Required Courses

Master of Public Administration

600-series courses are taught online.
The Online MPA curriculum is comprised of 39 units. There are 13 courses of three units each.

700-series courses are taught on campus.
The On-Campus MPA curriculum is comprised of 38 units. There are nine core courses, four units each, and one elective course at two units. Please contact an admission adviser with any questions.

ON-CAMPUS Required COURSES

PA 711

Navigating and Negotiating the Field of Practice of Public Administration (4)

This first course in the MPA program reviews the development of public administration and health administration each as fields of practice, as well as emerging trends and best practices in public administration and society, serving as a foundation for future courses. The course surveys contemporary...

PA 713

Management Practice, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resources (4)

Explore ways to resolve organizational and managerial problems. Develop recommendations that improve the performance of an actual organization. Apply reframing to organizational analysis, from at least four different frameworks. Understand the evolution of organizational theory models and practices...

PA 720

Core Value Driven Leadership and Ethics (4)

Explore the connections between core values and leadership .Describe and apply a variety of frameworks and major ethical theories for ethical decision-making as well as for best practices for core value driven leadership.. Engage in reflection on their own views on ethics, leadership and public...

PA 723

Managing Budgets, Finance and Economics (4)

Discusses the context for local government or nonprofit budgeting including key actors, functions, and recent innovations. Compares and contrast the processes for developing local, state, and government/nonprofit and state/federal budgets. Demonstrates varied forecasting and cost analyses...

PA 732

Public Policy Analysis and Implementation (4)

Identify approaches to public policy analysis, policy change processes and challenges to policy implementation. Apply professional ethics, value conflicts, and code of ethics specific to policy analysts. Contrast rationales for distributional, competitive, market failure and other modes of problem...

PA 738

Information Technology and E-Trends (4)

Discuss underlying concepts, methods, and techniques that are essential to the effective selection, development, deployment, and use of technology. Discuss how technology alters the decision making process and can contribute to greater effectiveness of public organizations. Explain the...

PA 744

Strategic Planning (4)

Understand the core elements of strategy: outcomes, measures, assets, behaviors, values, stakeholders, environmental analysis, pitfalls or obstacles, and engagement processes. Apply strategy for advancing outcomes in your professional work. Distinguish between strategy and tactics. Analyze complex...

PA 770

Quantitative Methods and Big Data (4)

Formulate researchable questions related to public interests that lend themselves to quantitative solution techniques. Determine what research method would provide a solution. Develop a research design. Conduct research or field work to explore the content and principles of quantitative analysis...

PA 780

Program Evaluation and Monitoring (4)

Analyze a program and develop a logic model to explicate it using action theory. Apply qualitative and/ or quantitative (economic) methods in evaluation research. Design and describe a program and develop and present an evaluation proposal. Become a competent researcher and consumer of evaluation...

Request MPA Information

Visit USF