Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.

Public and Nonprofit Administration Combined [BA + MPA]


Revised Program [Fall 2022]


The combined Bachelor of Arts in Public and Nonprofit Administration and Master of Public Administration degree is an accelerated five-year program in which exceptional students will earn undergraduate and graduate degrees. Students will spend their first three years engaged in undergraduate studies and their final two completing the graduate program. The total number of credits needed for the program will be 150. Students will complete their General Education requirements at the undergraduate level, a minor, and an abbreviated version of the undergraduate Public and Nonprofit Administration Major. Starting their fourth year, students will complete all 40-46 hours of the MPA program, and a portion of the credits will double count toward the undergraduate BA degree.

The curriculum requires two internships, one as part of the undergraduate major and the second in the MPA portion. Thus, students will have substantial field experience in public administration upon completing the full BA/MPA degrees (website).

Program Admission (Graduate)


Admit Terms and Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Fall or Winter. See Application Deadlines.

Submitting the application early ensures that desired classes are available for students. Please account for delays in securing an official transcript to avoid delayed admission decisions.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and be previously admitted to the undergraduate portion of the combined program.

Applicants must confirm with their advisor that they have completed enough undergraduate credits before applying to the graduate portion of the program. A student must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours before being fully admitted to the graduate portion of the program.

Program Requirements

Applicants must also meet the following program requirements. Requirements may be more stringent than the minimum graduate school requirements.

Students must consult with their undergraduate academic advisor before applying.

  • An undergraduate GPA of 3.3
  • A 250-word description of the applicant’s academic and professional history and professional goals in public administration.
  • Two letters of recommendation.

Application

Your application will be submitted using GradCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the Application Instructions  and select the appropriate application.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

  

Department Information


Political Science 601 Pray-Harrold, 734.487.3113

Barbara Patrick, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information


Tucker Staley, PhD, 601 Pray Harrold, 734.487.3113

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 total of 120 credits at the 100-level or above.

General Education Requirements:


For specific requirements, please see the Undergraduate Catalog or print a General Education Worksheet [PDF] .

Major Requirements: 30 hours


Minor Requirement:


This major requires a minor. Please see the Undergraduate Catalog for a list of available minors.

Graduate Degree -


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

Degree Requirements: 27 hours


Concentration: 18 hours


Select one concentration from the following. Students may take Special Topics courses (PLSC 590 /591 /592 ) and Independent Study courses (PLSC 697 /698 /699 ) with advisor approval.

Nonprofit Management: 18 hours


General Public Administration: 18 hours


We welcome students who would like to tailor their program to their career interests rather than specialize in the two concentrations above.

Students in the General Public Administration Concentration may take courses in political science (PLSC), accounting (ACC, TAX), arts management (AMA), economics (ECON), educational leadership (EDLD), geography (GEOG), historical preservation (GHPR), health administration (HLAD), management (MGMT), marketing (MKTG), sociology (SOCL), social work (SWRK, SWKE), urban and regional planning (URP), and other subjects with the approval of the MPA advisor. 

At least three courses must be in PLSC.

Combined Program Total: 151 hours


Critical Graduation Information


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 on-line 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 (WI) Course in your major.
  • Earn a minimum of 45 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 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; the internal review of such courses is conducted by individual departments/schools within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credits 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 on the General Education section of the undergraduate 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.