All students in the MPA program complete eight required courses and are required to earn a minimum grade point average of 3.0. This ensures that you achieve a basic understanding of fundamental public administration principles and practices together with a foundation in communication skills, economic analysis, and statistical analysis. In addition to the required courses, you must complete five elective courses chosen in consultation with an Academic Advisor. Students without prior professional experience must also complete an internship in a public, nonprofit, or private sector organization.
In your final semester, you will take the Capstone Seminar, which emphasizes the application of your MPA knowledge and skills to specific professional situations.
Full-time and part-time MPA students may choose to focus 9 of their 15 credits of elective course work in one of the specializations. Students in all specializations complete the same MPA core, which does not vary from specialization to specialization. Specializations must be chosen in consultation with an Academic Advisor.
Core Courses
PAF 9100 Introduction to Public Affairs
PAF 9103 Communication in Public Settings
PAF 9120 Public and Nonprofit Management I
PAF 9130 Economic Analysis and Public Policy
PAF 9140 Budgeting and Financial Analysis I
PAF 9165 Race, Inequality and Public Policies
PAF 9270 Data Collection and Description
PAF 9271 Data Analysis for Public Service
Or
PAF 9272 Causal Analysis and Inference
Final Capstone Requirement
PAF 9190 Public Affairs Capstone Seminar (3 credits)
Internships
PAF 9195 Public Affairs Internship (3 credits)
Students who do not have at least one year of relevant experience will be required to complete an internship and an additional 3-credit internship class as part of their program. The internship requirement will be explicitly stated in the acceptance letter. Students should speak to an academic advisor early on in their program to fully understand what the requirement involves or to request a review of the requirement if the one-year of relevant experience may have been met.
PAF 9198 Public Affairs Workshop (1 credit)
Option for students NOT required to complete an internship, but who need academic credit for an internship.
Specializations
Students who choose a specialization need to complete 9 of 15 elective credits (i.e. 3 of 5 elective courses) within that specialization. The remaining 6 credits (2 courses) can be taken from other graduate electives.
- Urban Development and Sustainability
- Nonprofit Management
- Public Management
- Health Care Policy
- Policy Analysis and Evaluation
- Social Justice
- Climate Change
Students can request permission through Academic Advisement to substitute other appropriate courses as electives in Specializations.
Students are also encouraged to create their own specialization by bringing together at least three courses in their areas of interest from Marxe, Baruch and other CUNY campuses. Some examples of possible specializations students can create include Emergency Management, Migration, Nonprofit Resource Development and Fundraising, Public Communication, and Program Evaluation.
Elective Courses
MPA students can choose their electives from all the PAF (Public Affairs) courses offered in any of the Marxe degree programs. Each Fall and Spring semesters Marxe offers around 20 elective courses, including innovative Selected Topics courses that address current and emerging issues. Additional electives are also offered in Winter and Summer semesters.
For details of the courses to be offered in the following semesters, consult CUNYFirst Class Search tab or the Schedule of Classes. You may add courses to your shopping cart prior to registration time.
The full list of PAF courses is available on CUNYFirst under the Browse Course Catalog tab or the Baruch College Course Description Search.
MPA students can also take elective courses in other Schools at Baruch College or at other CUNY campuses. If you are interested in taking courses outside the MSPIA you should consult with Academic Advisement.