MPA Program

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates will:

  • lead and manage in governance
  • participate in and contribute to the policy process
  • analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make decisions
  • articulate and apply a public service perspective
  • communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry.

MPA Curriculum

Our program is geared toward allowing you to pursue your personal and professional interests while working closely with the program’s MPA Director to develop a program of study in line with your professional goals.

The course work covers critical areas for public managers and policy professionals at the national, state, and local levels, including program evaluation and policy analysis, budgeting and finance, public personnel administration, ethics, administrative law, policy formation, and policy implementation.

All students completing the URI MPA degree are required to complete PSC 501 (Seminar in Public Administration and Policy) and PSC 504 (Ethics in Public Administration and Policy). Students also choose a specialized area of focus from our Public Management concentration or Policy Analysis concentration.

Students completing the Public Management concentration learn skills important to the management of public agencies and non-profit organizations and will complete PSC 503 (Problems in Public Personnel Administration), PSC 506 (Seminar in Budgetary Politics), PSC 507 (Public Finance), PSC 573 (Administrative Law), and one course from the Policy Analysis concentration.

Students completing the Policy Analysis concentration learn skills and techniques that are important for the shaping and formation of public policy and will complete PSC 505 (Public Program Evaluation), PSC 524 (Seminar in Public Policy Problems), PSC PSC 583 (Public Policy Analysis), PSC 402 (Environmental Politics and Policy) or PSC 405 (Policy Issues in Health and Aging) or a policy-related course approved by the MPA Director, and one course from the Public Management concentration.  

Completion of the program requires 36 credits, including 21 credits of required core courses. The 3 credit internship requirement can be waived for students with at least one year of professional public service or nonprofit experience. Electives for completing the degree are available from among the variety of graduate-level offerings and graduate certificate programs at URI. We are a non-thesis program that requires successful completion of a written comprehensive exam in order to graduate.

Most of our courses are offered at the Providence Campus in the following semesters:

Fall Semester

  • PSC 501: Seminar in Public Administration and Policy
  • PSC 504: Ethics in Public Administration and Policy
  • PSC 506: Seminar in Budgetary Politics
  • PSC 507: Public Finance
  • PSC 583: Public Policy Analysis
  • PSC 405: Policy Issues in Health and Aging (Kingston)

Spring Semester

  • PSC 503: Problems in Public Personnel Administration
  • PSC 505: Public Program Evaluation
  • PSC 524: Seminar in Public Policy Problems
  • PSC 573: Administrative Law
  • PSC 402: Environmental Politics and Policy (Kingston)