University of Texas at El Paso Academic Catalog

Academic Catalog

Master of Public Administration Online

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree provides professional education for students interested in public-service careers. Accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), the interdisciplinary program is designed to stress the knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors essential to the successful public servant. Some flexibility in curriculum is permitted to meet the diverse educational needs of pre-service and in-career students, changing-career students, and students in different career specialties in public administration. The curriculum components are designed to produce professionals capable of intelligent and creative analysis, communication, and action in the public sector context.

The program is offered online through UTEP Connect. 

Admission Requirements 

  1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
  2. A two-to-three page double-spaced statement of purpose that addresses educational and career goals and reasons for pursuing an MPA degree.
  3. Three academic or professional letters of recommendation. At least one academic letter of recommendation is preferred.
  4. Applicants from countries where English is not the first language are required to demonstrate English proficiency. Please consult the graduate school website for required scores.

Degree Requirements

Completion of at least 36 semester hours of coursework consisting of the following:

  1. At least 18 hours of courses including PAD 5302PAD 5310 , PAD 5311PAD 5351PAD 5365, and your choice of one from PAD 5350PAD 5352, or PAD 5353 (detailed in the degree plan). Selected MBA core courses may be substituted for MPA core courses, depending on course offerings by each program. Advance approval by the MPA coordinator is required for substitution. 
  2. The final program requirement is the completion of one of the following: the capstone course, PAD 5367 Comprehen Integration/Pub Adm (3 semester credit hours).

Degree Plan

MPA Core
All courses require a grade of C or better
Required Courses:
PAD 5302The Public Adm Profession3
PAD 5310Pub. Policy Process & Institut3
PAD 5311Econ Anal for Public Admin3
PAD 5351Applied Stats for Public Admin3
PAD 5365Pol Anal & Decision Making3
Elective - Select one of the following:3
Public and Nonprofit Manage.
Public Budgeting & Financ Mgmt
Human Resources Management
Capstone (required):3
Comprehen Integration/Pub Adm
Public Policy Management Concentration15
Select five courses from the list below:
Qual Rsrch Methods for Pub Adm
Innovation and Problem Solving
Public and Nonprofit Manage.
Public Budgeting & Financ Mgmt
Human Resources Management
Admin Law and Regulation
Soc Entrepren & Not/Prof Mgmt
Admin. Ethics & Responsibility
Regional and Urban Planning
Urban Administration
Intergovernmental Relations
Pub Part & Democratic Process
Selected Problems in Pub Adm
Pub & Nonprofit Program Eval
Total Hours36

PAD 5350 Public and Nonprofit Manage.PAD 5352 Public Budgeting & Financ MgmtPAD 5353 Human Resources Management may be included if not counted in the required core above.