• A completed University application for admission.
• A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum of 2.5 overall GPA.
• 2 letters of recommendation from an academic or professional source attesting to the applicant’s ability to successfully complete graduate work.
• Official transcripts from each college/university attended (unofficial copies of transcripts can be submitted with the application).
• Two – four years of work experience with two years preferably at a supervisory or management level (experience requirement may be waived but the student would have to complete a 3-semester hour internship)
• Up to 9 credit hours of previous graduate work with a grade of B or better may be transferred from into our program from an accredited graduate program

The MPA uses rolling admissions. This means that we enroll students throughout the academic year.

The Program operates in 8-week sessions throughout the academic year (there are six, eight terms/sessions).

Our program is designed to accept students regardless of their undergraduate degree background because we provide five (5) foundational courses that provide an understanding of the nature of public administration. After completing these courses, students move on to take remaining courses in the major areas of study.

• Total hours required – 36
• Students must complete 5 foundational courses (15 semester hours) before beginning the MPA core courses (18 semester hours)
• After completing the coursework, students must complete a graduate project and successful defend the project before a Graduate Project Committee.
• No more than 12 total credits from outside of the Saint Augustine’s University MPA program will be accepted toward this degree. This includes any transfer credits which may be brought into the program.

15 semester hours of foundational courses

• MPA 501 Introduction to Public Administration
• MPA 502 Organizational Leadership and Behavior
• MPA 503 Economic Foundations
• MPA 504 Research Methods for Public Administration
• MPA 505 Public Organizational Behavior and Operations

MPA Core Courses

• MPA 601 Foundations of Public Administration
• MPA 602 Public Policy Analysis
• MPA 603 Public Budgeting
• MPA 604 Public Information Technology
• MPA 605 Management Systems
• MPA 606 Human Resource Management in the Public Sector
• MPA 607 Graduate Project
• MPA 608 Internship (for applicants who are admitted but do not meet the experience requirement)

As a practitioner-oriented program, the SAU Program uses highly placed, degree-qualified practitioners and terminally degreed faculty who have the breadth and depth of practical and scholarly experiences that will provide students with directly transferrable knowledge that translates into significant career advancement and mobility.

Tuition is $450 per credit hour (all program courses are 3 credit hours). There is administrative fee of $125.00 per session. The SAU MPA program is one of the most affordable advance degree programs in the region. It is designed to be a high-quality, affordably priced, fully online program of study leading to greater career and professional achievement. This makes our program one of the most desirable and practical advanced degree programs in the marketplace.

Currently students in the MPA program are not eligible to receive (Federal Direct Loans or Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans) until the program gets approved by the US Department of Education. Students are eligible to apply for an alternative loan (FastChoice | fastproducts.org) to assist with the cost of paying for this program. The university uses FASTChoice for the delivery of the university’s Alternative/Private loan.

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