Any MPA Programs (Master of Public Admin)

[sanantone]

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

Public relations is related to communications and journalism. I'm not sure that's what the OP is aiming for.

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Here's a list of programs with costs. The reported tuition might be a little off, so check the school's website.

https://www.geteducated.com/online-colle...affairs/#/

User did not state what he intends to use the degree for or his focus, hence why I put notable mention. He asked for degrees in public relations that were cheap and accept transfer credits which this program hits the target on what he asked for.

That must have been on another thread. I only see public administration, public service, and labor studies/relations.

I’m not here to argue with you. As I stated a notable mention for a suggested program that might fit the users end goal seems like he is looking for a public administration degree but is open to public service , labor studies , and labor relations which public relations is not far from a combination of those degrees even if this particular program has a interdisciplinary focus of a combination of public relations , journalism, communication communications, and administration.

If the OP has particular career goals, I'm just noting that public relations is a very different career path from public administration and labor studies. The MPA is the MBA for the public and nonprofit sectors. Labor studies/relations is a mix of HR, public policy, and sociology. Public relations is a mix of marketing, communications, and journalism and leads to careers in controlling communications and public image for people or organizations. But I guess one might be able to argue that it is applicable to a career in arbitration, but you wouldn't get the labor law education.

[swlearner71]

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/

[tb81]

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.

[Channy]

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?

[swlearner71]

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?

Valdosta does require three letters of recommendation. Given that it is a professional degree, you may be able to submit professional or employment references instead. Their admissions page doesn't specify that the letters must be academic, only that three letters are required.

Based on its admissions page, A-State doesn't seem to require letters of recommendation.

[bjcheung77]

What's the second Masters going to be used for? What's your goal? If you're into Administration/Services or Labor Relations, have you thought about something similar, such as Healthcare Admin or HR Management? Walden has a MS in Human Resource Management on their Tempo Learning platform. Are you thinking of pivoting into Healthcare later? Walden also has a MHA, Masters Healthcare Administration on Tempo as well... Basically, you're well versed in business, such as organizational leadership, is there something specific you're looking to pivot into?

[Channy]

What's the second Masters going to be used for? What's your goal? If you're into Administration/Services or Labor Relations, have you thought about something similar, such as Healthcare Admin or HR Management? Walden has a MS in Human Resource Management on their Tempo Learning platform. Are you thinking of pivoting into Healthcare later? Walden also has a MHA, Masters Healthcare Administration on Tempo as well... Basically, you're well versed in business, such as organizational leadership, is there something specific you're looking to pivot into?

I work in the private sector now, I hope to move to the public sector in 5 years either for a Union or Govt agency/city. Part of it is interest and part of it is expanding my breadth.

I've narrowed down my schools to

Excelsior
SNHU
Empire State.

[harrypotter]

Claremont Lincoln University has an online MPA for $9.9k - if you qualify for their 50% tuition scholarship. They'll accept up to 50% transfer credit in their master's programs and scholarship eligibility requires a minimum 3.0 GPA. They've been offering the scholarship for at least a couple of months now.

They also have a few other civic programs that look interesting and are cheaper with the scholarship.

https://claremontlincoln.edu/programs/on...ation-mpa/

[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.

[JPN]

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