University of North Texas 
MPA Degree Requirements
Core Courses (18 hours)
- PADM 5010 Public Administration and Society
- PADM 5020 Leading and Managing Public Organizations
- PADM 5030 Managing Human Resources
- PADM 5400 Managing Financial Resources
- PADM 5420 Revenue Policy and Administration
- PADM 5500 Administrative Research Methods I
Specialization electives (18-21 hours)
- Local Government Management
- Nonprofit Management
- Financial Management
- Emergency Management
- Human Resource Management
- Public-Nonprofit Analytics
Internship for Pre-career Students (4 hours)
Internships arerequired for all students. Internships provide an opportunity to apply the classroom experience in a government agency or nonprofit organization. The internship requires 440 contact hours and it must be paid. This requirement may be waived by the MPA coordinator for students with sufficient public and nonprofit sector work experience. Usually, this requirement is met by those with appropriate full-time work experience of two years or more.
Comprehensive Exam
The final degree requirement is successful completion of a comprehensive exam. Students wishing to take the exam must have completed at least 30 hours of their graduate degree program and all core courses.
MPA Frequently asked Questions
U.S. News and World Report ranks the MPA program at UNT as the best in Texas and the Southwest, and 8th in the nation, in the area of city management and urban policy. Our MPA degree is also accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), which is the national accrediting association for graduate public administration programs.
Our MPA degree provides you with a combination of time-tested management theories and state-of-the-art practice. The program's curriculum emphasizes such timely and critical developments as measuring organizational performance, evaluating public programs, working in teams, understanding up-to-date financial reporting requirements, operating in collaborative networks, planning for and managing disasters, leading nonprofit organizations, encouraging workplace diversity, and many others.
Our MPA degree currently has 111 students enrolled in the program and a very high success rate. As you can see from this chart, using th ARY-5 cohort as an example, of 41 students initially enrolled, 35 total graduated/persisted to graduation.
Graduates of our program get jobs. Our network of alumni and employers in Texas and beyond is extensive, and when a prospective employer sees "University of North Texas MPA" on your resume, they will be confident that you have the best possible education in public management. Because we emphasize general management skills and help you determine how and where you can apply them, your career options are not limited to any one policy area or level of government. Our program is distinctive because it provides the tools that offer you as much flexibility as you desire. We don't believe a degree should limit your options; we believe an MPA should open up a world of opportunities.
You won't have to put your life on hold while you get your MPA from UNT. We offer most of our courses in the evening or afternoon. We offer some courses online and in a hybrid mode. This is not an online only program. We believe that interaction with faculty and your colleagues is critical to developing knowledge, abilities, and networks that make our graduates successful.
Pre-career students are required to serve an internship before graduating, but you will not be doing menial tasks for free. We want you to have a meaningful internship experience and we expect you to be compensated for the expertise you bring to the employer. We require all internships to provide income for the student, usually an hourly wage. You will also take a preparation course to assist you in resume development and interviewing skills.
If you are a full-time student, you can graduate in 22 months. If you are a part-time student, you will be able to tailor your class schedule to fit into your busy schedule, but we expect all students to graduate within three years. Many students obtain full-time positions before the end of their program and change from full-time to part-time students. However, full-time students will have all the course offerings needed to complete the program in four long semesters and one summer session.
