The Program serves two types of students, 1) individuals currently employed in public service positions who may wish to pursue the MPA in order to broaden their educational backgrounds, prepare themselves for increased job responsibilities, or change career paths. Such in-service students currently make up the majority of the MPA student body, and 2) pre-service students who have recently completed a bachelor's degree and wish to use the master's degree to gain entry into a professional career track.

Admissions

Admission decisions to the MPA Program are based on an overall assessment of an applicant's potential for successfully completing the MPA degree. General admission criteria include scores obtained on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), performance as an undergraduate student, life experience/work, and letters of recommendation. Specific criteria are as follows:

1. Completion of a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university.
2. The University of South Florida requires that applicants for graduate school have a 3.00 (B) grade point average (calculated using grades earned for all classes taken during junior and senior years of undergraduate study,) and a GRE score of 1000 or better (combined verbal and quantitative sections only). This provision applies to all applicants, including t