PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The Master of Public Administration degree trains individuals for service as managers in public and non-profit organizations.  Appalachian State University's  MPA graduates mainly serve in North Carolina and its neighboring states with some MPA graduates working for the federal government in a variety of locations across the United States.  MPA students learn how to successfully manage governmental programs, deal with the public, and to become community leaders.  Despite fluctuations in other segments of the economy, it is clear that public and non-profit agencies will play a continued and expanding role in our communities.
 
 

MPA graduates gain employment in the following types of jobs:
 

• Town, city or county manager
• Director of a multi-county Council of Governments
• Housing Authority Director
• Public Works Director
• Personnel, budget, or utilities managers in a town or county
• Prison manager
• Police Chief
• Criminal Information System manager
• Director of a community non-profit group, such as a Chamber of Commerce

MPA graduates also enter into federal law enforcement positions with agencies such as the Secret Service, U.S. Marshall Service and the Border Patrol.
 

The Master of Public Administration degree is a terminal professional degree, which means that graduates receive in-depth training in the problems facing public sector managers.  Like an MBA, law or medical degree, a terminal professional degree is designed to give graduates the necessary skills, knowledge base and training needed to allow them to act with minimal supervision while achieving significant results in leadership roles.  Courses dealing with personnel issues, budgeting and fiscal management, leadership and organizational climate, evaluating the effectiveness of public services, research techniques, and an in-depth study of the major ideas, problems and concepts in public administration form the common core of the curriculum required of all MPA students.  In addition to eighteen hours in the core courses, MPA students complete fifteen graduate hours (five courses) particularly focused in the career area they have chosen.

Appalachian’s MPA program has three tracks:
 

• Administration of Justice
• Public Management
• City and County Management.

Appalachian’s MPA degree is designed to give students relevant knowledge and experience.  MPA students complete at least one internship involving full-time service with an experienced mentor-manager in order to gain invaluable on-the-job experience.  Thirty-nine credit hours are required of all MPA graduates and full-time students complete the MPA program in two-academic years.  Thirty-six students are currently enrolled in the program.  We offer most classes in the evening so as to facilitate enrollment by persons employed full-time in nearby communities who wish to upgrade their professional credentials.  Over one hundred individuals have completed the degree since its inception in 1989.
 

Appalachian’s Master of Public Administration degree program is widely recognized for its quality.  The MPA program at Appalachian has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, the national accrediting group in the field of public administration, through the year 2002.  NASPAA accreditation means that the curriculum, facilities, faculty and students meet stringent national standards of excellence.
 

Appalachian State University is the only university to have placed five MPA students in a prestigious North Carolina Governor’s Public Management Fellowship program leading to significant mid-level state government employment.  Competing schools included Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, Western Carolina University, East Carolina University, NC Central University, North Carolina State University, UNC-Wilmington and Appalachian.
 

A highly qualified faculty offers in-depth discussions as well as practical experience in the career tracks.  Each of our faculty members gained substantial experience in governmental administration—gained in decades of experience in state government agencies, city and county management, non-profit groups as well as enforcement and correctional agencies—as well as having completed the doctoral degrees from a major university.  These factors, combined with an orientation toward experiential learning and internships, assure students that they will be exposed to the major issues, problems and models in current public administration.  The MPA program faculty, their areas of expertise and prior experience, includes:
 
 

• Dr. William Cassie, Ph.D., University of Kentucky (Research Methodology, Program Evaluation, significant experience as a program evaluator and analyst of public policy on the state and local government level)

• Dr. Dennis Grady, Ph.D., Emory University (Public Personnel Administration, Public Administration seminar, ten years experience in state government and university administration)

• Dr. Marvin K. Hoffman, Ph.D., University of Georgia (Local government administration and budgeting, twelve years experience as a city and county manager)

• Dr. Kenneth Mullen, Ph.D., State University of New York at Albany (police administration)

• Dr. Matthew Robinson, Ph.D., Florida State University (Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, Theories of Crime, Corrections)

• Dr. Dragan Stefanovic’, Ph.D., University of Tennessee (Organization theory, public management, twenty four years experience in the U.S. Army including service as a Defense Attaché)

• Dr. Ron Stidham, Ph.D., University of Houston (Judicial Process, Constitutional Law and Court Administration)

• Dr. Joel Thompson, Ph.D., University of Kentucky (Public policy analysis, fifteen years experience in university administration, significant consulting experience)

Admission to the program is competitive.  Prospective students must submit an application, three letters of recommendation, transcripts of grades earned at an accredited college or university leading to a baccalaureate degree, as well as scores from the Graduate Record Examination.  A formula is used to calculate admission scores.  Applicants may calculate this score by multiplying their undergraduate GPA by 400, and adding to that number the verbal and math scores on the GRE.  A minimum admission score of 2000 points is required.  Students are admitted each semester and may begin studies in August, January or May.
 

Financial assistance is available.  In addition to loans, scholarships and assistantships are available.  Assistantships carry with them an obligation to assist faculty members in their research or may involve advanced graduate students in teaching a class.  All awards are competitive.  Assistantships currently provide a stipend of $3000 per semester and require 20 hours of work each week.
 

Appalachian State University is situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina.  Boone draws visitors year round because of its mild summers, beautiful Fall colors and exciting winter sports.  Appalachian State University provides its 12,000 students with a full array of intramural sports facilities, and excellent computer facilities.  The surrounding mountains provide a natural laboratory in which to observe the challenges posed by significant economic development while maintaining a dedication to protecting the heritage and environment of the area.  Boone, with a population of approximately 13,000 residents, offers excellent opportunities for persons looking for outdoor activities, shopping, eating, or religious activities.  The area has excellent medical facilities, surpassing those found in much larger areas.  Nearby Beech and Sugar Mountains offer excellent skiing opportunities while Grandfather Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway are among North Carolina’s most visited attractions.
 

Additional information can be obtained.  Call or write to:

MPA Program Director
Appalachian State University
102 Whitener Hall
Boone, NC 28608

Telephone -- 828-262-3075 for application materials and other information.

You may use your computer and connect to:

http://www1.appstate.edu/dept/ps-cj/

for additional information about our department, its facilities, and departmental course offerings.
 

Appalachian State University is committed to equal educational opportunity and does not discriminate against applicants, students or faculty based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age or handicap.  We are particularly committed to encouraging women and minorities to acquire professional training in the Master of Public Administration program.