Any MPA Programs (Master of Public Admin)

[FireMedic_Philosopher]

I am assuming you are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Within your budget as a Canadian are the MPA programs Royal Military College and the University of Victoria. I mention them because you may wish to augment your education with a local degree. RMC allows civilian enrollment for the MPA program. Both are not totally asynchronous though in case that's a dealbreaker for you.

https://www.rmc-cmr.ca/en/registrars-off...nistration

https://www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/publi.../index.php

I do not recommend the Master of Public Service at Waterloo. Nobody I've met from that program had nice things to say about it.

Out of curiosity, would an American be eligible for the RMC MPA? ... I imagine it would be potentially very beneficial to have a school like that on a resume, if one was looking at defense policy or think tank jobs later on.

Looks like it's just 2.7x the cost for international students. As always, it's a small program so I'd email the chair and see what they have to say. I don't think the program is really that difficult to get into from what others have told me. 

https://www.rmc-cmr.ca/en/registrars-off...demic-fees

You may also be interested in the MA War Studies program:

https://www.rmc-cmr.ca/en/registrars-off...programmes

Masters of Defense Studies doesn't seem open except to serving members.

Definitely apply for the RAND school though, that's the big ticket program that gets defense policy jobs in the US: https://www.rand.edu/admissions.html

the issue with RAND, is that it is in person only...and DC is expensive.

[Leedeedee]

If you're OK with a European degree, you can get the Master in Public Administration from Guglielmo Marconi University (GMU), Italy for US$5600-6600.

The program is run by UniAthena but the degree is awarded by Marconi University.

https://uniathena.com/master-in-public-administration

[Channy]

Hey everyone I have decided for CSU (columbia southern U) due to their credit per hour being 323$ for Sophia.org affilitation.

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions to transfer in credit for the General MPA.

https://www.columbiasouthern.edu/public-admin/mpa

PUA 5301 Administration of Public Institutions 3
PUA 5302 Public Administration Ethics 3
PUA 5303 Organizational Theory 3
PUA 5304 Quantitative Research Methods 3
PUA 5305 Public Finance and Budgeting 3
PUA 5306 Public Policy 3
PUA 5307 Strategic Planning 3
PUA 5308 MPA Seminar 3

General Concentration / Elective

HRM 6301 Human Resource Management Methods 3
LDR 6302 Current Issues in Leadership 3
MGT 6303 Project Stakeholders 3
MGT 6305 Project Management 3

These are the courses I have from UMPI, undergrad and grad. Grad starts at 500 lvl

- - - - - Beginning of Undergraduate Record - - - - -
2025 Spring
Plan: Liberal Studies Major
Plan: Criminal Justice Minor
Course Description Attempted Earned Grade Points
BUS 321 Human Resource Management 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
BUS 335 Organizational Behavior 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
BUS 440 Business Analytics 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
BUS 469 Strat Prof Comm 3.00 3.00 B 9.000
CRJ 100 Intro to Criminal Justice 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
CRJ 225 Criminal Justice Ethics 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
CRJ 250 Criminal Law 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
CRJ 372 Police & Policing 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
PSY 311 Research Methods I 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
PSY 341 Drugs And Behavior 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000

Course Description Attempted Earned Grade Points
OLS 500 Data-Driven Decision Making 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 510 Found of Organiztl. Leadershp. 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
OLS 520 Ethical Leadership 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 530 Globalization and Diversity 3.00 3.00 A- 11.010
OLS 540 Organizational Theory & Behvr 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 600 Leading Organizational Change 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 620 Strategic Communication 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 630 Conflict and Negotiation 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 640 Leadership and Innovation 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 650 Organizational Leadership Cpst 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000

Some things I was considering.

1: Seeing maybe if there are graduate courses in UMPI I could do non-degree seeking for an transfer over.
2: I see talks about a level 7 or 8 diploma from the UK, but with WES it may not be accepted
3: Continue lurking the forums and figure something out.

I was not given any transfer credit so I've filed an appeal and sent all the outlines for the courses I have that I think apply to the 4-5 courses I've requested.

