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Home » Master of Public Administration »
MPA Curriculum Overview
The Public Administration program is a 36-credit degree comprised of six, eleven-week seminars of six credits each. In order to provide you with the opportunity to tailor your education to your own professional goals, you are able to choose an elective for your fifth seminar, or with program director approval you may enter a concentration in seminars 5 and 6. For students who complete six seminars, the program culminates with a one-week Residency and graduation ceremony at Norwich University in June.
Core Seminars
Concentration
Elective Seminars
Capstone Project and Residency
Semester 1:
Foundations in Public Administration
Seminar 1 - Core
This seminar introduces the scope, theory, and practice of public administration. It provides an overview of the history of public administration, the roles of public administrators, the relationships between governmental organizations, and an examination of public relations, public budgeting, and personnel management
of a public organization. (6 credit hours)
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Public Organization and Resource Management
Seminar 2 - Core
This seminar presents an overview of the major theories of managing complex public organizations, including organizational leadership, information management, political environments, and organizational development. (6 credit hours)
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Semester 2:
Research Methods in Public Administration
Seminar 3 - Core
This seminar includes a review of major research method designs with a focus on applications for policy development and evaluation. Statistical techniques commonly found in public administration and social science research are reviewed from the perspective of managerial control and application to evaluation of research
design/ program evaluation. (6 credit hours)
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Legal and Ethical Issues in Public Administration
Seminar 4 - Core
This seminar focuses on the legal and ethical issues commonly faced by public administrators. This includes an examination of operational ethics, public employment law, civil liability of public agencies, and applicable principles of public access to records, public participation, and policy-making. (6 credit hours)
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Semester 3:
MPA students must choose any one of the below listed Seminar 5 electives before proceeding to Seminar 6. With the prior approval of the program director a student may be permitted to enter a concentration to satisfy program requirements for both Seminars 5 and 6.
Concentration
Should you decide to specialize your degree with a concentration the course of study is presented sequentially in two seminars of six credits each - part I and part II. Students with managerial experience and program director approval may commence their studies with the concentration courses. Upon successful completion of the concentration, students may elect to subsequently enroll in and complete seminars one through four in order to fulfill the MPA program requirement of 36-credit hours. Students in this course are not required to attend residency or prepare a capstone paper until they begin their studies in the first four seminars. (12 credit hours)
Public Organization Fiscal Management, Parts I and II
Seminar 5 and 6 - Concentration
This concentration will provide students with an in-depth study of the following topics all within the context of public organization fiscal management; legal and regulatory foundation for financial management; accounting and budgeting, internal controls, internal and external reporting; integrated financial management information systems; and auditing, evaluation and risk management. The course work will prepare you for the Association of Government Accounts' Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) examination. (12 credit hours)
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Public Works Administration, Parts I and II
Seminar 5 and 6 - Concentration
This concentration will provide students with an in-depth study of the following topics: human resources, budgeting and fiscal management, emergency management, legal, political, and technological issues, communications with stakeholders, public works planning and project management, contract administration, multi-year financing of public works projects, environmental impact and cost-benefit analyses, decision-making modeling, multi-jurisdictional services, public-private joint ventures and sustainability. (12 credit hours)
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Public Administration Resources and Processes
Seminar 5 - Elective
This seminar examines the management principles of public organization, including performance, strategic planning, human resources, evolving interactions between public, private and nonprofit sectors, and the impact of federal mandates. Other areas of study include compensation, labor relations, fiscal management, information assurance and e-government. (6 credit hours)
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Law Enforcement Administration
Seminar 5 - Elective
This seminar reviews administration in the law enforcement environment. Topics for study include personnel management, budgeting, law enforcement best practices, police leadership, workforce development, accountability, internal affairs, productivity, and managing special units. Students will also study the role of community policy, community policing, restorative justice programs, crime prevention, the role of technology, integrated justice systems and information system security. (6 credit hours)
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Corrections Administration
Seminar 5 - Elective
This seminar administration in the corrections environment. Topics include personnel management, budgeting and public finance, workforce development,staffing, special units, correctional policy development and planning. The role of technology and integrated justice systems will be examined as well as information system security. (6 credit hours)
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Public Safety and Crisis Management
Seminar 5 - Elective
This seminar introduces students to public safety and crisis management. Topics for study include managing crisis and public safety emergencies at different levels of government, personnel management, budgeting and public finance, leadership, workforce development, staffing, policy development and planning. Students will
also study the central aspects of information assurance and information system security. (6 credit hours)
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Public Policy and Planning
Seminar 6 - Core
This seminar presents a study of the policy and planning process. Topics include the process and models of policy formation, policy implementation and policy evaluation. A significant proportion of the seminar will be devoted to development of a Capstone paper in an area of public administration chosen by the student and
presented at Residency. (6 credit hours)
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Capstone Paper or Project
An important learning component of the MPA online program is the capstone paper/project exercise. The capstone paper/project exercise requires students to exhibit all of the skills developed over the course of the program: critical analysis, integration of relevant concepts and principles, research, use of recent and important information, and effective writing. During the various phases of the capstone exercise in seminars 5 and 6 students work under the guidance of program staff and faculty. Each student has the opportunity to present the capstone paper/project to peers and faculty at residency at Norwich University prior to graduation.
Many students find that their capstone paper/project becomes an important part of their journey to becoming a leader in their criminal justice organization. Some integrate their projects into their jobs, while others publish their papers in professional journals and magazines. It is often basis for professional recognition, promotion, assignment of additional duties or the beginning of a program or operation in the workplace.
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Residency:
The culmination of the 18 months of study is the one-week residency at the beautiful campus of Norwich University, nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Residency is held in June of each year.
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Norwich University - Master of Public Administration
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Admissions: 1-800-460-5597 ext. 3377
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