CLAS/Public Administration, BA/MPA

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Introduction

The Pathway BA/MPA degree program offered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Public Affairs provides students the opportunity to complete both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degrees in five years rather than the usual six years. The program combines undergraduate general education and major studies with a specialized curriculum in public affairs and strives to develop intellectual and professional skills in a coordinated manner. The five- year BA/MPA program decreases the time and number of semester hours required to earn both degrees by allowing students to count graduate- level courses in the School of Public Affairs toward the bachelor’s degree requirements. The program is designed to give students an opportunity to prepare for professional positions and advancement with federal, state or local governments, nonprofits or private sector firms concerned or involved with public affairs. BA/MPA students may choose from any CLAS major and may choose the general MPA or the MPA with a concentration. Students are eligible to receive a bachelor’s degree once they have successfully completed 120 semester hours and all CLAS requirements. The BA/MPA will be conferred once the student has completed all requirements of the master of public administration degree, including at least 36 hours of graduate-level course work.

Program Delivery

Check with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) regarding the format for the courses in your selected CLAS major. MPA courses in the School of Public Affairs are offered on campus, online and in hybrid formats.

Declaring This Pathway Program

Please contact CLAS advising for information on how to declare a CLAS major. To learn more about adding the MPA program for the Pathway degree, contact spa.advising@ucdenver.edu.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

Program Requirements

BA/MPA students may choose from any CLAS major.
BA/MPA students may choose to complete a general MPA or they may add a concentration to the MPA.
Students must maintain a 3.5 GPA in CLAS coursework.
Students may complete a maximum of 18 semester hours of SPA graduate course work while classified as an undergraduate student.
Students must maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA in public affairs coursework.
Student must successfully complete the capstone course in a semester AFTER all core courses are completed. Alternatively, a thesis option is available. Interested students should contact their SPA faculty advisor.
Students may apply to the program during the semester in which they will successfully complete 90 semester hours, and should have most of their general education and major requirements completed by this time.

Students must fulfill all the requirements for graduation for CLAS:

30 hours in the core curriculum
30-48 hours to satisfy major requirements
Writing proficiency (1 - 7 hours)
Mathematics proficiency (0 - 3 hours)
Level III foreign language (0 - 13 hours)

Note: It is highly recommended that students complete a course in American government, statistics and economics before applying to the MPA program

Students must fulfill all the requirements for graduation from SPA:

Total of 36-39 semester hours in public affairs
Six core courses (PUAD 5001 - PUAD 5006)
Five elective courses at the graduate level (5000 and 6000 level courses)
Nine of the 15 elective semester hours must be PUAD courses
An internship (3 hours) is required from those who do not have significant work experience in the field.