Overview
Learn the management, budgeting, financial, and analytical skills necessary to govern effectively and advance in public management, policy analysis, and governance-related positions. Our mission is to impart public service values and knowledge so that graduates are prepared to enrich our communities by leading, managing, and solving public service-related problems with empathy, integrity, and excellence.
URI’s Master of Public Administration is a fully-online accelerated degree program that includes a curriculum of core courses and stackable certificates. All accelerated online classes are offered in convenient 7-week modules designed to allow students the flexibility needed to successfully complete coursework while meeting professional and/or personal obligations. Students typically complete the program in under two years, with some securing their MPA degree in as little as one year.
Program Structure
All students completing the full 36-credit program will complete the Public Administration and Policy Professional Certificate along with the MPA Capstone and at least one of three MPA certificates. Students must complete the Policy Analysis Certificate, Public Management Certificate, Ocean Policy and Science Graduate Certificate and/or Ocean Science Graduate Certificate. If only one MPA certificate is chosen to be completed by the student, then the student must choose any 12 graduate-level elective credits, which can include other online graduate-level certificate programs.
All students completing the full 36-credit program will complete:
– The Public Administration and Policy Professional Certificate (12 credits)
MPA students are also required to complete the MPA Capstone and at least one of two MPA certificates:
– The Policy Analysis certificate (12 credits) and/or
– The Public Management certificate (12 credits)
Both pathways have a Blue MPA option available for students.
– Students can choose to layer on the new Ocean Policy and Science Graduate Certificate or Ocean Science Graduate Certificate with either the Policy Analysis or Public Management certificate.
Tuition per credit based on 2024/2025 academic year rates (subject to change): $887
Admissions
- Bachelor’s degree
- College transcripts
- Two letters of recommendation
- Resume/CV
- GRE NOT REQUIRED
- Statement of purpose
- Interest in URI Online program
- Relevant work experience
- Reasons for applying to URI Online program
- Professional goals, as well as plans for achieving these goals
*Applicants with a GPA lower than 3.0 may be considered for provisional admission — please contact online@uri.edu before applying to discuss the GPA requirement.
Summer 2025 Dates
URI Master of Public Administration program first to be accredited in Rhode Island by prestigious NASPAA
NASPAA accreditation recognizes that a master’s degree program in public and nonprofit policy, affairs, or administration has undertaken a rigorous process of peer review conducted by the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA).
Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the MPA, students will be able to:
- Lead and manage in the public interest
- Participate in, and contribute to, the policy process
- Analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment
- Articulate and apply a public service perspective
- Communicate and interact productively in culturally responsive ways with a diverse and changing workforce and society at large
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Career Opportunities
Advance your career with URI Online.
Our students and graduates work in government relations for non-profit agencies, non-profit management and grant writing, municipal government, planning, housing policy, environmental policy, education policy, health policy, energy policy, and election administration.
Students who complete the URI Master of Public Administration degree will advance to positions requiring financial and budgetary expertise, leadership skills, knowledge of administrative law and procedure, the management of agency personnel, policy and grant writing, and analytics skills.
