Admission Requirements:

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. One political science course in the fundamentals of American government, public law, state and local government or public administration, with a C or better if taken as a part of a bachelor’s degree or a B- or better if taken after the bachelor’s degree.
5. 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 MPA 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.

Conditional Admission

An applicant deficient in the above prerequisites may be granted admission on a conditional basis, subject to completion of the prerequisite(s). In lieu of the above prerequisite course, documentation of acquired proficiency and/or appropriate experience may be accepted at the discretion of the MPA director.

Promising applicants with a minimum of five years of administrative experience that 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.

Application Process

Application information and materials can be obtained from EMU’s Office of Admissions or at graduate.admissions@emich.edu, or international.admissions@emich.edu. Qualified applicants will be admitted to fall and winter semesters 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.

Department Information:

Political Science - College of Arts & Sciences

Advisor Information:

Degree Requirements: 39-42 hours

The M.P.A. degree is awarded upon satisfactory completion of the following: 

• All pre-service students without substantial work experience in public administration must complete a 15-week equivalent internship experience and enroll in PLSC 688 - Practicum in Public Affairs . The director of internships in the Political Science Department will work with students to identify and supervise an appropriate internship.
• The minimum acceptable grade in each of the nine required courses is a B. Students scoring less than a B may repeat a course once before being dismissed from the program. All students must have a B average overall to graduate.

Extended Program:

This program is available at an EMU off-campus location or entirely online. For a list of locations, please click here