The Master of Public
Administration (MPA) degree at MontanaState
provides an education that enhances the professional competence of
mid-career persons and prepares pre-career students for entry level
positions in the public, non-profit and private work sectors.
MSU's program in public
administration provides a unique opportunity to pursue a course of
study in a small group environment where students receive individual
attention. Typical class size varies from 8-16 students.
The MPA curriculum offers
professional education in the areas of research methodology, program
evaluation and policy analysis, organizational management, public
budgeting and finance, human resource management, administrative law,
and local government administration with particular attention given to
the normative and ethical aspects of public administration.The MPA degree from MontanaStateUniversity
assures a strong and broad knowledge base in administrative management
and our graduates hold responsible positions in state, local, and
federal government agencies as well as with nonprofit service
providers. A number of MPA students have gone on for law and doctoral
degrees, and over the years more than a dozen have been placed in the
prestigious Presidential Management Internship program.
In addition to the MPA
program, the Political Science Department houses the Local Government
Center. The mission of the LocalGovernmentCenter is to strengthen the capacities of Montana's local
governmental units to deliver essential services efficiently and to
produce training, technical assistance, and research to local
officials. The LocalGovernmentCenter provides a unique set of
opportunities for those students who wish to pursue a public service
career in local government. In addition to instruction, the Center
provides research opportunities for MPA students.
The curriculum is
designed to provide a balance between conceptual knowledge of public
administration and the acquisition of management and technical skills.
The intended outcome of the MPA program is a skilled
administrator who:
demonstrates awareness and
knowledge of the political
context of work in the public service,
understands and appreciates
the theoretical foundations
of public administration,
displays practical knowledge of all facets of public sector
work,
exhibits technical competence, and
conducts oneself ethically, recognizing the
broad responsibility toward serving the public interest in contrast to a more narrowly defined
self-interest.
Admission
Requirements
To be admitted to the MPA
program, prospective degree candidates must have completed a bachelor's
degree at an accredited college or university with a 3.0 GPA
(grade point average) during the last two years of their undergraduate
education. A score of 500 on the Verbal Aptitude or a combined
score of 1,000 on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the Graduate
Record Examination ( GRE ) is expected. The verbal score is the
more important score here. Applicants will also submit three letters
of recommendation. The Political Science Department makes a
recommendation to the GraduateSchool regarding
admission. However, the final decision is made by the GraduateSchool.
Applications may be obtained from either the Political
Science Department (406-994-4141), the GraduateSchool
office (406-994-4145), or online at www.montana.edu/wwwdg/news.shtml. Information and scheduling of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) may
be obtained from MSU's Testing Service at 406-994-6984, or on-line at
the above address.
Provisional admission may be granted to a student whose
application shows reasonable potential for effective graduate work even
though the student's record may be deficient in some area. A decision
to recommend provisional admission to the College of Graduate
Studies for an applicant may be based on
prior work experience, success in another academic field, completion of
supplemental course work, or other criteria pertinent to academic
success. A provisionally admitted student will be informed of any
special requirements to be met in order to be granted full graduate
status. Upon meeting the specified requirements, recommendations of the
Political Science Department, and with approval of the Dean of the GraduateSchool, a student on provisional
status may be advanced to full graduate standing. Full graduate
standing is usually considered only after completion of nine or more
credits of satisfactory graduate work.
Non-degree Status. Students who desire to take
courses of interest but who do not desire a graduate degree, or those
who have not yet been accepted into the program by the GraduateSchool, may enroll with
non-degree graduate status. Graduate credits earned while in non-degree
status will not automatically be applied toward graduate
degree requirements if the student later applies for and is admitted
into the MPA program. MontanaStateUniversity
will allow no more than nine credits of nondegree course
work. Furthermore, these credits may only be applied toward the degree
if the student would have met all the criteria for admission into full
graduate status at the time of entering as a non-degree student.
Non-degree students are not admitted to the College of Graduate
Studies but are under supervision of the
Department of General Studies.
