Degree Requirements
Students must complete 52 credit hours (approximately 13 classes) to receive the MPA degree. This includes 8 required courses (32 hours total) and the required capstone course (4 hours). Students must take three courses (12 hours) in a selected concentration plus one additional course (4 hours) of the student's choosing selected in consultation with the student's advisor.
The required courses are listed below:
Core Courses (each course is 4 credit hours)
Optional Internship Project (4 credit hours)
PA 490: Field Experience in Public Administration
Students work in an organization such as a governmental agency, community group, or non-profit organization. Students are required to submit written work and meet with professor on periodic basis to review work experience. Students who have no prior work experience in the public or non-profit sectors are strongly recommended to register for this course. Our students find that the internship serves as a useful way to explore a concentration of the program, as well as enhance their resume. The program has been quite successful in assisting students obtain relevant internships. Included among the recent internships held by some of our students are:
General Services Administration
UIC National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
Solidaridad Inspiracion Amistad (SIA) Community Foundation
Government Finance Officer's Association
Daniel M. Kerrane, Jr. Foundation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund Division, Region 5
Village of Lincolnwood
County Educational Conference Inc.
Oprah's Angel Network
UIC Survey Research Laboratory
Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley, & Co.
Students may substitute four internship course credits for the "at-large" elective course required of all MPA students. Students may take more than one Field Experience course. However, only four credits of PA 490 will be counted toward the MPA degree
Concentrations
Students are required to select one of the following six concentrations in the MPA program. Students are to take three courses in the selected concentration plus one additional course in consultation with their advisor. These concentrations allow students to focus their area of study in key areas of publiconcentrations allow students to focus their area of study in key areas of public administration and management, while taking advantage of the strengths of the PA Faculty and the MPA Program.
Public Management
Financial Management
Information and Performance Management
Survey Methods
Local Government Administration
Nonprofit Management
MPA students are required to take three courses in the selected concentration plus one additional course of the student's choosing selected in consultation with the student's advisor. These concentrations allow students to focus their area of study in key areas of public administration and management, while taking advantage of the strengths of the PA Faculty and /the MPA Program.
Students may create their own concentrations with permission from the MPA Committee. Students must submit their proposed concentration with justification to the MPA Committee for approval. Interested students should contact the PA Program for more information.
Public Management
(Each course is 4 credit hours.)
Financial Management - Provides specialized expertise in topics related to the financial function of public and nonprofit organizations that go beyond budgeting such as capital and financial planning, accounting, state and local finance, debt management, risk management, cash management, procurement, and internal controls. Students who specialize in financial management will be prepared for careers in the fields of budgeting, economic development, financial analysis, policy analysis, bond rating, treasury, auditing, and many others.
(Each course is 4 credit hours.)
Information and Performance Management - Introduces technology issues in public management, including e-government, database management, and the use of technology in public and nonprofit organizations. UIC is one of a handful of PA programs to offer such a specialization, despite the increasingly information-driven environment of public and nonprofit administration.
(Each course is 4 credit hours.)
Survey Methods - Provides a unique opportunity to learn survey research methodology and to engage in data collection that can inform organizational decisions and performance measurement. This is one of the few survey research specializations in the country associated with a graduate program in Public Administration.
(Each course is 4 credit hours.)
Local Government Administration - Takes advantage of local government and urban expertise within the program and across the university. Introduces students to special considerations in local government management, including metropolitan, intergovernmental, fiscal, and economic development issues.
(Each course is 4 credit hours.)
Nonprofit Management - Provides specialized expertise in the nonprofit sector including theory, history, management, and fundraising and financial management in nonprofit organizations. Students examine the relationships between nonprofit organizations and government such as the civic base of the nonprofit sector, intergovernmental and inter-sectoral relations, advocacy, lobbying, and nonprofit budgeting for government contracts and grants.
(Each course is 4 credit hours.)
PA 441: Nonprofit History & Theory
PA 442: Financial Management & Fundraising in Nonprofit Orgs.
PA 538: Nonprofit Management
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