Admission Requirements:

Degree Admission

Applicants must have:

1. An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or 3.25 in the last half of the undergraduate program; the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required.
2. A 250-word description of the applicant’s academic and professional history and professional goals in public administration.
3. A personal interview with the program director is recommended if there are any questions about admission under the criteria above.
4. Applicants whose native language is not English must achieve EMU Graduate School minimum scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), IELTS, or the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB). Students with scores below the minimum must take English as a Second Language (ESL) courses at EMU to raise their English proficiency to a satisfactory level before beginning courses in the M.P.A. program. These students may be admitted on a conditional basis, subject to successful completion of the ESL requirements. See the Admissions website for minimum scores.

Application information and materials can be obtained from EMU’s Graduate School or at graduate.admissions@emich.edu, or international.admissions@emich.edu. Qualified applicants will be admitted to fall and winter semester on a rolling basis until the start of the term, but desired classes may not be available for students and delays in securing official transcripts may also delay admission decisions. As noted above, separate applications must be filed for the M.P.A. program and any certificate programs that a student may be interested in pursuing, even if done concurrently.

Conditional Admission

Promising applicants with a minimum of five years of administrative experience who do not meet the GPA requirements for regular degree admission, and who have a GPA between 2.75 and 3.0, may be granted conditional admission. Such applicants must arrange for an admission interview with the program director and submit two letters of recommendation from employers or others who can testify to the applicant’s suitability for the program. Applicants may be granted degree admission after completing at least four courses approved by the program director, with a minimum grade of 3.0 (B) in each course.

Department Information:

Political Science - College of Arts & Sciences

Advisor Information:

Degree Requirements: 18 hours

• PLSC 510 - Public Administration Concepts 3 hrs
• PLSC 515 - Public and Nonprofit Personnel Administration 3 hrs
• PLSC 520 - Land Use and Preservation Law 3 hrs
• PLSC 540 - Public and Nonprofit Budgeting 3 hrs
• PLSC 625 - Local Government Management 3 hrs

• One course from the following:

• PLSC 565 - Local Government and Politics 3 hrs
• PLSC 580 - Local Development Policy 3 hrs
• PLSC 645 - Intergovernmental and Nonprofit Collaborations 3 hrs
• PLSC 655 - Politics of Local Planning 3 hrs