Full Graduate Status. Full graduate status is granted
to students who have demonstrated a high quality of performance in
prior academic preparation and have otherwise met university and
departmental standards on the criteria listed above.
Transfer of Credits. Acceptance of up to nine credit
hours of academic course work performed at other institutions is at the
option of the College
of Graduate Studies
upon recommendation by the Political Science Department. All such
credits must have been earned while in graduate status at an accredited
college or university.
Scholarships and Financial Assistance
A Presidential Graduate
Scholarship is available to recruit outstanding graduate students.
Recipients of this scholarship are nominated by the MPA Director and
are awarded by the GraduateSchool. The
standards used in the selection of scholarship recipients include
demonstrated excellence as an undergraduate student (3.5+ GPA), high
GRE scores, and highly supportive letters of recommendation. The award
amount is usually $1000 for the full academic year or $500 if the
student first enrolls during the Spring Semester. Due to the limited
number of awards available, there is a strong tendency for
"first-come, first-served." Thus, early application to the
MPA program is very important.
The Political Science
Department offers a limited number of teaching assistants which
are usually reserved for second year students. Outstanding first year
students, however, may receive a teaching assistantship as well.
Teaching assistants receive a monthly stipend as well as a tuition and
fee waiver. The LocalGovernmentCenter periodically offers one research
assistant position which carries a tuition waiver.
A
limited number of competitively awarded Tuition waivers for students who are not teaching
assistants or research assistants are also available.
Information about other
forms of financial assistance may be obtained from: Financial Aid
Services, MontanaStateUniversity,
BozemanMT59717,
(406) 994-2845, or on-line at www.montana.edu/wwwdg/news.shtml
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
The degree requirements
given below are effective for students admitted to the program in the
Spring Semester of 2006 or after. Students who entered prior to
Spring of 2006 may graduate under the requirements effective when they
entered the program or can choose to adopt the Spring 2006
requirements. Full time students should be able to graduate in
two academic years.
The MPA degree requires
completion of 36 credits.
Core Required Courses:
PolS 551: Quantitative Research
Methods
PolS 554: Foundations of Public
Administration
PolS 555: Human Resources Management
PolS 557: Public Budgeting and
Finance
PolS 558: Organization Theory
PolS 559: Program Evaluation/Policy
Analysis
PolS 562: Local Government Administration orPols 500: Leadership and
Government Administration
PoLS 560: Ethics and Public
Service
Electives: Students will
select three elective courses that support both their intellectual
interests as well as their professional/career objectives.These three courses will be
identified and selected in cooperation with either the MPA Director or
the student’s Professional Paper Chairperson.Pre-career students (those entering
the program with fewer than two years of professional work experience)
will be required to complete a 3 credit hour, 300 work hour internship
as one of the three elective courses.Elective courses may be taken outside the Political Science
Department and may include one
400 level course.
Capstone and Professional Paper:
The Capstone course (PoLS 574) is taken during the student's last
semester of course work. The purpose of the Capstone is to allow
MPA students an opportunity to effectively integrate underlying
theories, concepts, themes, and patterns found throughout the program's
course work into a final, Professional Paper. This Professional
Paper should constitute a significant scholarly and/or practical
research project.A final
presentation of the course and/or project will be given to Public
Administration and Political Science faculty, student peers, and other
interested parties. All MPA students in the program are
expected to attend these final Capstone presentations.
Skills to be Acquired:
Upon graduation, MPA students are expected to have achieved the
following:
Written
communication and analytical skills: the ability to gather and
analyze disparate sources of data, and communicate major findings,
conclusions, and recommendations in a well organized and clearly
written manner.
Critical
thinking/problem solving skills: the ability to discover or
interpret underlying patterns, use of logical reasoning, and
integrating/explaining diverse points of view.
Oral
Skills: The ability to express ideas and convey
information to others in an effective manner.
Comprehensive Exam
The purpose of the
comprehensive exam is to verify the student's mastery of the general
concepts derived from the course of study, the integration of those concepts
across course topics and the ability to apply the material to
real-world administrative problems. Comprehensive exams can be take at
any point following the completion of all eight of the core
courses.
