Public Administration: Executive, M.P.A. - COLA, UNH

What the Program Covers

The online Executive Master of Public Administration (MPA) program prepares students for leadership roles in public and nonprofit organizations. The curriculum builds skills in program evaluation, budgeting, planning, personnel management, and policy analysis. This reduced-credit program for experienced professionals—or those with a Certified Public Manager credential—can be completed in just one year. Note that the GRE is not required for admission to this program.

Public Administration graduates learn how to apply evidence-based decision-making to improve public sector and nonprofit organizations.

Program Highlights

• Earn your public administration master’s degree fully online and asynchronously
• Study with public service professionals and professors who bring strong analysis and best practices to your learning
• Start in the fall, spring, or summer and graduate in just 12 months

Choose between two capstone tracks:

• Management and Leadership – focusing on organizational strategy and public sector leadership. Students may add the optional Recreation Management and Policy track to focus on recreation administration within public service.
• Program Planning and Development – focusing on program design, evaluation, and implementation.

Program Delivery and Options

All core courses are delivered online asynchronously. Students may take optional electives in person on UNH campuses. An optional Washington, DC Colloquium brings students to Washington, DC for a week of meetings with policymakers and practitioners.

EXECUTIVE MPA Sample Degree Plans (30 Credits): Fall Start

CAPSTONE TRACK: MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

¹

A range of MPA ADVANCED Core courses are offered each term and vary each year. ADVANCED Core courses can also be taken as Elective courses. Students may also propose relevant Elective courses based upon their interests. Consult with your Graduate Academic Advisor for guidance and course selections.

²

As a culmination of their graduate work, students in the Master of Public Administration's Management and Leadership Track are tasked with reflecting upon the professional applicability of their MPA skillset and drawing from the ePortfolio that they built throughout the program. Students are presented with a real-world problem in public administration and asked to write a paper exploring the problem and proposing recommended solutions.

³

Students pursuing the Recreation Management and Policy Track should select a minimum of 3 RMP courses from the list of MPA ADVANCED Core courses to meet their ADVANCED Core and/or Elective program requirements. Students should consult with their departmental Graduate Academic Advisors at the Carsey School and Recreation Management & Policy for guidance on which RMP courses are relevant based upon their interests.

CAPSTONE TRACK: program planning AND development

¹

A range of MPA ADVANCED Core courses are offered each term and vary each year. ADVANCED Core courses can also be taken as Elective courses. Students may also propose relevant Elective courses based upon their interests. Consult with your Graduate Academic Advisor for guidance and course selections. Note that the optional Recreation Management and Policy Track cannot be added to this Program Planning and Development Track.

²

Students in the Master of Public Administration's Program Planning and Development Track complete a four-term capstone project as the culmination of their graduate work. This capstone experience is designed to provide an opportunity to directly apply theories learned in the classroom to a major applied project within a community.

Executive MPA Requirements

Students enrolled in the Carsey School's Executive Master of Public Administration program are required to complete a 30-credit program, consisting of 10 courses as follows:

• 3 MPA BASIC Core Curriculum Courses
• 3 MPA ADVANCED Core Curriculum Courses
• 4 MPA CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE Track Courses:
  • Management and Leadership Track: 2 Capstone Courses + 2 Elective Courses

Optional: Recreation Management and Policy Track can be added to focus on recreation administration by choosing a minimum of 3 RMP courses from the MPA ADVANCED Core course list to fulfill Elective and MPA Advanced Core program requirements

OR

• Program Planning and Development Track: 4 Applied Project Capstone Courses

These provide students with a strong foundation in theory and the applied skills necessary to foster democratic involvement, accountability and administrative competency in the provision and delivery of public services in towns, cities, state agencies, and a wide range of nonprofit and non-governmental organizations. Further opportunities for depth and specialization are provided through a broad range of MPA ADVANCED Core and MPA-Approved Elective courses which vary each term. For a culminating graduate experience, students choose an MPA capstone experience to match their interests (Management and Leadership Track or Program Planning and Development Track). Students pursuing additional specialization in recreation administration can add the optional Recreation Management and Policy Track to the Management and Leadership Track.

¹

A range of MPA ADVANCED Core courses are offered each term and vary each year. ADVANCED Core courses can also be taken as Elective courses. Students may also propose relevant Elective courses based upon their interests. Consult with your Graduate Academic Advisor for guidance and course selections.

²

As a culmination of their graduate work, students in the Master of Public Administration's Management and Leadership Track are tasked with reflecting upon the professional applicability of their MPA skillset and drawing from the ePortfolio that they built throughout the program. Students are presented with a real-world problem in public administration and asked to write a paper exploring the problem and proposing recommended solutions.

³

Students in the Master of Public Administration's Program Planning and Development Track complete a four-term capstone project as the culmination of their graduate work. This capstone experience is designed to provide an opportunity to directly apply theories learned in the classroom to a major applied project within a community.

⁴

Students pursuing the Recreation Management and Policy Track should select a minimum of 3 RMP courses from the list of MPA ADVANCED Core courses to meet MPA ADVANCED Core and/or MPA-Approved Elective program requirements. Students should consult with their departmental Graduate Academic Advisors at the Carsey School and Recreation Management & Policy for guidance on which RMP courses are relevant based upon their interests.

• Develop in-depth understanding of the structure of public sector organizations and common issues faced by public and nonprofit managers
• Communicate effectively with public managers, policymakers, and the general public
• Manage organizations, processes, and people in the public and nonprofit sectors
• Apply critical thinking skills to address public issues and solve problems
• Collect and analyze data to inform public decision-making

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Deadlines

Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:

• Fall:  August 1
• Spring: December 15
• Summer: April 15
• Special: N/A

Application fee: $65

Campus: Online

New England Regional: No

Accelerated Masters Eligible: No

New Hampshire Residents

Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission, or you will not be able to register for classes.

Transcripts

If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC. 

If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.

If admitted, you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:

• Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
• Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.

Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.

Letters of recommendation: 3 required

Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.

Personal Statement/Essay Questions

Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding: 1) reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives, and 2) your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field. In addition, applicants seeking a graduate assistantship or tuition assistance also must note this request in their personal statement.

Statements must be included with your submitted application.

Resume

Resume is optional but recommended.

Additional Department Requirements

If you are requesting a graduate assistantship or tuition assistance from the department then they require that you also submit GRE test scores. Please send a photo-copy of your test scores directly to the department (they do not require an official copy). For further details please contact the department.

Important Notes

All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.

International Applicants

Due to program requirements and restrictions, the MPA Program is unable to admit international students who require F-1 visa sponsorship. The program will gladly accept applications for applicants who are working in the United States full-time on a different visa type and do not require F-1 visa support. 

Prospective international students are strongly encouraged to contact Carsey Admissions prior to starting their application. All international applicants are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. Please note that English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.