Master of Public Administration
Public
administration is an interdisciplinary and interinstitutional program
of professional training for people who are working in the public or
nonprofit sectors or preparing to enter those fields. The department
offers the M.P.A. degree at two locations: an on-campus program in
Newark and an executive M.P.A. program in the Trenton area. Both
programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of
Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).
Courses offered by
the Department of Public Administration of the Graduate School-Newark
are supplemented by course offerings at the Newark College of Arts and
Sciences, the School of Law-Newark, Rutgers Business School, and the
School of Criminal Justice. In addition, certain helpful courses are
available from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
In
addition to giving the student the basic professional competencies in
public administration, the program provides a broad understanding of
the field and its relevant issues. Students become competent at
defining public problems, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data,
developing creative solutions, communicating these solutions to others,
and implementing ethical and practical courses of action. Issues
examined include the complexities of urban and suburban problems, the
operation of public and nonprofit organizations, the expectations and
rights of clients that these organizations serve, and the
responsibilities of management.
Candidates for the M.P.A.
degree must complete 42 credits, including a core curriculum of 27
credits and 15 credits of electives. The degree requirements include
completion of a Capstone Paper (taken as an advanced standing elective
worth 3 credits) or the passing of the M.P.A. comprehensive
examination. Students are encouraged to participate in internship
activities while enrolled in the M.P.A. program. The department assists
students in locating internship opportunities but students may discover
internship opportunities on their own. In all cases, departmental
approval must be obtained before the internship begins. The M.P.A.
director should be contacted regarding departmental procedures for
approving internships.
Attending part time, students can earn
the degree in about three years. The program may grant credit for past
or present public service at the professional level. In addition, the
M.P.A program may allow students to transfer credits for graduate work
done previously under a formal graduate degree program at an accredited
institution. There is a 12-credit limit, however, on the total number
of credits a student can receive through a combination of prior
graduate course work and professional experience. Similarly, no more
than 12 credits may be awarded for either transfer credits or
professional experience alone.
Joint B.A. or B.S./M.P.A.
This five-year program makes it possible for qualified students to earn
a baccalaureate degree from the Newark College of Arts and Sciences or
University College-Newark and a master`s degree from the Graduate
School-Newark. The program is designed for the highly motivated student
who has decided at an early stage in his or her studies to pursue a
career in public administration. The program requirements are:
1. completion of 94 undergraduate credits in liberal arts
subjects and meeting the general education requirements of Newark
College of Arts and Sciences/University College-Newark,
2. completion of an undergraduate major at Newark College of Arts and Sciences/University College-Newark,
3. a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better at Newark
College of Arts and Sciences/University College-Newark,
4. Graduate Record Examination test score (junior year) acceptable to the graduate program in public administration.
Application for early admission to the graduate program in public
administration is made at the beginning of the second term of the
junior year. Upon satisfactory completion of 30 credits in the graduate
program, those students receive their B.A. or B.S. degree from Newark
College of Arts and Sciences/University College- Newark. When the
students complete satisfactorily the remaining requirements of the
graduate program, they are awarded a master of public administration
degree. Upon their admission to the graduate program in public
administration, students are bound by the academic regulations and
degree requirements of the Graduate School-Newark.
Core Curriculum for the M.P.A. M.P.A.
students must complete 10 3-credit core courses (30 credits) from four
clusters. In general, courses from cluster one should be taken before
those in cluster two. Courses in cluster four are taken toward the end
of the master`s course work.
Core Curriculum Cluster One
26:834:501 Introduction to Public Administration (3)
26:834:521 Technology and Public Administration (3)
26:834:541 Political Economy and Public Administration (3)
26:834:561 Analytical Methods (3)
Core Curriculum Cluster Two
Select two from the following:
26:834:522 Public Organizations (3)
26:834:523 Human Resources Administration (3)
26:834:524 Strategic Planning (3)
26:834:525 Management Techniques (3)
26:834:526 Public and Nonprofit Productivity (3)
26:834:529 Performance Measurement (3)
26:834:577 Nonprofit Human Resources (3)
26:834:582 Health Care Management (3)
Core Curriculum Cluster Three
Select one from the following:
26:834:542 Government Budgeting Systems (3)
26:834:543 Public Financial Management (3)
26:834:571 Nonprofit Budgeting (3)
Core Curriculum Cluster Four
26:790:512 Ethical Issues in Public Policy and Administration (3)
26:834:562 Research Design (3)
26:834:597 Advanced Study (3) (substitute for capstone)
Electives for the M.P.A. Four 3-credit courses (12 credits) are
required to complete the 42-credit curriculum. After the core
curriculum cluster one is completed, electives may be sequenced
throughout a student`s program. Students may select electives from the
following courses. With the approval of their advisers, students also
may take electives in other departments to fit their individual
educational and career goals.
Electives in General Public Administration and the Environment
26:834:503 Topics in Public Administration (3)
26:834:504 Topics in Public Administration (3)
26:834:505 Intergovernmental Management (3)
26:834:507 Leadership (3)
26:834:703 Internship in Public Administration (3)
Electives in Management Theory and Skills
26:834:524 Strategic Planning (3)
26:834:525 Management Techniques (3)
26:834:526 Public and Nonprofit Productivity (3)
26:834:527 Cases in Public and Nonprofit Productivity (3)
26:834:528 Information Systems and Public Administration (3)
26:834:577 Human Resource Management for Nonprofits (3)
Electives in Economics, Budgeting, and Finance
26:834:543 Public Financial Management (3)
26:834:544 Professional Development Strategies (3)
26:834:545 Capital Budgeting (3)
26:834:546 Infrastructure Finance (3)
26:834:547 Government Revenue Systems (3)
26:834:576 Resource Development for Nonprofit Organizations (3)
Electives in Health Care and Environmental Health
26:834:581 Introduction to Health Care Systems (3)
26:834:582 Health Care Management (3)
26:834:584 Health Care Finance (3)
26:834:585 Health Care Policy (3)
26:834:586 Violence in the United States (3)
Electives in Urban Educational Administration and Leadership
Public Education Law Seminar
26:834:556 Foundations of Urban School Administration and Supervision (3) *
26:834:557 Urban School Leadership and Communication (3) *
26:834:558 Curriculum, Instructional Leadership and Assessment in Urban Schools (3) *
26:834:559 Public School Finance (3) *
26:834:614 Urban Educational Policy and School Improvement (3) *
Electives in Nonprofit Management
26:834:570 Theory and Practice of Nonprofit Management (3)
26:834:571 Nonprofit Budgeting (3)
26:834:575 Grant Writing and Grants Management (3)
26:834:576 Resource Development for Nonprofit Organizations (3)
26:834:577 Human Resource Management for Nonprofits (3)
26:834:578 Strategic Planning and Management for Nonprofits (3)
26:834:544 Professional Development Strategies (3)
Public Service and Professional Education Activities
In addition to their academic activities, faculty members contribute to
a variety of government and public and nonprofit management education
programs. Prominent among these are the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for
Metropolitan Studies and the National Center for Public Productivity.
The Cornwall Center was established to shed light on the dual nature of
cities, including the complex dynamics shaping the quality of life in
metropolitan areas. Funded by public organizations and foundations, the
National Center conducts research and training on measuring and
improving public agency productivity. An important new initiative
within the National Center is the E-Governance Institute, which
conducts comparative research on e-government and digital democracy. As
part of its mission, the National Center publishes jointly with the
American Society for Public Administration, the Public Performance and
Management Review, a quarterly journal. The department also sponsors
the journals Public Voices and the Chinese Public Administration
Review.
