Double/Dual Degree Programs

Drawing on resources from across , we offer several dual and double degree programs that allow students to earn a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and another master’s degree from in three years or less.

In addition to gaining expertise in public administration, students in these programs gain knowledge and skills in other fields, too, increasing their marketability.  They also receive two professional degrees in significantly less time and for significantly less money than if they pursued the two degrees separately.

Admission

Students must apply and be admitted to both the MPA program and the program for the other degree. These are separate applications, and each requires an application fee to the Graduate School. Students who begin one program and then apply to the other program later will need to meet with the appropriate advisors for both programs to develop a customized program of study; completion within three years may not be possible for students who do not begin the programs in the same semester.

Double Degree Programs

Public Administration and Sustainable Communities

Sustainability is one of the fastest-growing fields in the nation… and this double degree gives you the knowledge and skills to pursue a rewarding career in this area. Graduates of the program include Sustainability Coordinators, County Planners, Disaster Program Specialists and Natural Resource Specialists. They’ve been employed in organizations like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Red Cross, sustainability non-profits, county planning departments, school districts and more! 

The master's degree in Sustainable Communities pushes you to understand the environmental, social, and economic systems that shape the way we live. The master's degree in Public Administration gives you the organizational, budgeting and human resource abilities to create clean, equitable and economically vital places in the world.

  • MPA + SUST Course Sequence Sample
    Year One  
    Fall (13-15 credits) Spring (12 credits)
    PAFF 510/SUST 520 (4 cr.) : Research Design and Methods

    PAFF 521 (4 cr.): Foundations of Public Service
    PAFF 520 (4 cr.): 21st Century Governance
     

    PAFF 515, 516, or 523: (Evidence-Based Decision-Making) (4 cr.) (Advanced Methods)
    SUST 500 (4 cr.):  Sust. Communities I SUST 510 (4 cr.): Sust. Communities II
    SUST 530 (1 cr.): Colloquium SUST 532 (1 cr.) Colloquium
    Year Two   
    Fall (11 credits) Spring (10 credits)
    PAFF 527 (4 cr.): Budgeting & Finance SUST (Economic Development) (3 cr.)

    PAFF Internship (2 cr.)

    		 SUST (Social Equity) (3 cr.)

    SUST (Environmental Policy) (3 cr.)

    		 PAFF or SUST Elective (3 cr.)
     

    SUST 534 (1 cr.): Colloquium

    		 SUST 536 (1 cr.) Colloquium
     

    Year Three

    		  

    Fall (9 credits)

    		 Spring (11 credits)

    PAFF 526 (2 cr.): Managing Info & Tech

    		 PAFF or SUST Elective (3 cr.)
     

    PAFF 532, 534, 535,or (Managing People in Organizations) (3 cr.)

    PAFF or SUST Elective (3 cr.)

    PAFF or SUST Elective (3 cr.)

    PAFF 589 (3 cr.) The Reflective

    Practitioner

    PAFF or SUST Elective (3 cr.)

    SUST 589: Professional Writing Seminar I (2 credits)

    SUST 588: Professional Writing Seminar I (2 cr.)

    		  

Contacts

Public Administration and Systems Science

This double degree program prepares students for administrative positions that focus on understanding, modeling, analyzing, optimizing and improving various forms of complex systems. Topics students learn about in the MS in Systems Science program include systems thinking and problem solving methodologies, while the Master of Public Administration (MPA) provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary for management. 

If you are interested in learning more about our MPA/Systems Science double degree,

  • MPA + Systems Science Course Sequence Sample
    Year One  
    Fall (12 credits) Spring (11 credits)
    PAFF 521 Foundations in Public Service (4 cr.) PAFF 510 Research Design and Methods (4 cr.)
    PAFF 526 Managing Info & Tech (2 cr.) PAFF 520 21st Century Governance (4 cr.)
    SSIE 501 Introduction to Systems Science (3 cr.) SSIE 500 Computational Tools (3 cr.)
    SSIE 505 Applied Probability and Statistics (3 cr.) *Prerequisite: one year of calculus PAFF 502 or 503 (optional) (1 cr. each, online)

    Year Two

    		  
    Fall (11 credits) Spring (12 credits)
    PAFF 527 Budget and Finance (4 cr.) PAFF Managing People in Organizations: 532, 534, 535, 536 (3 cr.)

    PAFF Evidence-Based Decision-Making: 515, 516, 523 (4 cr.) * Prerequisite: PAFF 510

    		 SSIE Elective (3 cr.)
    SSIE 523 Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems (3 cr.) SSIE Elective (600 level) (3 cr.)
      SSIE Thesis or Elective (3 cr.)
     
    Summer (2 credits)  
    PAFF 594 Internship (2 cr.) *

    * Prerequisite: 18 credits of PAFF coursework (including: (1) PAFF 510, (2) PAFF 520 and (3) PAFF 521)

    		  
    Year Three   

    Fall (12 credits)

    		  

    PAFF or SSIE Elective (3 cr.)

    		  
    PAFF or SSIE Elective (3 cr.)  
    PAFF 589 The Reflective Practitioner (3 cr.)  

