may choose from designated sets of electives that draw on special strengths of our faculty and opportunities in the New Orleans area or, with the advice and approval of the MPA coordinator, they may design their own programs from graduate courses throughout the university. Areas of faculty specialization include:

Nonprofit Leadership. In conjunction with Metropolitan College’s International Program in Nonprofit Leadership (IPNL), the MPA program offers a concentration in nonprofit leadership. The nonprofit track consists of five courses, two of which replace core courses so that the total hour requirement is still 42.

Hazard Policy (including natural disasters such as Katrina)
Economic and Community Development
Urban Planning
Urban Administration

Capstone Courses (6 hours)
Capstone I and II provide students near the end of their program with opportunities to synthesize the course work while applying their knowledge to a practical problem culminating in a final project. Students who choose a thesis instead of a final project may take three hours of thesis credit instead of Capstone II.

Admission:
For an application form and instructions, click here. In making admission decisions the MPA program relies on the applicant's entire record rather than any one score.

For questions regarding the Master of Public Administration Program please contact Professor Robert Montjoy rmontjoy@uno.edu