Department Information

Political Science | Barbara Patrick, Ph.D., Department Head | 601 Pray-Harrold, 734.487.3113, bpatric1@emich.edu

Advisor Information

Tucker Staley, Ph.D., 601 Pray Harrold, 734.487.3113, tstaley2@emich.edu

Program Admission

Admission Requirements

Students will be invited to apply to the Combined Degree Program by Feb. 1 of their junior year and be offered admission by March 1.

Applicants must have:

1. An undergraduate GPA of 3.3; 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. Two letters of recommendation.
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.

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.

Undergraduate Degree -

The requirements listed below will appear on a student’s undergraduate transcript.

For the undergraduate portion of this program, students must earn a minimum of 124 credits at the 100-level or above.

General Education Requirements:

For specific requirements, see General Education  or print a worksheet .  

Major Requirements: 30 hours

Minor Requirement:

This major requires a minor. Please see Programs  for a list of available minors or contact your major advisor.

Graduate Courses Used on Undergraduate Program: 9 hours

• PLSC 515 - Public and Nonprofit Personnel Administration  3 hrs
• PLSC 578 - Quantitative Methods in Public Administration  3 hrs
• PLSC 630 - Public Policy Analysis and Formulation  3 hrs

Graduate Degree -

The requirements listed below will appear on a student’s graduate transcript.

Degree Requirements: 27 hours

Combined Program Total: 151 hours

Critical Graduation Information

Each undergraduate student will be responsible for the fulfillment of the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult the online catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

• Earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level and above. Courses with numbers below 100 will not be counted toward this degree requirement. At most 8 credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses will be counted toward this requirement.
• Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).
• Complete a Writing Intensive (GEWI) Course in your major.
• Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement. (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details.)
• Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
• Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
• Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor; students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
• Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits in excess of the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 124 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
• Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
  • Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
  • Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
  • Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
• Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used in the calculation of an EMU GPA.
• Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU in order to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses taken at EMU and those applied to a student’s major or minor will be used in the calculation of their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or with similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education  section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.