The Department of Public Administration was ranked #4 in Local Government Management and #15 in Public Finance and Budgeting, by U.S. News and World Report this year. We remain a premier program for students in local government and nonprofit management and our enrollments remain strong with the total number of students at 108.

Our students are diverse in a variety of ways. We have 63 men, 45 women and 18 African American and Hispanic students enrolled this year. Forty-one students started the program with an average undergraduate GPA of 3.26. We registered 19 pre-career students in two year paid internships, nine mid-career degree-seeking students and 13 Graduate Certificate of Public Management students (GCPM) with two or more years of professional public management experience. Our experience indicates that 80% of the GCPM students will continue on to complete the MPA degree.

The department now offers six specializations. 51% of the students are enrolled in the Local Government Specialization, 31% in Strategic Management and Leadership, 13% in Nonprofit Management, 3% in Comparative Public Service (which requires a semester abroad), and 2% in our Public Service Law Specialization (our JD/MPA).
 

We continue to have a 95% job placement within six months of our students graduating and our mid-career professionals inform us of career advancement after receiving their MPA degree.