Waiting to hear back for their decision, but not hopeful as it seems CSU is strict.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Your Location: Toronto, Canada

Your Age: 25

What kind of degree do you want?: Master of Public Admin, Master of Public Service or Master of Labor Studies/Relations

Current Regional Accredited Credits:  UMPI - 30 Graduate Credits (MAOL), 30 Undergrad (BLS), 100 or so college credit from Canada (WES)

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 74 Sophia 

Any certifications or military experience?: 

Budget: 10k-13k US, obviously lower if I can transfer some graduate credits in.

Commitments: Full time job but can handle online work like UMPI, weekly school etc.

Dedicated time to study:  About 2 courses per semester.

Timeline: ASAP but to graduate in 2 years depending on course, transfer etc.

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: I have money saved away.


If anyone can help me find a school - online that I can attend (doesn't have to be CBE) I'd appreciate it.

I wonder if you would be eligible to complete an MPA through the Harvard Extension school. I've considered that in the back of my mind for a MPA degree, though, you would need to go to Harvard for a weekend during the summer

[Jonathan Whatley]

I wonder if you would be eligible to complete an MPA through the Harvard Extension school. I've considered that in the back of my mind for a MPA degree, though, you would need to go to Harvard for a weekend during the summer

Every Harvard Extension degree at the master’s level is a Master of Liberal Arts. Harvard styles this ALM, which is both analogous to how it styles the AB, AM, etc., and also reserves MLA for the Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Harvard’s Master of Landscape Architecture precedes (1906) its Master of Liberal Arts (1979).

The ALM in Extension Studies in the field of Government is the closest the Extension School offers to an MPA. Minimum time on-campus is either two weekends or one three-week summer mini-term. You can stack the online Public Leadership Credential certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School toward the ALM, Government from HES. (You could also stack the online PLC toward the Mid Career MPA from HKS, but the rest of the MC-MPA is on-campus.)

[Channy]

Hey everyone I have decided for CSU (columbia southern U) due to their credit per hour being 323$ for Sophia.org affilitation.

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions to transfer in credit for the General MPA.

https://www.columbiasouthern.edu/public-admin/mpa

PUA 5301 Administration of Public Institutions 3
PUA 5302 Public Administration Ethics 3
PUA 5303 Organizational Theory 3
PUA 5304 Quantitative Research Methods 3
PUA 5305 Public Finance and Budgeting 3
PUA 5306 Public Policy 3
PUA 5307 Strategic Planning 3
PUA 5308 MPA Seminar 3

General Concentration / Elective

HRM 6301 Human Resource Management Methods 3
LDR 6302 Current Issues in Leadership 3
MGT 6303 Project Stakeholders 3
MGT 6305 Project Management 3

These are the courses I have from UMPI, undergrad and grad. Grad starts at 500 lvl

- - - - - Beginning of Undergraduate Record - - - - -
2025 Spring
Plan: Liberal Studies Major
Plan: Criminal Justice Minor
Course Description Attempted Earned Grade Points
BUS 321 Human Resource Management 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
BUS 335 Organizational Behavior 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
BUS 440 Business Analytics 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
BUS 469 Strat Prof Comm 3.00 3.00 B 9.000
CRJ 100 Intro to Criminal Justice 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
CRJ 225 Criminal Justice Ethics 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
CRJ 250 Criminal Law 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
CRJ 372 Police & Policing 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
PSY 311 Research Methods I 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
PSY 341 Drugs And Behavior 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000

Course Description Attempted Earned Grade Points
OLS 500 Data-Driven Decision Making 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 510 Found of Organiztl. Leadershp. 3.00 3.00 A 12.000
OLS 520 Ethical Leadership 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 530 Globalization and Diversity 3.00 3.00 A- 11.010
OLS 540 Organizational Theory & Behvr 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 600 Leading Organizational Change 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 620 Strategic Communication 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 630 Conflict and Negotiation 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 640 Leadership and Innovation 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000
OLS 650 Organizational Leadership Cpst 3.00 3.00 A+ 12.000

Some things I was considering.