Internship
The purpose of the internship
is to provide the degree candidate with a meaningful learning
experience within the context of American public administration. Each
three-credit internship course must entail a total of 300 hours (20
hrs/wk over a 15 week semester) for the three credit requirement.
Often, the internship is completed during the summer months between the
student's first and second year in the degree program.
Most students serving an
internship are placed in government agencies. However, nonprofit
agencies, or public service oriented organizations are also
permissible. The work experience should provide the candidate with a
realistic exposure to the work environment of a public sector
organization. Ideally this would include the organization's clientele
and its broader political context, as well as the internal organization
dynamics of the agency.
GRADUATE SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS
It is crucial and imperative
that all graduate school requirements and deadlines are met.
Failure to do so maydelay a timely graduation.
Approved Program of
Study
A Graduate Program of
Study and Committee Form must be filed with the GraduateSchool
by the end of the second semester of enrollment. The Program of Study
delineates the student's time table for expected course work as well as
the name of the student's advisor-mentor and the names of the examining
committee. The Program of Study must be approved by the MPA Director
and other participating faculty. Graduate Program Forms
necessary for this process may be obtained from the Political Science
Department, the GraduateSchool, or
on-line at www.montana.edu/wwwdg/news.shtml
. Five copies of this form must be submitted to the Graduate
Office.
Application to
Graduate
An Application for the
Advanced Degree Form must be filed during the final semester of course
work. If the candidate expects to graduate during either the Fall or
Spring semester, this application must be filed by the 3rd Friday of
the term. One copy of this form, to be signed by the candidate's
mentor/advisor, may be obtained from the Political Science Department,
the GraduateSchool or on-line
at www.montana.edu/wwwdg/news.shtml .
Time Limit
The GraduateSchool at MontanaStateUniversity
requires students to complete all requirements in six years from
the time the first course is taken. If necessary, more than six years
may be approved through petition to the GraduateSchool.
However, ordinarily if a student runs over the six year limit the
graduate school requires a repeating of courses. The number of
repeat courses is dependent upon the amount of time over the six year
limit.
Grades
Students must maintain an
overall 3.0 GPA; no grade lower than a C will be accepted. Students may
take one course pass/fail unless with the approval of the MPA Director
and the Instructor.
Other: Each candidate for the MPA
is responsible for making sure that all departmental and GraduateSchool requirements for
the advanced degree have been completed and that all procedural
deadlines are met.
POLITICAL
SCIENCE & PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FACULTY & STAFF
Dr. Jerry D. Johnson,
Department Head, Professor
DA, Idaho State University, 1985 Policy Assessment; Administrative Law; Public Lands and Natural
Resources Policy; Research Methods, jdj@montana.edu
Dr. Eric K. Austin,
MPA Director, Assistant Professor
PhD, Virginia Tech, 2002 Administrative Theory, Organization Dynamics, Public
Management, Human Resources Management, Ethics, Public Policy, eaustin@montana.edu
Dr. Jerry W. Calvert,
Professor
PhD, Washington State University, 1972 American Government; Legislative Politics; Parties and Elections;
Judicial Processes, upojc@montana.edu
Dr. Raymond B. Pratt,
Professor
PhD, University of Oregon, 1965 Contemporary American Political Culture; Ethics in the Public
Service; Political Theory; Comparative Politics, iporp@montana.edu
Dr. Franke Wilmer,
Professor
PhD, University of Maryland, 1990 International Human Rights; International Organization; International
Law; Ethnic Conflict; Peace Studies, franke@montana.edu
Dr. Elizabeth
Shanahan, Assistant Professor
DA, Idaho State University, 2005 Foundations of Public Administration, Research Methods, Public
Budgeting & Finance, Environmental Politics, Administrative Law shanahan@montana.edu
Jane Jelinski,
Director Local Government Center
MPA, Montana State University, 1990 Montana
Politics; Local Government Politics and Administration, JaneJelinski@montana.edu
