Public Administration, MPA (Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy track)

The Gender, Leadership and Public Policy (GLPP) track of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program prepares students to take on leadership roles in government and nonprofit organizations. This specialization of the MPA combines courses from two existing programs in the McCormack Graduate School for Policy and Global Studies: the traditional MPA program and the graduate certificate program in Gender, Leadership and Public Policy (formerly known as the Program for Women in Politics and Public Policy).

In the first year of the Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy track of the MPA students take six courses as a cohort in the Gender, Leadership and Public Policy certificate program. In year two of the track, students join the traditional MPA cohort for two summer courses and two courses each during the second fall and spring semester. As most students are employed full-time, the program operates on an evening and weekend schedule.

In the first year, the academic program focuses on political structures and processes, the effects of public policies on women, women’s influence in politics, and the formulation and implementation of public policy. The role of gender, race/ethnicity, and class in politics and policymaking is central to the program’s design, goals, and curriculum. Students complete an internship related to their career goals. Courses in the Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy (GLPP) track are grouped into the following areas:

Women in American Politics and Contemporary Policy Issues
Organizational Leadership
Research Methods

MPA courses in year two focus on public administration, management, and analytical skills. Students research a topic of their choosing for their capstone project. Courses in the Master of Public Administration curriculum are grouped into the following areas:

Public management, organizational behavior, public budgeting, and financial management.
Analytical, quantitative, and qualitative skills for policy makers and managers

Degree Requirements

Thirty-six graduate credits are required to complete the curriculum for the Gender, Leadership & Public Policy track of the MPA. These credits are earned by completing ten three-credit courses distributed among the areas noted above, and a final capstone seminar for six credits. The curriculum leading to the MPA is highly structured. Students are expected to proceed through the program by taking all courses in the determined sequence. In order to accommodate students who have already had graduate training in one or more of these areas, the program allows students to transfer up to two equivalent courses into the program, in accordance with University transfer policy.

Admission Requirements

Please see the general statement of admission requirements for all graduate studies programs in the “Admissions” section of this publication and, in the graduate application, the sections on “Graduate Admissions Application Instructions” and “Special Instructions for Applicants to Individual Programs.”

Each student must submit:

a completed application form
two letters of recommendation
a résumé
a current Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score
essays
all undergraduate and graduate transcripts.

The application deadline is April 15th for fall admission only.

Public Administration, MPA (Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy track)

Degree Requirements

Fall I (6 credits)

Spring II (9 credits)

Summer I (6 credits)

Fall II (6 credits)

Spring II (9 credits)

Admission Requirements