1: Seeing maybe if there are graduate courses in UMPI I could do non-degree seeking for an transfer over.
2: I see talks about a level 7 or 8 diploma from the UK, but with WES it may not be accepted
3: Continue lurking the forums and figure something out.

I was not given any transfer credit so I've filed an appeal and sent all the outlines for the courses I have that I think apply to the 4-5 courses I've requested.

Waiting to hear back for their decision, but not hopeful as it seems CSU is strict.

Update on this, they gave me OLS 540 for PAU 5303

After a full evaluation, the courses requested for reconsideration were completed at the undergraduate level. Undergraduate coursework is not considered equivalent in rigor to graduate-level study. In addition, a comparison of the course competencies indicated that the undergraduate course outcomes were not sufficiently aligned with the graduate course requirements within your current program. For these reasons, we are unable to approve those specific courses for graduate transfer credit.

That said, during my comprehensive review of your academic record, I did identify eligible graduate-level coursework that aligns with program requirements. As a result, Organizational Theory and Behavior has been approved and awarded as transfer credit toward your program.

[Jonathan Whatley]

As newdegree notes above, the Excelsior University MPA might be a good fit for your situation. Students may transfer up to 15 credits (5 courses, half the degree). Courses can be no more than 5 years older than your academic policy date (based on the catalog year when you are admitted). Excelsior courses are traditionally scheduled and asynchronous.

Not transferable:

IND501 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Ethical Leadership — take at Excelsior
MPA698 Capstone in Public Administration — take at Excelsior

Other major core requirements:

IND502 Strategic Talent Management in A Complex World — transfer UMPI OLS 510 Foundations of Organizational Leadership potentially, or potentially another
IND503 Data Driven Decision Making — transfer UMPI OLS 500 Data-Driven Decision Making
MPA500 Introduction to Public Administration Theory and Practice — take at Excelsior
MPA502 Public Management in A Political Environment  — take at Excelsior
MPA511 Public Budgeting and Financial Management — take at Excelsior

Concentration:

Choose the General concentration, unless you want to the only other concentration, Cannabis Control.

You may be able to transfer 3 MAOL graduate courses not used above here. The example courses Excelsior lists for the General concentration are

BUS 501 Business Communications — similar to UMPI OLS 620 Strategic Communication
ADR 671 Mediation — similar to UMPI OLS 630 Conflict and Negotiation
MPA 651 Contemporary Issues in Nonprofit Management — broadly related to a few other courses you took, and they might even treat it as a concentration elective and not require a direct course match.

Excelsior University Catalog
MPA landing page

[Channy]

As newdegree notes above, the Excelsior University MPA might be a good fit for your situation. Students may transfer up to 15 credits (5 courses, half the degree). Courses can be no more than 5 years older than your academic policy date (based on the catalog year when you are admitted). Excelsior courses are traditionally scheduled and asynchronous.

Not transferable:

IND501 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Ethical Leadership — take at Excelsior
MPA698 Capstone in Public Administration — take at Excelsior

Other major core requirements:

IND502 Strategic Talent Management in A Complex World — transfer UMPI OLS 510 Foundations of Organizational Leadership potentially, or potentially another
IND503 Data Driven Decision Making — transfer UMPI OLS 500 Data-Driven Decision Making
MPA500 Introduction to Public Administration Theory and Practice — take at Excelsior
MPA502 Public Management in A Political Environment  — take at Excelsior
MPA511 Public Budgeting and Financial Management — take at Excelsior

Concentration:

Choose the General concentration, unless you want to the only other concentration, Cannabis Control.

You may be able to transfer 3 MAOL graduate courses not used above here. The example courses Excelsior lists for the General concentration are

BUS 501 Business Communications — similar to UMPI OLS 620 Strategic Communication
ADR 671 Mediation — similar to UMPI OLS 630 Conflict and Negotiation
MPA 651 Contemporary Issues in Nonprofit Management — broadly related to a few other courses you took, and they might even treat it as a concentration elective and not require a direct course match.

