The Master of Public Administration degree is designed to help prepare an individual for career service in national, state or local government; in regional planning agencies; and in non-profit or voluntary organizations. It is a two-year program of study which encourages post-baccalaureate students to utilize their education as a foundation upon which to build organizational and managerial skills which are highly valued in the public and non-profit sector.
Admissions Procedures and Requirements
Completed Online Application for Graduate Programs. Please check the Office of Academic Admissions website for fee information: http://www.gru.edu/Admissions/
Application fee: $50
Application deadlines for application and required materials and documents:
Early submission of all application materials is strongly advised.
Spring entry - December 2
Summer entry - April 2
Fall entry - July 2
Note: All required application materials and documents must be received in order for an application to be considered complete and before an admission decision can be made. Applications and supporting materials received after the program deadline will only be considered on a space-available basis.
GPA: Minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.
Minimum Degree Requirement: Bachelors degree.
Official Transcripts: Official transcripts are required from all universities and colleges ever attended. Only in the case of transcripts from international colleges/universities will an official course-by-course transcript evaluation be accepted in lieu of an official transcript.
Official transcripts should be sent to GRU’s Office of Academic Admissions. To remain official, all transcripts must remain in the original, unopened, sealed and stamped/signed envelope from the Registrar’s office of the issuing institution. Alternatively, GRU will accept official electronic transcripts from the registrar’s office at your prior institution. Electronic transcripts should be directed to admissions@gru.edu.
Transcript/Credential Evaluation of Foreign Transcripts: An official, professional course-by-course evaluation based on official transcripts and documents is required for all foreign educational transcripts and documents from one of the following three credentials evaluation services: Josef Silny & Associates, Inc., World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE). Silny and WES are recommended. Official evaluations based on unofficial transcripts, documents, or copies will not satisfy this requirement.
References: Recommendations (which include a reference form and letter of recommendation) from three individuals are required. Referees should be individuals qualified to critically assess the applicant’s prior academic (usually college professors) and employment qualifications as well as the applicant’s potential as a graduate student im the field/program selected.
Graduate reference forms and letters of recommendation can be submitted online only. As part of the online application process, applicants provide the names and current email addresses for three individuals they have asked to serve as their referees. Once the online application is submitted, each referee will receive an email notification directing him/her to the online site where he/she can complete the reference form and submit his/her letter of recommendation. To change a referee after the application has been submitted, the applicant is instructed to log into his/her CollegeNet account and update the name and current email address for the referee. Status updates of your referees’ submissions will be provided to you directly from CollegeNet.
GRE Requirement: Official GRE scores are required (only the General GRE test is required). Test takers who took the GRE prior to August 1, 2011 were scored on the old scoring scale of 200-800. The minimum score requirement of 900 total combined Verbal and Quantitative Scores) will continue to be used for those who took the GRE prior to the scoring changes. Test takers who took the GRE after August 1, 2011 are scored on the new scoring scale of 130-170. The minimum score of 290 (combined Verbal and Quantitative scores) will be required for those who took the GRE after the scoring changes.
All official GRE scores must be submitted to GRU’s OAA directly from the Education Testing Service (ETS) and must be less than five years old. The institution code for submission of GRE scores to GRU is 5406. Please do not select a department code.
A GMAT score may be substituted for a GRE score.
A 500-1,000 word typed personal statement that describes the applicant’s current work and career, where the applicant wants to be in five years, and how the MPA program will help them get there.
TOEFL Requirement: Minimum score of 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, or 79 internet-based.
Official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) test scores are required for applicants whose first language is not English. The institution code for submission of TOEFL scores to GHSU is 5406. Please do not select a department code.
Exemption from the TOEFL requirement is allowed for graduate students who submit proof of earning a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college/university where English is the language of instruction.
Resume or CV (curriculum vitae): Including date of most current revision.
Admission Recommendations
When the portfolio is completed with each of the items listed above, the applicant’s record will be reviewed by the Director of the MPA program.
If an applicant meets all requirements, the MPA Program Director may admit the applicant as a regular student in the program. If an applicant does not meet any of these requirements, the MPA Program Director forwards the application and supporting documents to the MPA Admissions Committee that will evaluate the application and make a decision. The Admissions Committee may elect to admit a student as a probationary student. The Admissions Committee may impose conditions on students admitted in a probationary status.
* - Substitutions and/or waivers of minimum requirements must first be supported and approved at the program level and then formally approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate studies.
* - While every effort is made to maintain this information as current, it may be subject to change. Please check with GRU’s Office of Academic Admission for recent updates.
* - Applications deferred to another semester are subject to all admission requirements and program requirements in effect for the semester to which they are deferred.
Conditions for Provisional Admission: Those applicants who have at least a 3.0 undergraduate grade average and are awaiting their scores on the Graduate Record Examination may enter into a contract with the MPA program which states that they are provisionally accepted for one semester while the portfolio is completed. Provisionally accepted students may take one course. If the student’s completed application is subsequently accepted after the GRE scores are known and course is successfully completed, the course will count toward his or her degree requirements.
Conditions for Probationary Admission: The MPA Admissions Committee has the option of admitting a student on a probationary basis with a set of specified conditions to be met before the student is considered to be regularly accepted. These conditions are determined on a case-by-case basis. Conditions may include, but are not limited to, provisions that the student achieve, at a minimum, a B on each of the first three core courses taken in the MPA Program, or that the student take an undergraduate course in quantitative methods as a pre-requisite in order to remedy a deficiency in his or her performance on the quantitative subtest of the Graduate Record Examination. In any case, the conditions must be met within the first two semesters of course work within the MPA program in order for the student’s academic status to change from probationary to regular.
Admissions Appeals: Students who are not accepted for admission to the Master of Public Administration program and who believe that there are extenuating circumstances which affect their eligibility may request in writing an appeal of the decision of the MPA Admissions Committee. This appeal is sent to the Director of the MPA Program, who will forward it to the Admissions Committee. The committee makes its decision and conveys it in writing to the MPA Program Director, who contacts the applicant by letter to inform him or her of the decision.
Academic and Professional Standards: An average of B is required for all courses attempted in the program. There is a time limit for completion of the degree. Only the course work earned within the six calendar years before the final completion of degree requirements will apply toward graduation.
The program of study is 36 semester credit hours. Of the 36 hours, 25 hours (nine courses) constitute the core requirements. The remaining hours are selected from among the elective offerings, culminating in a capstone course of 2 semester hours.
Transfer Credit: No more than nine semester credit hours shall be transferred from another institution for the purpose of earning credits for the Master of Public Administration degree. The institution from which the credits are transferred must be an accredited one, and each transfer course is subject to review in order to determine its equivalency in the Georgia Regents University MPA Program.
Internship: An internship experience is required by the MPA program for those students who lack a significant professional work background. Students who need an internship will be matched with an appropriate organization.
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