Public Administration

The mission of the MPA program is to offer an innovative and practical curriculum that stresses intellectual and theoretical foundations to professionals preparing to take on socially responsible roles in public leadership and service. The mission is achieved through a curriculum that emphasizes management of organizational resources, the changing context of public administration, and analytic and decision-making capacity. Students also gain an understanding of the practice of public administration in diverse public organizations and of the ethical dimensions of public service.

The Doctor of Public Administration is designed to develop scholarly practitioners as leaders committed to improving the quality of life and environmental sustainability of the Southern California region. Students learn to consciously integrate and apply current theoretical, moral, and institutional perspectives that contribute to the disciplined analysis and professional resolution of administrative problems. Students take coursework in clusters offered in a weekend or virtual format and in intensive seminars held on the central campus. They take a prescribed sequence of courses that are instructed and coordinated by a faculty team made up of both full-time department faculty members and practitioner adjunct faculty members.