Master's Degree in Public Administration

PLEASE NOTE:  WE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING 2010 DUE TO THE SEVERE STATE BUDGET SITUATION.   WE ARE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2010.              

General Information:

The Department of Public Administration offers a program of study leading to the degree of Master of Public Administration. Options are available in both professional and academic areas. The program is designed to assist full and part-time students in preparing for professional careers in positions of administrative leadership in public and quasi-public organizations, for teaching positions in the community colleges, and for advanced doctoral studies in public administration. The MPA Program is offered on two campuses and at various off-site locations, including:

• the Hayward Hills campus
• the Concord Campus on Ygnacio Valley Road in Concord
• CSUEB's Center for Higher Education, Oakland

Graduate courses are offered Monday through Thursday evenings and some Saturdays to meet the needs of working adults. All degree options are available at the Hayward Hills campus only. The Public Management Option is offered at the Concord Campus and in Oakland. A student may take courses at any location.

Program Perspective:

The Department focuses on expanding the meaning of public administration in government agencies and non-profit and community organizations. Overall, emphasis is placed upon developing in its graduates sensitivities to a wide variety of human, social, and organizational realities in order to assist public organizations in formulating and achieving their goals and striving toward responsible social change.

The program builds on several assumptions:

• that many complex and far-reaching social problems require the stewardship of public agencies;
• that the citizens are the central focus of everything public administration does or ought to be;
• that public agencies should encourage democratic practices, personal education and growth, and the improvement in the quality of life within the public sector workplace;
• that public agencies should nurture and support a critical awareness on the part of public administrators, leading to an ability to challenge and change administrative practice; and
• that public administrators need to find creative and innovative ways to provide quality public services, especially in times of resource scarcity.

In sum, we believe the challenge of our changing post-industrial era is best met by humanizing public organizations, by strengthening their capacities for intelligent policy analysis and effective action on behalf of the public good, and by encouraging public administrators to embrace learning, creativity, and innovation.