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 emich.edu/graduate 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

David Klein, Ph.D. | Department Head | 601 Pray-Harrold | 734.487.3113 | dklein2@emich.edu

Advisor Information

Rose Jindal | MPA Coordinator | 601 Pray-Harrold | 734.487.3113 | rsoliven@emich.edu

Degree Requirements: 15 hours

• PLSC 510 - Public Administration Concepts 3 hrs
• PLSC 540 - Public and Nonprofit Budgeting 3 hrs
• PLSC 615 - Public and Nonprofit Financial Management 3 hrs

• Choose two of the following (In consultation with the program coordinator):

• ACC 646 - Financial Management of Nonprofit Organizations 3 hrs
• ECON 550 - Public Finance: Analysis and Policy 3 hrs
• ECON 551 - State and Local Government Finance 3 hrs
• PLSC 635 - Strategic Management in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors 3 hrs
• SOCL 678 - Methods in Social Program Evaluation 3 hrs