Political Science and Public Service

Dr. Christopher Horne, Department Head

Dr. Christopher Acuff, M.P.A. Coordinator

The Department of Political Science and Public Service offers the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree. The mission of the MPA program is to promote the public good by preparing students to be effective leaders, managers, and analysts in public and nonprofit agencies. The program emphasizes: developing early- and mid-career students’ proficiency in core management and analytic skills that apply to a broad range of public and nonprofit employment settings; training students to apply theory and evidence to practice; cultivating students’ commitment to technical competence, professional ethics, and the public interest; engaging students in active learning; preparing students to participate effectively and responsively as members of diverse decision-making groups and in service to diverse constituencies; and, serving our region by providing options for focused study of local government management and nonprofit management. The program is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration.

Admission

Applicants who wish to be admitted to the MPA program must meet all general requirements for admission to The Graduate School of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Applicants are also required to submit a statement of purpose explaining how the mission of the program is a good fit with their professional goals. In addition, the applicant must submit at least two letters of recommendation. Applicants with an overall undergraduate GPA of less than 3.25, or less than 3.25 in their last 60 hours, must also submit test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test.

To assure full consideration, applicants seeking admission for fall semester are encouraged to submit all application materials by July 15 for fall admission or by November 1 for spring semester admission.

Program Requirements

This program requires 23 credit hours of core courses and 12 credit hours of elective courses. Students must also complete a 1-credit hour professional development requirement. For pre-service students, this requirement is fulfilled by a 1-credit, 300-hour internship in a public agency or nonprofit organization; for in-service students, the requirement is fulfilled by completing a 1-credit individualized professional development course.

Concentrations

The MPA program has two elective concentrations: Local Government Management and Nonprofit Management. Students wishing to pursue a concentration within the MPA program fulfill their requirements through the 12-credit hour elective requirement within each respective concentration’s course offerings. Students may also choose to pursue a “generalist” Master of Public Administration degree, which allows them the opportunity to customize their program of study by enrolling in electives from our local government courses, nonprofit courses, special topics courses within the Department of Political Science and Public Service, or courses in other graduate programs, with permission from those programs and in consultation with the Graduate Program Director.