MPA Degree Requirements

To earn an Evans School Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree, you must complete 60-credit hours of course work and a three-month internship. The 60-credit hours of required course work includes:

Twenty-one credits of core courses that will help you develop fundamental policy and management skills. These courses are taken in sequence, mainly during your first year of study.

The core courses include:

  • Microeconomic Policy Analysis (PBAF 516)
  • Managing Politics & the Policy Process (PBAF 511)
  • Managing Organizational Performance (PBAF 512)
  • Public Budgeting & Financial Management (PBAF 522)
  • Quantitative Analysis I & II (PBAF 527/582)
  • Public Policy Analysis (PBAF 513)

Some core courses can be waived by examination.

Nine credits of restricted electives in three areas: analysis, economics, and values. One three-credit course from each area is required, and sample courses include:

  • Analysis

    • Advanced Multivariate Analysis Seminar
    • Introduction to Urban Simulation
    • Program Analysis in Developing Countries
    • Program Evaluation
    • Survey Research Methods
    • Scientific Information in Environmental Decision Making
  • Economics
    • Advanced Seminar in Health Economics (Department of Health Services)
    • Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • Economic Approaches to Environmental Management
    • Economics of Education (College of Education)
    • Economics of International Development
    • Public Finance (Department of Economics)
    • Rural Development Economics & Policy
    • Urban Economics
  • Values
    • Competing Values in Public Service
    • Education as a Moral Endeavor (College of Education)
    • Ethics & Public Policy
    • Ethics & Values in Environmental Policy
    • Leadership Ethics
    • Values in International Development

View a complete list of core and restricted elective requirements for 2007-2008 (26 KB XLS)

Twenty-four credits of electives related to an area of focus that can be taken through other departments and universities. Elective credits can also include up to 12 credits of professional development courses taken through the Cascade Center.

A degree project worth six credits that involves working closely with a faculty member to research a topic of serious interest to you. The project can be completed in one of three ways:

  • An independent research project with a faculty member
  • A joint research project with several students and a faculty member through one of our Public Service Clinics
  • A professional research project for your employer or another agency that is completed under faculty supervision

The three-month internship, totaling a minimum of 400 work hours for a government, nonprofit, or private organization, must be related to your professional goals and require you to use a substantial amount of analytic or managerial knowledge. (The internship requirement can be waived if you have at least two years of recent professional-level public service experience related to your degree and career goals.)

For more information, contact the Evans School Student Services office at evansdss@u.washington.edu or 206.543.4900.