About the MPA Program

MISSION STATEMENT

ACCREDITATION

The requirement for the MPA is 40 credits. All required courses are offered during weekday evenings and, in some cases, on Saturdays. If students successfully carry a full-time class load of 8 credits, it will be possible to complete the program in two calendar years or five semesters, starting in the fall of one year and ending in the spring/summer of the next academic year.

Admission to the program is selective. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited undergraduate institution, and must have a grade record that indicates above-average work (generally, a GPA of 3.0 or greater.)

The Post-Master’s Certificate program, offered by the Master of Public Administration program, is designed to provide students who have already earned an MPA or a similar degree with additional education and training in specialized areas of public management and administration.

How many students are enrolled in the program, and do they have prior experience?

On average there are around 40 students in a cohort. For the 2015-2016 cohort, 66% percent of students were pre-service and had not worked in public or nonprofit organizations prior to their enrollment in the program; 34% percent were currently working, or had some experience, in public or nonprofit settings beforehand. 63% of the students in this cohort were considered full-time and enrolled in at least two classes.

How many enrolled students complete the program?

The program is designed for students to finish in five semesters. Full-time students complete the program in two years with continuous full-time enrollment, while part-time students have up to six years to complete the program. The data below show the completion rate for the cohort of 32 students who entered the program during the 2010-2011 academic years:

2010-2011:

Initially Enrolled:

32 (100%)

Graduated within 2 years:

10 (31%)

Graduated within 3 years:

11 (34%)

Graduated within 6 years:

6 (18%)

Of the 32 students who were newly enrolled in 2010, 83% graduated within six years of starting the program. Students who did not graduate moved to other programs or had circumstances arise that otherwise prevented completion within the required time frame.

Where are our students after graduation?

Oakland University MPA graduates go on to hold a variety of positions in the public and nonprofit sectors, with a number of graduates also either moving on to utilize their skills in the private sector or opting to further their education. The list below presents job placement statistics for MPA graduates in the 2015-2016 cohort; employment categories were created by the Network of Schools for Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). 

        Nonprofit (domestic-oriented): 50%

        Private Sector (not research/consulting): 28%

        National government in same country as program: 6%

        State/provincial/regional government in same country as program: 6%

        City/county/local government in same country as program: 3%

        Unknown: 6%

Who Employs Oakland University’s MPA Graduates?

MPA graduates are employed in a variety of state and local government settings, including Oakland County and the State of Michigan, as well as in various nationally-recognized nonprofit organizations including the National Consumers League and the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. Our organization is also represented in hospitals and correctional facilities around the state, as well as in various areas of the private sector. Alumni in the 2015-2016 cohort were working in the following jobs six months after graduation: