2020-2021 Graduate Catalog 
    
    Dec 23, 2024  
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Public Administration, M.P.A., Fire and Emergency Medical Services Concentration


Available Fully Online

 

Coordinator: Christy D. Smith, Ph.D.

The Master of Public Administration is the most widely accepted and valued professional degree in the field of Public Service. Our MPA program provides students with the core skills and knowledge necessary to be a successful professional in Public Service, as well as offering students an opportunity to complete a concentration in one of five timely areas: 1) Municipal Management, 2) Public Financial Management, 3) Public Safety, 4) Nonprofit Management, and 5) Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Our MPA accommodates the needs of students new to the field as well as those already working in public service. In both cases, we seek students who are motivated to increase their knowledge and gain the skills necessary to take on challenging assignments in public service, particularly at the state and local level.

Required Courses:


The degree is comprised of 36 credits. Many students are eligible for 3 credits of waivers toward completion as a result of work in public administration settings, but those who are not will complete a 3-credit focused practicum, PADM 6600 . All students complete a basic core of courses including:

Concentration in Fire and Emergency Medical Services


The general purpose of this concentration is to prepare men and women at the graduate level to lead fire and emergency medical service organizations. The program strives to equip students with modern analytic and quantitative tools of decision making and their application to complex problems of government and non-profit organizations. The program will increase the student's knowledge and skills in the particular management functions of budgeting, planning, public policy formulation, public finance, public personnel administration, and collective bargaining. The concentration is comprised of three courses (9 credits) as listed below: