Introductions

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Introductions

• -Name
• -Where you work
• -What area of public admin are you interested in?

Why the MPA?
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• Whos in the program?

Nearly 300 Students Enrolled in the Program
Most are Part Time Six year time limit Class
size 25 for core classes electives usually
smaller
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Career Background of Students

• 33 Federal Government
• 21 State/Local Govt
• 21 Nonprofit Sector
• 15 Private Sector
• 10 Pre-service/In-between Jobs

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US News World Report

• Whats our ranking?
• ?15th in nonprofit
• ?26th in public mgt and admin
• ?Mason 1 best up-and-coming national university

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Admissions Requirements

• ?Application fee
• ? Official transcripts
• ? Resume
• ? Three letters of recommendation from
  Professional or Academic Sources
• ? Goals statement
• ? Entrance exam scores
• (GRE, GMAT, LSAT)

How do I apply?
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Exam Waiver Request

• May petition to request a waiver of the entrance
  exam requirement if
• ?Undergraduate cumulative GPA is 3.3
• ?You hold an earned Masters degree
• Include a request to waive the exam in your
  application package

How do I get out of taking the GRE?
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More on Admissions

• What are some stats on recently admitted
  students?
• Average GPA 3.35
• Average GRE Verbal 59th percentile
• Average GRE Quant 45th percentile
• Fall 2008 139 total apps 73 admitted

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Curriculum Requirements

• 36 Credit Hours
• 8 required courses
• 4 electives which fulfill the optional
• concentration requirement

Whats the course load?
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Eight Required Courses

• Six
• 502 Introduction to Public Administration
• 611 Problem Solving and Data
• 620 Organizational Theory
• 640 Public Policy Process
• 700 Ethics and Public Administration
• 703 Third Party Governance

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Required Second Methods

• Andchoice of
• 612 Problem Solving and Data II, or
• 613 Economic Analysis for Public Administration,
  or
• 741 Policy Analysis, or
• 742 Program Evaluation

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Required Finance Course

• Andchoice of
• 660 Accounting and Finance, or
• 662 National Budgeting, or
• 663 State and Local Budgeting, or
• 664 Nonprofit Financial Management

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Statistics Preparation
Are there any pre-reqs?

• Statistics screening exam is required before
  taking PUAD 611 registration is controlled
• How to prepare?
• Three day workshop - meets Thursday, Friday and
  Saturday from 900 a.m. - 400 p.m.
• Offered January/May/August before every semester
  -- 210
• Screening exam offered at the end

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Why so many concentrations?

• -Administration of Justice
• -Environmental Science and Public Policy
• -Public Management
• -State and Local Government
• -Third Party Governance
• -Emergency Mgt Homeland Security

• -Nonprofit Management
• -Public and Nonprofit Finance
• -Policy Studies
• -Human Resources Management
• -International Mgt

FLEXIBILITY!
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Certificate Studies

• 15 Credit Hours
• Same admission requirements as the MPA
• Graduate Certificates in
• ? Nonprofit Management
• ? Association Management
• ? Administration of Justice
• ? Emergency Mgt and Homeland Security
• ? Public Management

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Masters International

• For Peace Corps Service earned concurrently
  with MPA six internship credits with tuition
  waived for 2-year deployment
• Students currently in
• Niger El Salvador
• Lesotho South Africa
• Botswana Rwanda

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Schedule of Classes

• 2 Campus Locations (Fairfax, Arlington)
• 3 Terms (Fall, Spring, Summer)
• Varied Class Schedules
• 130 p.m. / 430 p.m. / 720 p.m.
• Weekend Classes Friday p.m. / all day Saturday
• Online

When are classes held?
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Why Masons MPA?

• BECAUSEMany opportunities for students to see
  how theories learned in class apply to real
  world situations.
• Local Government Night (PUAD 502)
• Capitol Hill Day (PUAD 640)

Your link to a career of service
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Location, Location, Location

• Outstanding Faculty
• Alumni Contacts and Career Services
• To connect students seeking employment after
  graduation with alumni and contacts in various
  organization
• Alumni Chapter Events
• Networking Seminars
• Leadership Speaker Series
• ASPA Connection

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I have my MPAnow what?

• Supervisor, Fairfax County
• Policy Analyst, US EPA
• Chief of Police, Albemarle County
• Director of Marketing, American Council on
  Education
• U.S. House and Senate Staff
• Commanding Officer, US Coast Guard
• County Executive, Prince William County
• Economist, US Department of Agriculture
• Project Manager, World Bank

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QUESTIONS??