Admissions Requirements: Students must have a Master's degree prior to program enrollment, though outstanding applicants may also be considered with only a baccalaureate degree. Admission is not restricted to students with prior course work in Public Administration and the Program encourages applicants with diverse academic backgrounds. An applicant is expected to have a GPA of 3.5 or better for all graduate course work and a combined score of 1120 on the GRE quantitative and verbal sections, with a minimum of 500 on each of these components. Students whose language of nurture is not English must achieve a minimum of 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Students must also demonstrate knowledge of American political institutions and fundamentals of social research methods and microcomputers. The admission process is competitive and the Program considers all of the evidence in the application file in making its decision. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission and applicants failing to meet the minimum requirements may be admitted based on other evidence of potential. To document these qualities applicants must complete the following:
Transfer Credits: The acceptance of transfer credits is subject to the approval of the program coordinator. Students requesting the acceptance of transfer credits must submit a request in writing to the program director. The credits must have been completed with a grade of ‘B’ or better, within six years preceding the admission to the graduate program. No internship or practicum credits will be accepted as transfer credits.
Prerequisites for Admission: Admitted students should demonstrate knowledge in public administration or a related administrative field. Students are also expected to have fundamentals of statistics and research methods in their backgrounds, or may be required to take remedial training prior to core course work.
Doctoral Degree Requirements: The Doctor of Philosophy in Public Management is a 69 credit hour program with seven required courses (21 credits), seven courses within the student's specialization (21 credits), a comprehensive examination (3 credits), and Dissertation (24 credits). Successful completion of course work and passing scores on the comprehensive examination are required before students can advance to candidacy for the Ph.D. and present a dissertation proposal. During the first semester of the program, students are required to select, with the assistance and approval of the Ph.D. Coordinator, an advisory committees chaired by a Program faculty member and including at least two additional members. By the end of the first semester, students are required to develop a program of study with the assistance and approval of their advisory committee and the Ph.D. Coordinator.
CURRICULUM
Specialization Courses (21 credits): Students are required to take seven courses in an area of specialization to be designed with the Advisory Committee. Six of these courses must be 5000-7000 level courses to be taken within the university, or specially designed course developed by the student's advisors. One course, URS 7926, Supervised Readings will be required of all students and is to be taken during the last semester of course work prior to sitting for the comprehensive examination.
Comprehensive Examination: After the completion of all course work, students will be given a written examination, testing their knowledge of Public Administration and Policy Analysis and their specialization. Upon passing the components of the comprehensive examination, the student may apply for advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. Students who fail the Comprehensive Examination on the first attempt must retake the examination at its next offering. Students who fail the examination twice are automatically dismissed in accord with general university policy.
Dissertation (24 credits): Upon successful completion of the comprehensive examination, students select their dissertation guidance committee and begin preparation of their dissertation proposal. Students are expected to defend their dissertation prospectus before the end of the first semester subsequent to passing the Comprehensive Examination. Upon the public defense and approval of the proposal, the student will initiate formal work on the dissertation. During this time, the student is expected to make appropriate progress toward completing the dissertation, and to enroll continually (at least six credits per semester) until the degree is completed. Upon completion of the dissertation, candidates will formally defend the research at a meeting conducted by the Dissertation Committee. The degree will be awarded upon a positive recommendation of the Committee and compliance with all policies and procedures required by the university.