Public Administration > The Program > Master's Degree
Master's Degree
The degree program consists of four interrelated segments: CORE YEAR, INDIVIDUATED CONCENTRATION, PRACTICUM EXPERIENCE and the CAPSTONE.
The degree is innovative in a number of ways. It is an integrated educational experience that balances a prescribed curriculum with choices that reflect personal and professional interests. The strongest integration occurs during the Core Year, which accounts for 14 of the 30 credits (see MPA courses for details) and is organized in modules of varying lengths. These modules, which change in response to changes in the public service environment, are intended to cover the most important concepts, tools and skills that an individual needs to know to be effective in public service work. Integration also occurs through the capstone, the requirement that must be completed last. it asks that a significant public issue be addressed working in teams, using what has been learned, and in communication with appropriate community organizations and individuals.
Personal and professional interests are pursued most fully in the Individuated Concentration and in the Practicum. In the Concentration (9-credits) the participant defines a theme of special interest, and then takes courses in the Program or elsewhere that satisfy them. In the Practicum (3-credits) the participant spends 240-320 hours with an organization, in Hawai'i or elsewhere, that responds to specific learning goals she or he has defined.
A person working
while attending the University can expect to complete the Program in two to
three years, while a full-time participant normally could finish in two years.
The Program is designed for people with public service experience, as well
as individuals who wish to enter public service. The emphasis on the development
of meaningful relationships among participants dictates that once the core
year begins in the fall there are no new admissions to the Program until the
following fall semester.
Other Program Options
Thesis Option - PUBA 700
variable credit hours
The thesis is an individualized project selected, with an advisor's approval, by participants wishing to pursue in-depth research in a specific area. The thesis option involves six or nine credits of thesis research on an agreed-upon topic. A thesis research committee oversees and evaluates thesis work. If nine credits are taken in thesis work, no course work is taken in the individuated concentration. If only six credits are used for the thesis, three credits are taken in the individuated concentration. These credits must be consistent with a theme agreed to by the participant and a faculty advisor.
Degree Requirements for Certificate Holders (Alumni)
An individual who has completed the Certificate may subsequently choose to seek the MPA degree and apply the credits already earned toward that degree. A total of 31 credits is required for the master's degree, and the practicum is mandatory. Degree requirements include the completion of nine or twelve credits of individuated concentration, the three-credit practicum, the one-credit capstone planning seminar, and the three-credit capstone seminar. At the time the MPA degree is awarded the participant is requested to turn in the previously-earned certificate if less than three years have elapsed between the certificate completion and the degree Program entry dates.
Certificate graduates may apply for either fall or spring admission.