Excelsior University Catalog
MPA landing page

I've been in the process of admissions with them for a month, they have been terrible with communication & getting my transcripts (non UMPI).

Honestly if they gave me half I probably still wouldn't go and do their MPA, their cost is like 645$ (sophia rate) vs CSU's 323.

CSU in terms of customer service has been alot better.

[Channy]

As newdegree notes above, the Excelsior University MPA might be a good fit for your situation. Students may transfer up to 15 credits (5 courses, half the degree). Courses can be no more than 5 years older than your academic policy date (based on the catalog year when you are admitted). Excelsior courses are traditionally scheduled and asynchronous.

Not transferable:

IND501 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Ethical Leadership — take at Excelsior
MPA698 Capstone in Public Administration — take at Excelsior

Other major core requirements:

IND502 Strategic Talent Management in A Complex World — transfer UMPI OLS 510 Foundations of Organizational Leadership potentially, or potentially another
IND503 Data Driven Decision Making — transfer UMPI OLS 500 Data-Driven Decision Making
MPA500 Introduction to Public Administration Theory and Practice — take at Excelsior
MPA502 Public Management in A Political Environment  — take at Excelsior
MPA511 Public Budgeting and Financial Management — take at Excelsior

Concentration:

Choose the General concentration, unless you want to the only other concentration, Cannabis Control.

You may be able to transfer 3 MAOL graduate courses not used above here. The example courses Excelsior lists for the General concentration are

BUS 501 Business Communications — similar to UMPI OLS 620 Strategic Communication
ADR 671 Mediation — similar to UMPI OLS 630 Conflict and Negotiation
MPA 651 Contemporary Issues in Nonprofit Management — broadly related to a few other courses you took, and they might even treat it as a concentration elective and not require a direct course match.

Excelsior University Catalog
MPA landing page

I wanted to update by saying Excelsior let me in, I transfered 12 credits in from MAOL.

Still not worth it for me, price comes to like 11k usd.

[newdegree]

Try Excelsior University and see if they accept any of your UMPI MAOL credits for transfer. They accept up to 15 transfer credits towards their MPA degree which is only 30 credits. I completed the degree back in 2019 - 2020 when it first launched. https://www.excelsior.edu/program/master...istration/

Hey thanks for this, I reached out to them for more info. Alot of my MAOL courses seemed to align with some of the courses there, how were your experiences with Excelsior.

I know Walden has a MPA, and I believe ASU does as well.

Do you know the cost for ASU's? Walden seems to be about 20k!

This might be too far from what you are looking for, but OP Jindal has an MA in Public Policy for $3-4K through Coursera:

https://www.coursera.org/degrees/ma-public-policy-jgu

Probably not for me but I know a friend who might pursue this thank you.

A notable mention , Middle Georgia State University has a Master in Arts in Public Relations 30 credit program. They accept 9 transfer credits and tuition is cheap at $261 per credit. 100% online

https://www.mga.edu/graduate-school/prog...ons-ma.php

Valdosta State University offers a well respected MPA Program which requires 36 credits , tuition is $300 per credit online. They accept 9 transfer credits. 100% Online
http://catalog.valdosta.edu/graduate/gra...istration/

Fort Hays State University offers a Masters in Liberal Studies with a Concentration in Public Administration which requires 31 credits , tuition is $349 per credit. Fort Hays State University can accept up to 50% graduate transfer credits but must be approved by the department and the university. 100% online
https://catalog.fhsu.edu/arts-humanities...ation-mls/

MPR isn't something I'm looking into but I appreciate it, I'll look into these other options.

Some strong recommendations have already been made. I'll add that Arkansas State University also offers an MPA that falls within your budget, and it's a program that I've seen many people speak highly of. It is NASPAA accredited, which is widely considered the gold standard for MPA programs. The degree has two concentrations you can choose from, public management and non-profit management.

Based on the research I did when considering a degree in public administration, Valdosta State, which was mentioned by another user, and Arkansas State stand out as the top candidates among RA online MPAs. Both programs offer strong value in terms of educational quality and cost.

https://degree.astate.edu/online-program...anagement/

Augusta University has an NASPAA-accredited MPA program that's online with an 8-week course format.

Program page: https://www.augusta.edu/pamplin/mpa/

Tuition: https://www.augusta.edu/tuition/program.php?id=182 

There's an internship requirement, but you can qualify for a waiver if you have extensive public management experience.

Thanks do these programs need letters from faculty to get in to?

My experience with Excelsior University (formerly Excelsior College) was great. The professors were good, the assignments were reasonable, only papers, and the online system was easy to use. The capstone was a 20-page paper, and the regular classes had a 7-10-page paper each; some classes required two papers or a presentation and a paper. I did the MPA program when it first came out, and I think it was the fastest I've ever done, thanks to transfer credits. My diploma was issued in the 30's. I am not sure how many diplomas have been issued to date. Things have changed, such as requirements, courses, and the amount of transfer credits, but overall, it's still a great program if you get them to accept transfer credits.

---

Try Excelsior University and see if they accept any of your UMPI MAOL credits for transfer. They accept up to 15 transfer credits towards their MPA degree which is only 30 credits. I completed the degree back in 2019 - 2020 when it first launched. https://www.excelsior.edu/program/master...istration/

Hey thanks for this, I reached out to them for more info. Alot of my MAOL courses seemed to align with some of the courses there, how were your experiences with Excelsior.

I know Walden has a MPA, and I believe ASU does as well.

Do you know the cost for ASU's? Walden seems to be about 20k!

This might be too far from what you are looking for, but OP Jindal has an MA in Public Policy for $3-4K through Coursera:

https://www.coursera.org/degrees/ma-public-policy-jgu

Probably not for me but I know a friend who might pursue this thank you.

A notable mention , Middle Georgia State University has a Master in Arts in Public Relations 30 credit program. They accept 9 transfer credits and tuition is cheap at $261 per credit. 100% online

https://www.mga.edu/graduate-school/prog...ons-ma.php

Valdosta State University offers a well respected MPA Program which requires 36 credits , tuition is $300 per credit online. They accept 9 transfer credits. 100% Online
http://catalog.valdosta.edu/graduate/gra...istration/

Fort Hays State University offers a Masters in Liberal Studies with a Concentration in Public Administration which requires 31 credits , tuition is $349 per credit. Fort Hays State University can accept up to 50% graduate transfer credits but must be approved by the department and the university. 100% online
https://catalog.fhsu.edu/arts-humanities...ation-mls/

MPR isn't something I'm looking into but I appreciate it, I'll look into these other options.

Some strong recommendations have already been made. I'll add that Arkansas State University also offers an MPA that falls within your budget, and it's a program that I've seen many people speak highly of. It is NASPAA accredited, which is widely considered the gold standard for MPA programs. The degree has two concentrations you can choose from, public management and non-profit management.

Based on the research I did when considering a degree in public administration, Valdosta State, which was mentioned by another user, and Arkansas State stand out as the top candidates among RA online MPAs. Both programs offer strong value in terms of educational quality and cost.

https://degree.astate.edu/online-program...anagement/

Augusta University has an NASPAA-accredited MPA program that's online with an 8-week course format.

Program page: https://www.augusta.edu/pamplin/mpa/

Tuition: https://www.augusta.edu/tuition/program.php?id=182 

There's an internship requirement, but you can qualify for a waiver if you have extensive public management experience.

Thanks do these programs need letters from faculty to get in to?

My experience with Excelsior University (formerly Excelsior College) was great. The professors were good, the assignments were reasonable, only papers, and the online system was easy to use. The capstone was a 20-page paper, and the regular classes had a 7-10-page paper each; some classes required two papers or a presentation and a paper. I did the MPA program when it first came out, and I think it was the fastest I've ever done, thanks to transfer credits. My diploma was issued in the 30's. I am not sure how many diplomas have been issued to date. Things have changed, such as requirements, courses, and the amount of transfer credits, but overall, it's still a great program if you get them to accept transfer credits.

Also note that with the 12 transfer credits, your Total will be $9810, not including fees, which is within your price range.