Master of Public Administration

• PA 510: Public Administration Institutions and Values
• PA 511: Public Policy Analysis
• PA 512: The Budgetary Process
• PA 513: Public Organization Behavior
• PA 514: Management Systems
• PA 515: Research Methods and Analysis
• PA 516: Effective Communications for Public Administrators
• PA 517: MPA Capstone

• PA 507: Public Policy Process
• PA 521: Government and Planning
• PA 522: Intergovernmental Relations in the United States
• PA 523: Municipal Law
• PA 525: Organizational Development and Change Management
• PA 530: Financial Management in the Public Sector
• PA 531: Human Resource Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
• PA 532: Contract Negotiation and Mediation in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
• PA 535: Problem Solving for Public and Nonprofit Managers
• PA 536: Management of Nonprofit Organizations
• PA 539: Fund Development
• PA 540: Grant Writing for Public Administrators
• PA 546: Seminar in Program Evaluation
• PA 550: Environmental Policy
• PA 552: Science and Technology Policy
• PA 553: Disaster, Crisis and Emergency Management and Policy
• PA 598: Special Topics in Public Administration

1. Graduates are expected to be able to lead and manage in public governance.
2. Graduates are expected to be able participate in and contribute to the policy process.
3. Graduates are expected to be able analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make decisions.
4. Graduates are expected to be able to articulate and apply a public service perspective.
5. Graduates are expected to be able to communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry.

1. The MPA program includes a mix of pre-service and in-service students.
2. The MPA program serves students from historically underrepresented groups.
3. Graduates are satisfied with their elective specialty coursework.
4. MPA internships develop students’ professional skills and prepare them for the job market.
5. Graduating pre-service students are successful in job and internship placement.
6. Graduating in-service students are able to apply concepts and skills from the MPA program to their public service job.

The MPA/JD dual degree program allows students to earn their JD from Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. The dual program allows both degrees to be completed in four (4) years, where students complete the JD curriculum and take an additional 27 credit hours of MPA courses to complete the requirements. Of the courses from the MPA program, 24 of the credit hours must be earned by completing the program’s core courses. Students interested in the dual program are encouraged to speak to the admissions counselors at the School of Law regarding admission into the JD program. Law students wanting to add the MPA degree typically apply for admission to the program during the first year of law school and complete most of their MPA core courses during their second year of graduate study.

The MPA/MIS dual degree program allows both degrees to be earned from within the School of Public and International Affairs at NC State University, where the Department of Public Administration is located. To earn both degrees students must complete a total of 60 credit hours across both programs. Students in the dual degree program will take 24 credit hours of the MPA program’s core courses and will also take 18 hours of credit from the MIS program, including 15 hours from the MIS program’s core courses. An additional 18 credit hours can be taken from MPA or MIS classes to complete the total credit requirement. The dual MPA/MIS can be added to a student’s Plan of Work at any point prior to their graduation from the program they initially matriculated into.

The Department of Public Administration and the Department of Social Work at NC State allow students to complete both the MPA and the MSW programs simultaneously. To be considered for the dual degree program, students must be accepted into the Advanced Standing option of the MSW program. To complete the dual program, students take a total of 54 credit hours. Twenty-four (24) of these credit hours come from the core courses of the MPA program. The remaining 30 credit hours are taken from the MSW program. To enroll in the dual MPA/MSW program, students must first be accepted into the MSW’s Advanced Standing program and then apply for the MPA to be added as a secondary degree. For more information about the dual program, students are encouraged to speak to both the director of the MSW and MPA programs.

1. Send a memo to the MPA Director indicating that you want to pursue a second NC State University Master’s degree coterminous with your MPA degree. (Include the name of the degree in your memo.) Similar to the personal statement submitted with your MPA application, this memo should state your professional reasons for pursuing a second Master’s.
2. After the MPA Director approves the request, the PA Graduate Services Coordinator will send the DGP of the second Master’s program: (1) a copy of your memo approved by the MPA Director, (2) copies of the relevant sections of your file (all transcripts, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation), and (3) a request that the second program consider you for admission. You are responsible for supplying the other program with any additional materials they required to make a decision.
3. The second program’s admissions committee will review your file and inform you and the MPA Director if you have been recommended for admission. If you are denied admission by the second program your request will not be approved. If you are recommended for admission, the DGP of the second program will send the Change of Degree Status or Curriculum form to the Dean of the Graduate School indicating the recommendation.
4. The Dean of the Graduate School will notify you and both Programs if your request for admission to the second program was approved.

University policies assume a 30 credit hour master’s degree. Because the MPA is a 42 credit hour degree, you may be able to include over the university minimum as part of both degree programs. The following policy will expedite approving your plans of work:

1. Students must submit separate plans of work through the Student Information System (SIS). After your admission to the second program has been approved, the Graduate School will set up a second “career” (this is SIS language for degree program/plan of work) in SIS. Once both careers are established, you can add courses to the separate plans of work, both of which must meet the respective requirements of the specific degree programs.
2. Once entered and submitted, the proposed plans of work will be routed electronically to the respective program advisors and Directors for approval.
3. Multiple masters students must also submit two Patent Agreement Forms to the Graduate School, one for each degree program.

The MPA program currently has 85 students (Fall 2025).

Our ARY-5 Cohort Data for the MPA program enrolled 29 students for the 2019/20 academic year: 16 graduated within 2 years of enrolling, 19 graduated within 3 years, and 22 graduated within 4 years of enrolling. Twenty-five students in total graduated or persist to graduation.

Our students are employed in positions in local, state, and federal governments, nonprofits, higher education, the corporate world, and/or have continued on with their education. 53% of Preservice Student Internships turned into full time employment. The job placements for 2023 – 2024 MPA graduates are:

•  Federal Government  –  4
•  State Government  –  12
•  Local Government  –  4
•  Private/Corporate  –  2
•  Nonprofit  –  4
•  Continued Education  –  1
•  Unemployed (seeking employment)  –  0
• Status Unknown – 1
•  TOTAL GRADUATES  –  28

Some examples of where our students have been placed include: