AB / MPA Joint Degree

Applicants must be considered for and receive admission to each program separately.

Typically, students begin taking MPA classes in their sophomore and junior years, and apply to be fully admitted to the MPA program in their junior year. As part of the Honors Program, students are eligible to take up to a total of four graduate classes (12 credit hours) that can be counted toward their undergraduate degree. These four classes will also be counted toward their MPA degree. Until a student has been formally admitted to the MPA program, they can only take 6000 and 7000 level classes. For a timeline of the AB/MPA, click here.

AB/MPA students must complete all the requirements for the MPA program. Detailed information and requirements are outlined on the MPA program webpage. Students may follow a generalized curriculum or specialize in one of the following areas:

• Health Policy and Administration
• Higher Education Administration
• Local Government Administration
• Nonprofit Administration
• Public Budgeting and Finance Administration
• Public Management/Organization Theory
• Public Personnel Administration
• Public Policy

The MPA program requires an internship for students who have not had significant public management experience. The internship requires a minimum of 300 hours to be worked at a public sector organization, such as government or nonprofit agency. Students will not receive course credit for completing an internship and cannot count as an internship any experience for which they received course credit.

AB/MPA graduates may find career opportunities at all levels of government and in the nonprofit sector. Careers include:

• Budget Analyst
• City Planner
• Financial Legislative Specialist
• Human Resources Consultant
• Legislative Analyst
• Management Analyst
• Personnel Analyst
• Policy Analyst
• Public Health Advisor
• Volunteer Administrator/Director
• Voter Education Coordinator