Ordinarily, earning a B.A. and an M.P.A. at Rutgers-Camden requires six years and 162 credits (120 undergraduate and 42 graduate credits) of full-time study. Under this accelerated program, the same result is achieved in five years with 153 credits, by counting some courses for the M.P.A. as well as the B.A.

In order to qualify for the joint-degree program, economics majors must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 and complete the three prerequisite courses for admission to the graduate program (statistics, economics, and American government). Statistics (and econometrics) and economics are already required for the economics major. American government must be taken for the economics major. American government must be taken as an undergraduate elective before admission to the Graduate School.

Students will apply for admission during the first term of their senior year. Students who do not maintain a 3.0 GPA can have their admission revoked. Students must be cleared by the chairs of the economics department and the M.P.A. program in order to register for graduate credit in the second term of their senior year. Students admitted to the M.P.A. program may count 9 of their graduate credits toward their economics requirements and their M.P.A. requirements, i.e., these courses will be double-counted toward the B.A. and M.P.A. degrees. This substitution has been approved by the economics faculty.

Once accepted into the B.A./M.P.A. program a student must maintain a 3.0 average.

Our nationally accredited degree of Master of Public Administration has provided hundreds of students with a first-class education, extensive contacts with our alumni at all levels of government, a pathway to law school, career advancement, and preparation for doctoral study. With concentrations in public management, health care management, and policy, an association with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and a nationally acclaimed international development administration concentration run with the Peace Corps, the M.P.A. program assures a stimulating educational experience for all of our students. Since 1991, four of our students have been selected, through a national competition, for the highly prestigious Presidential Management Internship Program; 13 have gone on to law school and 6 have enrolled in nationally recognized Ph.D. programs. By far, however, the majority of Rutgers-Camden M.P.A. graduates have entered or further enhanced their careers in public service. For additional information on the accelerated B.A./M.P.A. program, interested students are encouraged to contact the chair of the economics department at 856/225-6290 or by email at jworrall@rutgers.edu.