The mission of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Master of Public Affairs Program is to sustain a diverse, collaborative community of learning that provides professional education to develop ethical, motivated, and effective leaders and to impact our changing region, nation, and world through community engagement and research.
Earn a SPEA MPA
Description of the video:
When I started the City of Chicago Mayoral Fellowship, and when people heard the Indiana University name it automatically impressed a lot of my peers. I presented, and emphasized, the fact that I had these professional skill sets that the MPA from IUN and SPEA had given me. So students can come from a variety of backgrounds, and still kind of choose a track that works best for their career.Also, as part of their regular coursework, they have the opportunity to interact with local organizations.
So they allowed me to bring into the classroom, where I was getting the formal hard skills plus the theory, practical living experiences, that I was experiencing while I was the clerk treasurer of Highland.
Many of our students, they're enrolled in the NPA because they need a masters degree to move up in their organization, so it can help them career wise, to move up and advance that way. This is a very reputable program, with some awesome faculty members. So I think that from here the sky's the limit
The MPA program (See below for Curriculum) offers students an opportunity to focus on specific areas of interest within the public sector:
- Criminal Justice
- Leadership
- Health Services Administration and Social Change
- Sustainability and Social Change
The program accomplishes its mission through:
A fully qualified faculty:
- whose responsibilities are teaching, research, and service
- who, as committed teachers, take responsibility for enhancing student learning
- who pursue research that contributes to the expansion of knowledge, enlivens their teaching, and gives form to their service to the community.
A fully accredited program:
- which is designed to produce professionals capable of intelligent, creative analysis and communication, and action in public service organizations
- which focuses primarily in the areas of criminal justice, health services administration, human services administration, and public management.
A commitment to the improvement of public service:
- through involvement in the region's continuing dialogue regarding its economic, social, and political future
- faculty research and expertise
- university/community projects.
- A regular evaluation and monitoring of the program to meet the constantly changing needs of public and other organizations.
MPA Curriculum (Effective December 2020)
Core Courses (27 credits)
V500 (3) Quantitative Tools for Public Affairs
V502 (3) Public Management
V506 (3) Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision-making
V509 (3) Administrative Ethics in the Public Sector
V517 (3) Public Management Economics
V540 (3) Law and Public Affairs
V560 (3) Public Finance and Budgeting
V600 (3) Capstone in Public & Environmental Affairs
V585 (3) Practicum
Criminal Justice (9 credits)
J666 (3) Criminal Justice Policy & Evaluation
J501 (3) Evolution of Criminological Thought and Policy
Elective (3) Course to be approved by SPEA Curriculum Committee
Leadership (9 credits)
V566 (3) Executive Leadership
V602 (3) Strategic Management
Elective (3) Course to be approved by SPEA Curriculum Committee
Health Services Administration and Social Change (9 credits)
V545 (3) The U.S. Health Care System
V546 (3) Health Services Utilization
Elective (3) Course to be approved by SPEA Curriculum Committee
Sustainability and Social Change (9 credits)
V559 (3) Principles and Practices of Social Entrepreneurship
V602 (3) Strategic Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Elective (3) Course to be approved by SPEA Curriculum Committee
Electives: Below are potential offerings; *regularly offered currently and students are encouraged to enroll
- V527 Urban Sustainability (in IUPUI catalog)
- V512 Public Policy Process
- V515 Sustainable Communities
- V521 The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
- V525 Management in the Nonprofit Sector (Spring Semester 4, Session A)
- V532 Urban Planning and Placemaking
- V539 Management Science
- *V545 The US Health Care System (to be used in Env. Cert/Nonprofit-Public cert)
- *V546 Health Services Utilization (to be used in Env. Cert/Nonprofit-Public cert)
- V547 Negotiation and Dispute Resolution for Public Affair
- V559 Social Entrepreneurship
- V561/V522 Public Human Resource Mngmt/Management in the Nonprofit Sector
- V564 Urban Management
- V645 Environmental Law
- V663 Policy Analysis
- V557 Proposal Development and Grant Administration
Mid-career option - Students can apply for mid-career option and be granted waiver for up to 6 credits (V566 and/or one elective) based on professional experience.
If you can see yourself earning a Master’s degree from Indiana University, enroll today.
For Admission, contact: Suzanne Green or Eric Lambert
Master in Public Affairs: 219-980-6696 or 219-980-6821
For more information, visit the School of Public and Environmental Affairs page on the IU Northwest Bulletin.
