Public Service/Public Administration, BA/MPA

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Introduction

The Pathway Bachelor of Arts in Public Service/Master of Public Administration degree allows high-performing students to earn both degrees in an accelerated time frame, saving students both time and money. Students graduating with the Pathways BAPS/MPA degree are prepared for leadership and management roles in public service, including local, state, and federal governmental agencies and in nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations. Both the BAPS and the MPA degrees are offered fully online, providing students with the flexibility to schedule courses around the reality of family and work demands while also engaging both local and fully online students in public service opportunities in their own communities.

The BAPS/MPA degree program offered by the School of Public Affairs allows high-performing students to count 12 credit hours towards both the BAPS and the MPA degrees. Eligible students are those who have completed at least 75 credits with a minimum 3.5 GPA in the BAPS major and a 3.0 overall GPA, completed the undergraduate Core Curriculum, and who meet the other requirements listed below.

Students are eligible to receive the BA in Public Service degree once they have successfully completed 120 semester hours and all CU Denver undergraduate degree requirements. The MPA will be conferred once the student has completed all requirements of the Master of Public Administration degree.

BAPS/MPA Program Matriculation

Students must successfully complete a minimum of 3 semester credit hours of graduate public administration course work each semester following admission to the BAPS/MPA program. A maximum of 12 graduate semester credits can be completed as an undergraduate BAPS/MPA student

Students in the Pathways BA/MPA program may be eligible to complete the MPA level internship only after successfully passing two MPA level courses. The MPA level internship may fulfill both the BAPS and MPA internship requirement. The BAPS level internship will not fulfill the MPA level internship. Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average for all course work and a 3.5 grade point average for the BAPS major.

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

Students must complete a total of 141 credit hours
37-38 credit hours in the general education core curriculum
46-48 credit hours in general electives
15 credit hours of undergraduate Public service coursework
45 credit hours of upper-division coursework (3000-level and above)
1. Minimum of 30 of resident credit; 21 out of the last 30 hours in resident coursework
2. Minimum 36 semester hours of graduate-level coursework (5000-level and above)
Students must receive a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in undergraduate Public Service coursework
Students must be fully admitted into the Master of Public Administration program.
Students must receive a minimum of a B- grade in each required core MPA course
Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA overall in all graduate-level courses
Students must successfully complete the MPA capstone or thesis
Students must fulfill all college and major requirements
The School of Public Affairs reserves the right to rescind a BAPS/MPA student’s admittance to the Pathway program if at any point the student’s grade point average fall below the requirements listed above.