The Course of Study approved for the MPA degree must be completed within six years of the date of initial enrollment in the program. In certain cases a waiver of the time limit for degree completion may be granted. Students should submit their request for a waiver in writing to the director of the MPA Program.

Different degree outlines will be prepared depending on the career support area chosen by the student. Degree outlines for MPA students are illustrated below.

MPA students will be required to take the following 30 hours of core courses:

Core Courses - 30 Credit Hours
POSI 5311 Public Finance Administration
POSI 5314 Organization Theory
POSI 5315 Problems in Public Personnel Administration
POSI 5318 Public Management and Ethics
POSI 5321 Introduction to Public Policy and Administration
POSI 5330 Problems in Public Law
POSI 5334 Problems in Quantitative Analysis
POSI 5335 Problems in Research Methodology
POSI 5397 Applied Research Project

One course selected from the following:
POSI 5340 Problems in American Public Policy
POSI 5341 Seminar in the Policy Process
POSI 5343 Seminar in Program Evaluation

** It is advised that POSI 5334 be taken within the first six hours and POSI 5321 within the first 12 hours.

Career Support Areas
In addition to the core courses students will select one of the following 10 career support areas and complete nine hours of course work from the courses listed in the specific career support area.

Administration of Criminal Justice Systems
Select three courses from Criminal Justice curriculum or
POSI 5343 Seminar in Program Evaluation

General Public Administration
Three Graduate Level Political Science Electives

Government Information Systems
POSI 5345 Conceptual Foundations of Government Information Systems
POSI 5346 Technology of Government Information Systems
POSI 5347 Public Finance Information System

Human Resources In Public Administration
Select nine hours from the following courses:
POSI 5316 Labor Management Relations
POSI 5317 Management Practices in Public Personnel Administration
SOC 5319 Seminar in Social Psychology
POSI 5345 Conceptual Foundation of Government Information Systems
POSI 5343 Seminar in Program Evaluation

International Relations
Select nine hours from the following courses:
POSI 5301 Problems in American Foreign Relations
POSI 5360 Problems in International Politics
POSI 5364 Problems in International Organizations
POSI 5365 Problems in International Law
POSI 5375 International Comparative Public Administration
POSI 5380 Problems in International Political Economy
POSI 5384 Topics in Modern Democratic Systems
POSI 5385 Topics in Third World Politics

Legal And Judicial Administration
Select nine hours from the following courses:
POSI 5319 Seminar in Law and Constitutional Theory
POSI 5343 Seminar in Program Evaluation
POSI 5379 Legal Drafting
POSI 5387 Legal Research
POSI 5390 Administrative Law
POSI 5394 Litigation

Public Finance Administration
POSI 5312 Public Sector Economics
POSI 5343 Seminar in Program Evaluation
POSI 5347 Public Finance Information Systems

Social Policy
Select nine hours from the following courses:
SOC 5316 Seminar in Deviation and Social Problems
SOC 5320 Seminar in Demography
SOC 5343 Seminar in Criminology
SOC 5353 Seminar in the Community
SOC 5363 Seminar in Medical Sociology
SOC 5370 Seminar in Multi-Cultural Relations
POSI 5343 Seminar in Program Evaluation
COM 5319 Organizational Communication*

Urban And Environmental Planning
Select nine hours from the following courses:
POSI 5333 Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity
GEO 5312 The Planning Function and Process
GEO 5313 Environmental Management
GEO 5314 Geographic Elements of Environmental Law
GEO 5336 Transportation Systems
GEO 5339 Land Development and Management
GEO 5351 Regional Waste Management
GEO 5408 Applied Cartography (GIS Only)
POSI 5343 Seminar in Program Evaluation
*Requires Communications Studies graduate program director approval

Course Substitutions
Under certain unusual circumstances, students may be unable to take all the courses required by their degree outline or may have a specific career need that is not met by the required curriculum. In such cases, the MPA graduate advisor may recommend a substitution of courses. Any degree outline change request must be completed prior to the student's registering for a course that is not included in the degree outline. All recommended course substitutions must be requested in writing on the appropriate Graduate College form. The form must be signed by the graduate advisor and forwarded to the dean of the Graduate College for approval. The Dean of Graduate College has the final authority to approve or disapprove course substitutions. The goldenrod copy of the Change of Degree Outline form will be mailed to the student. Any course taken without an approved degree outline change request is taken at the student's own risk and may not count toward the degree.

In some cases up to six hours of credits earned from other universities may be transferred to the MPA degree program. The process varies depending on whether the transfer occurs at the start of the degree program or while the program is in progress.

Prior Transfer Credit
The Director of the MPA Program has the responsibility of evaluating graduate courses taken at other universities to see if they can be applied toward the MPA degree and making a recommendation to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. As a rule up to six credit hours may be transferred to Texas State University prior to admission to the Graduate Program. To be eligible for transfer, these courses must have been taken while enrolled and accepted in a graduate program at the institution from which transfer credit is desired. All transfers are subject to the final approval of the dean of the Graduate College. Courses taken over six
years prior to admission to the Graduate School normally cannot be transferred. To request transfer credit, a copy of the official transcript and a copy of the catalog course description must be provided to the graduate advisor.

Post Transfer Credit
In order for a course taken on another campus to be accepted toward a graduate degree after admission to the MPA program and to graduate studies at Texas State, a letter of good standing must be issued. The student should initiate a written request for a letter of good standing well in advance of the time of planned enrollment. The written request for the letter of good standing is made to the MPA director for approval. The request must identify the course by name and number, specify the semester the course will be taken and the institution at which the course will be taken. An official catalogue description of the course and a course syllabus must accompany the request for the letter of good standing. The dean of the Graduate College has final authority and must approve the request for credits earned to count toward the degree.