Master of Public Administration, Hybrid Track

Admission to the MPA program is competitive.  While all students are welcome to apply to the Hybrid Track, note that we do not accept international students to the Executive Track. To apply, applicants must have:

• An undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with a minimum 2.75 (4.0 scale) cumulative grade point average;
• A resume detailing relevant work and volunteer experience;
• An essay describing the applicant’s career goals and objectives, as well as potential for success in the program;
• TOEFL or IELTS scores (if the applicant does not hold a degree from a program or university where English is the official language of instruction).

In addition to the above admission standards, international students should visit the College of Graduate Studies for eligibility requirements, as well as for information on out-of-country tuition waivers. International prospective students should also visit the Office of International Programs and Services for information on I-20/DS-2019 visa requests. Note that international students may only be admitted to the Hybrid Track.

International transcripts must be evaluated by a NACES accredited evaluation service and must be a course-by-course evaluation and include a GPA. Please note that the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies is not able to waive the application fee or pay for international transcript evaluation.

Georgia Southern is a military-friendly institution. Additional consideration is given to applicants with service in any military branch, reserve unit, or National Guard (active, retired, or prior service; Form DD214 #4 required).

Follow these steps to complete the Georgia Southern application: 

• Create an application account.
• Complete our online application using the PIN you received after creating your application account.
• Once complete, pay the $50 application fee or upload a valid fee waiver. Previous Georgia Southern applicants and dual-enrollment students do not need to pay the fee.

You can check your application status at My.GeorgiaSouthern.edu/admissions three days after completing your application. This page contains live information about your admission status, including a checklist of missing documents we need to make a decision.

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is a NASPAA accredited degree program. The Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies is a member of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC).

The Graduate Student Organization (GSO) is committed to representing and supporting the interests of all current and prospective graduate students at Georgia Southern University and seeks to support scholarly activities as well as promote social opportunities for the development of graduate students.

The MPA student awards are given annually during the spring semester. For awards requiring nomination, a nomination period will be announced in advance and the nomination form will be made available.

If you are a bachelor’s degree student interested in a Master’s in Public Administration, you may be eligible for an accelerated bachelor’s to master’s (ABM) program. ABM programs allow you to begin graduate studies in the senior year of your bachelor’s degree so you can accelerate completion of a graduate degree. You’ll earn both a bachelor’s and a graduate degree faster. And since any graduate courses taken as an undergraduate are billed at the undergraduate tuition rate, you’ll save money too. Learn more about the accelerated bachelor’s to master’s programs for the MPA.

Since 1973, Georgia Southern University’s MPA program has been a leader in the advancement of public and nonprofit management education. Today, the MPA program is recognized as one of the top graduate programs at Georgia Southern, boasting a dedicated core faculty and an alumni base more than 700 strong.

In 2011, the MPA Program gained membership in the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) which is comprised of academic programs and institutions committed to furthering research and education in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. The MPA program is also accredited by the NASPAA Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation and listed on the Annual Roster of Accredited Programs in conformity with NASPAA Standards.

On July 1, 2012, in recognition of the MPA program’s continued development, the program was made part of the newly established Institute for Public and Nonprofit Studies (IPNS). In 2018 the IPNS became the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies. Today, the department serves as the focal point for scholarship, teaching and professional service in the field of Public Administration, Public Policy and Nonprofit Management at Georgia Southern. It is one of six academic departments in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

The MPA program’s curriculum is structured to meet the needs of both pre-service students and mid-career practitioners. In Fall 2021 the program transitioned to a hybrid format blending online and in-person instruction on the Statesboro Campus.

Also, beginning Fall 2021, undergraduate students majoring in Recreation Management or Human Development and Family Science-Family Services were eligible to apply to the Advanced Bachelors to Masters (ABM) program. The ABM program provides students with the opportunity to apply up to 12-credit hours of MPA coursework towards both their undergraduate and graduate (MPA) degree requirements. The department also offers three undergraduate minors (Public Administration, Public Policy and Nonprofit Management).

The department’s undergraduate courses are taught fully-online and are open to all students seeking training in public and nonprofit management. Students in the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) program may also pursue program concentrations in these areas.

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program educates, equips and empowers our region’s future and existing public service professionals who are passionate about shaping a more just and equitable society. The program is designed to provide students with skills, values and the ethical foundation necessary to effectively lead diverse public serving organizations through education, leadership, innovation and collaboration.

• Using the major theories underlying the field of public administration, students can synthesize relevant information to address public problems.
• Students can articulate and apply a public service perspective in their demonstrated knowledge of the structure, components, goals and objectives of the public and nonprofit sectors.
• Students are able to participate in the public policy process through analysis and application of quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence to determine the effectiveness of a public policy or program.
• Students are able to describe the public policy process and the administrator’s role in that process.
• Students are able to identify ethical problems in public administration, assess the nuances and ambiguities of those ethical problems, and create appropriate solutions using moral reasoning skills.
• Students will participate in and contribute to the policy process through preparation and analysis of a public budget in order to lead and manage in public governance.
• Students can manage the major components of a personnel system within an organizational setting, understand the nuances of effectively motivating and managing personnel, and communicate and interact productively and in culturally responsive ways with a diverse and changing workforce and society at large.
  

The MPA program’s learning outcomes align with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) universal required competencies.  The required competencies include five domains:

• to lead and manage in the public interest;
• to participate in, and contribute to, the policy process;
• to analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment;
• to articulate, apply and advance a public service perspective;
• to communicate and interact productively and in culturally responsive ways with a diverse and changing workforce and society at large.