PPA Information | PPA Programs | PPA Courses
Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration
College of Health and Human Services
Director
Martha J. Dede
Center Office
Engineering Technology (ET), Room 235
Telephone
(562) 985-4178
Faculty
Professors
John W. Ostrowski, Michelle A. Saint-Germain
Associate Professors
W. Frank Baber, Martha J. Dede, David C. Powell
Assistant Professors
Edward Martin
William Moore
Department Coordinator
Robin Quirk
Distance Learning
Shawn Bauer
Telephone
(562) 985-4179
Public administrators today are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that government is, indeed, the people’s business. They are challenged to be both effective and efficient. They believe that people tend to support what they help to create. Working with citizens, they have brought the practice of public management to its highest level without giving up the desire to constantly change and improve. The difference is that today’s public servants are recognized and rewarded in personal and material ways, making the study of public policy and administration a highly desirable career option.
The Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration offers the Master of Public Administration degree; Options in the degree program include Public Works Administration and Urban Affairs; and graduate certificate programs in Urban Executive Management, the Public Management Analyst, Employer-Employee Relations and Personnel Management, Public Sector Financial Management, and Transportation Policy and Planning. The Center’s graduate program is designed with a professional emphasis and a recognized need to provide course work that will increase the student’s competency in public administrative processes and analysis. The Center’s curriculum also is designed to emphasize the student’s ability to apply new knowledge, skills, and leadership techniques to the solution of public problems.
Admission applications are encouraged from persons with successful government service who wish to pursue, part-time or full-time, a graduate program designed to prepare them for new opportunities in public service or to expand or extend their capacities in a present position. The Center provides education in public policy and administration to professional persons in such fields as public works, social services, public health, community development, criminal justice, educational administration, recreation administration, finance, personnel, policy analysis, urban and regional planning, systems analysis and urban administration. The Center is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (NASPAA, 1120 G Street, NW, Suite 730, Washington, DC 20005, phone: 202-628-8965).
A detailed summary of requirements, current course offerings and procedures for the Master of Public Administration degree program, the Options in Public Works Administration and in Urban Affairs, and the graduate certificate programs, are contained in student handbooks available from the Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration and on its website at http://www.csulb.edu/~beachmpa.
Program Standards and Requirements
Admission
Students seeking admission to one of the Center’s programs should have an undergraduate degree and a desire for graduate study in public administration. A student must have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or better. A student whose overall grade point average is less than 3.0, but who presents acceptable evidence of professional potential shown through recent academic performance and experiential background, may be admitted by special action of the Center.
Students applying for admission to one of the Center’s programs are required to submit:
1. A completed Center Application Form for the specific degree or certificate program.
2. Transcripts of all course work completed in undergraduate education.
3. Two letters of recommendation from members of the academic profession under whom the applicant has studied, or from persons in positions of administrative leadership with whom the applicant has worked.
4. A one or two page statement concerning the applicant’s reasons and plans for pursuing a career in public administration.
Following admission to the University and acceptance to the Center, each student should meet with a faculty advisor. The faculty advisor will provide advice to the student on program course requirements and elective opportunities, and counsel the student in the chosen elective area.
Advancement to Candidacy
The following are requirements for the degree and certificate programs:
1. Satisfaction of the general University requirements for advancement to candidacy;
2. Completion of all degree or program prerequisites;
3. Approval of the candidate’s program by a faculty advisor and the Director of the Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration;
4. Completion of six units of course work at this University toward the degree or program objective;
5. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in all graduate work completed at this University, or transferred from other sources, to meet degree or program requirements.
6. Fulfillment of the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).
Transfer of Credit
Students who have completed a graduate certificate program in the Public Management Analyst, Employer-Employee Relations and Personnel Management, Public Sector Financial Management, or Transportation Policy and Planning, may transfer up to 15 units of credit earned in the certificate program to be applied to the Center’s Master of Public Administration degree program. The student must apply to the Center for admission as a degree candidate.
Students who have completed the academic requirements for the Master of Public Administration degree, prior to applying for admission to a graduate certificate program in the Center, may apply up to 6 units of credit earned in the MPA program for the required or elective courses in a certificate program.