Dr. Walter F. Baber
Welcome to the Internet home of the Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration (GCPPA) at California State University, Long Beach. The GCPPA offers a NASPAA accredited MPA degree designed to promote public service excellence in Southern California. The on-campus program offers students the convenience of evening and weekend classes in a challenging, yet comfortable academic environment. In addition to the general MPA degree, the GCPPA also offers options in Urban Administration or Public Works Administration as well as various certificate programs. The GCPPA also offers an accelerated Distance Learning Program for in-service practitioners. The Distance Learning Program offers the general MPA degree through twelve hybrid classes that combine on-campus meetings with online education.
Growth has been the hallmark of the MPA program over the past several years. The GCPPA is enjoying record enrollments in both the on-campus and Distance Learning programs and continues to attract the best and brightest to government service. New graduates will join over 1,700 alumni who have graduated from the GCPPA over the past 30 years.
Our faculty brings a broad range of research and teaching interests to the classroom. Many of our faculty members are active researchers and publish in the nation’s most elite journals. This research greatly enriches the classroom experience of our students better preparing them to be leaders in public service. Many of our graduates have gone on to leadership and management positions as city managers, agency directors, and state legislators.
Recent changes to the curriculum have produced a dynamic approach to public service education that emphasizes learning in practice. Students are afforded the opportunity to apply theories to practical public service settings and scenarios through course assignments, the creation of a Student Learning Portfolio, internships, and interaction with practitioners from various backgrounds and areas of expertise.
The goal of the GCPPA is to create a challenging and dynamic learning environment for public leaders of today and tomorrow. Thank you for your interest in the GCPPA and we invite you to experience our MPA program for yourself!
SCAC AWARD
The Scholarly and Creative Activity Committee (SCAC) has awarded Dr. Linda-Marie Sunstrom a SCAC award for Spring, 2010.
FULBRIGHT AWARD
Dr. Linda-Marie Sundstrom has been awarded a Fulbright Award to teach and study in Ukraine for Spring, 2010. This is the GCPPA's second Fulbright award in as many years!
FULBRIGHT DISTINGUISHED CHAIR
Dr. Frank Baber, Associate Professor in the Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration, has been named Fulbright Distinguished Chair of Environmental Policy at the Polytechnic Institute of Turin for 2009.
NASPAA
The Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration's MPA program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration through 2016.
PPA 697 Cases Are Posted
Please click the link below to access the cases studies for 2009-2010. The cases are also available on the departmental Beachboard site.
