The MPA degree is a professional degree for those seeking careers in the public sector and related career fields. The Georgia College & State University MPA program develops a wide variety of skills needed by managers to implement policies, oversee projects and direct programs. MPA program alumni work in a variety of settings at all levels of government as well as in nonprofit organizations: delivering services in health care, youth and human services, in housing and community development, in international development, and in public service-related private businesses. Our graduates have jobs in a variety of fields including federal, state, and local government, as well as private and non-profit government.
We are excited to announce that the Energy and the Environment Blog is now an intercollegiate collaboration between the MPA program at Georgia College & State University and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) at the University of Pittsburgh! The partnership extends the collaboration between Dr. Max Harleman (GSPIA Ph.D. and MPA alumnus, and Assistant Professor at Georgia College) and Dr. Jeremy Weber (Associate Professor at GSPIA who founded the blog at GSPIA). The Blog provides commentary and analysis that furthers understanding of Energy and Environmental issues of public interest. Faculty and students in any department at GCSU or the University of Pittsburgh are eligible to submit posts to be considered by the editors for inclusion in the blog. The blog gives authors space to make an argument, explore data, or explain a current event in more depth than a news article but with less rigor and detail than an academic article. The first post from Georgia College is coauthored between Mary Spears, a recent graduate of the Georgia College MPA program, and Max Harleman. Read it here!
The online Master of Public Administration program prepares students to ethically and competently serve, manage, and lead in the diverse public sector through teaching, research, and service to the discipline and broader community. The goal of the program is to prepare students for careers in the public sector, promote diversity of the study body and faculty and cultivate faculty committed to teaching, scholarship and service.
Program Goals
To accomplish our mission, we seek to:
Prepare students for careers in the public sector
Promote the diversity of the student body and faculty
Cultivate faculty committed to teaching, scholarship, and service
Public Service Values
We seek to:
Pursue the public interest with accountability and transparency
Serve professionally with competence, efficiency, and objectivity
Act ethically
Demonstrate respect, equity, and fairness
Curriculum
The 36-credit MPA program is offered in a convenient online format designed for the busy working professional. The program can be completed in four semesters of full-time study. The Georgia College's MPA program has received national acclaim for its design and content. The program is accredited with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).
Admissions Requirements
For general information regarding Graduate Admissions, please see Graduate Admissions.
All Applicants
Must have completed requirements for a Bachelor’s degree from a college accredited by the proper regional accrediting association.
Submit a current resume detailing relevant work experience.
Regular Admission
A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale in undergraduate work.
Applicants with an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 are not required to submit exam scores.
Applicants with an undergraduate GPA 2.75 - 2.99 must submit official scores on either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) scores. Scores must be within the last five years.
The applicant must have:
GRE: A combined score of 290 (verbal and quantitative) or
GMAT: 450 or
MAT: 395
Applicants may make a formal request to waive these requirement only when the applicant has completed another graduate degree program and an appropriate transcript is submitted in support of the request.
NOTE: Applicants with an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 - If using a paper application, please indicate in the test score area that you are requesting a test waiver based on undergraduate GPA. If applying online, please send an email to grad-admit@gcsu.edu notifying Graduate Admissions that you are requesting a test waiver based on undergraduate GPA.
Provisional Admission
Provisional admission may be granted to applicants with at least a 2.75 GPA who have scored:
GRE: 280-289 or
GMAT: 400-449 or
MAT: 380-394
Provisional admission will be considered for applicants who do not meet the academic requirements if strong evidence of ability to perform well in graduate work is provided through reference to work experience or other means.
Provisional status may be granted for a maximum of one academic year. All students admitted under provisional status must maintain a 3.00 or higher GPA during the probationary period.
At the completion of the provisional period of time, a decision will be made as to accepting the student as a regular admission.
To gain regular admission, a provisionally admitted student must take in that status the equivalent of a semester’s full load (9 to 12 hours) of Public Administration courses and maintain a 3.00 GPA in all graduate coursework).
Transfer Credit
Up to 9 hours of graduate work from other accredited institutions may be transferred. To be transferred course work from other institutions must correspond to Georgia College’s Public Administration curriculum. Students will need to provide course descriptions and syllabi wherever possible, and the amount of credit granted will be determined by the program director. Such course work may be no more than five years old.
The test date must be within the past five years. You do not need to submit scores from a subject achievement test. The GRE is now only given electronically at Sylvan Learning Centers, located throughout the U.S., including a site in Macon. The MAT is administered in Milledgeville 478-445-5016.
Senior Lecturer of Political Science & Public Administration, Internship Coordinator
2-22 Arts & Sciences Building
(478) 445-0958 wc.wilkinson@gcsu.edu