Contacts

Sarah S. Lam

Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Graduate Director

School of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering
EB R16

Public Administration and Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

The double degree program prepares students for administrative positions that focus on atrocity prevention. Topics students learn about in the MS in GMAP program include analyzing risk factors, formulating strategies, and implementing policies and practices to reduce the occurrence, severity, and potential for recurrence of genocides and other mass atrocities around the world, while the MPA provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary for management in the public and nonprofit sectors. 

  • MPA+ GMAP Course Schedule Sample
    Year One  
    Fall (12 credits) Spring (12 credits)
    GMAP 501, Micro-Dynamics of Mass Atrocity (4 cr.) GMAP 500, Essentials of GMAP (4 cr.)
    GMAP 502, Comparative Genocides (4 cr.) PAFF 520, 21st Century Governance (4 cr.)
    PAFF 510, Research Design & Methods (4 cr.) PAFF 521, Foundations of Public Service (4 cr.)
    Year Two  
    Fall (14 credits) Spring (12 credits)
    GMAP 504, Transitional Justice (4 cr.) GMAP 503, International NGOs (3 cr.)
    PAFF Evidence-Based Decision-Making (4 cr.) GMAP 550, Mechanisms of Atrocity Prevention (3 cr.)
    PAFF 527, Public Budget and Finance (4 cr.) GMAP 528, Tools & Technologies (3 cr.)
    PAFF 526, Info and Technology (2 cr.) PAFF Managing People in Orgs (3 cr.)
    Summer (3 credits)  
    GMAP 528, Politics & Policy of Atrocity Prevention (3 cr)  
    Year Three  
    Fall (2 credits) Spring (12 credits)
    GMAP 580, Field Placement / PAFF 594 (2 cr.) GMAP 590, Capstone (4 cr.)
      PAFF 589, Reflective Practitioner (4 cr.)
      GMAP 538, Spec Topics in GMAP (4 cr.)

Contacts

Kerry Whigham

Assistant Professor, Public Admin, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, Co-Director IGMAP; Co-Director; Assistant Professor of Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

CCPA Public Administration and Policy; Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP)
DC 210

Dual Degree Programs

Public Administration-Master of Social Work (MSW)

The dual MPA-MSW prepares students for administrative positions in social service agencies. Increasingly, social workers must possess management and administrative skills to be competent in addressing the challenges of their positions as supervisors, administrators, and agency heads. Similarly, public administration practitioners recognize the need for specialized knowledge and skills to respond to an environment of increasing policy and organizational complexity within social welfare agencies. The program is designed to ensure that students acquire both management and social work skills necessary to excel in this environment.

  • MPA + MSW Course Sequence Sample
    Year One  
    Fall (13 credits) Spring (17 credits)
    SW 515 Social Welfare Policy and Programs (3 cr) SW 503 Diversity and Oppression (3 cr.)
     
    SW 510 Generalist SW Practice I (3 cr.) SW 512 Generalist Social Work Practice III (3 cr.)

    SW 504 Foundations of Scientific Inquiry w/ Social Systems (3 cr.)

    		 SW 592 Field Instruction II (4 cr.)
    SW 591 Field Instruction I (4 cr.)

    PAFF 521 Foundations in Public Service (4 cr.)
    PAFF 503 Introduction to Administrative Systems (1 cr.) (optional-­‐‑ not included in the 91 credits) SW 506 Psychopathology and Pharmacology (3 cr.)

    PAFF 502 Basic Computer Skills (1 cr.) (optional-­‐‑ not included in the 91 credits)

    		  
    Summer   
    SW 511 Generalist SW Practice II (3 cr.)  

    SW 505 Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 3 credits (ONLINE) (3 cr.)

    		  
    Year Two  
    Fall (13 credits) Spring (13 credits)
    SW or PAFF Elective (3 cr.)

    SW 525 Advanced Social Work Practice with Communities (3 cr.)
    PAFF 520 21st Century Governance (4 cr SW or PAFF Elective (3 cr.)
    PAFF 526 Managing Info & Tech (2 cr.)

    PAFF Evidence-­‐‑Based Decision-­‐‑Making: 515, 516, 523 (4 cr.)
    PAFF 527 Budget and Finance (4 cr.) PAFF Managing People in Organizations: 532, 534, 535, 536 (3 cr.)
    Summer (6 credits)  
    SW 523 Advanced SW Practice with Groups (3 cr.)  

    SW 524 Advanced Social Work Practice with Families (3 cr.)

    		  

    Year Three

    		  

    Fall (13 credits)

    		 Spring (10 credits)

    SW 521 Advanced Social Work Practice with Individuals (3 cr.)

    		 SW 520 Evaluation of Social Work Practice (3 cr.)

    SW 522 Advanced Social Work Practice with Organizations (3 cr.)

    		 SW 594 Field Instruction IV (4 cr.)

    SW 593 Field Instruction III (4 cr.)

    		 PAFF 589: The Reflective Practitioner (3 cr.)

    SW or PAFF Elective (3 cr.)

    		  

Contacts