Overview

The JD/Master of Public Administration (MPA) joint degree combines two complementary fields and offers vast career opportunities in law and public policy.

Our graduates go on to serve as legal counselors in all levels of government, elected and appointed law and policy-makers, and labor-management and alternative dispute negotiators.

Curriculum

Programs of Study

Specific programs and course selections are arranged through the each respective Schools. Curricula requirements are arranged by year according to the following schedule:

MPA Curriculum (For Full-Time Students)

Students may follow one of two academic tracks, either completing their MPA requirements or their JD requirements first. Below are the MPA requirements for this program. Please contact the Suffolk Law School for more information on the required Law courses.

Fall Semester (12– 15 Credits)

  • P.AD-711 Foundations of Public Service and Administration

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    This introductory graduate-level course provides an overview of public administration and service and serves as a basis for further advanced studies in the MPA program. This course covers the structure, functions, and process of public service organizations at various levels, including governments and nonprofit organizations. Students explore historical trends, ethical considerations, and political rationale for the present operations of public service.

  • P.AD-712 Information Based Management

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    This course demonstrates how issues, problems, and questions surrounding public policies, program operations, and administrative systems can be structured as hypotheses and made amendable to resolution through the application of social science research techniques. The elements of research design such as surveys, true experiments, quasi-experiments, case studies and non-experimental studies are described, as well as sampling techniques and descriptive statistics. Ethical issues related to employment of these methods in the policy making process are also explored. The course content is presented as a way to reduce managerial uncertainty regarding alternative courses of action.

  • P.AD-713 Managing Financial Resources

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    This course introduces the fundamentals of budgeting, financial management, and revenue systems. Course goals include: A heightened awareness of the democratic ideals and values that must inform budgeting and financial management decisions, including a commitment to ethics, transparency and accountability; an understanding of the budget process and the distinctive features of budgetary decisions making; an understanding of the critical linkage between budgeting and financial management systems and the capacity of an organization to achieve its strategic goals; the ability to use the budget and financial reports as planning and management tools; knowledge of the basic principles of taxation as well as the structures and functions of federal, state, and local revenue systems. The course emphasizes knowledge and skills essential to the full range of public service careers.

  • P.AD-715 Quantitative Analysis

    Prerequisites:

    PAD 712

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    Pre-requisite: PAD 712 Quantitative analysis introduces basic statistical techniques used to analyze and draw conclusions from citizen and client surveys; program and policy evaluations; and performance and operations data. These techniques include chi square, lambda, gamma, correlations, and analysis of variance, t test correlations, and multivariate regression. Knowledge of these statistical techniques empowers managers by giving them the ability to evaluate the work of consultants, access the policy and management of literature, and analyze data using the analytical tools available in commonly uses statistical software, such as Microsoft Excel and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

  • P.AD-716 Public Service Human Resource Management

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    This course will explore complex issues in public and non-profit human resource management (HRM) by examining policies and practices that support and enhance the value and contribution of individuals in these organizations.

  • P.AD-717 Organizational Change

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    Students explore small groups and organization operations, practices, behaviors, and structures. They develop techniques for maximizing efficiency and/or effectiveness; evaluations analysis; concepts and applications of Classicists; leadership; organizational development, and result-oriented management; as well as elements of reorganization, innovation and change.

  • P.AD-718 Leadership Strategies for an Interconnected World

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    Leadership is a critical ingredient of successful communities and organizations. This course develops a diagnostic framework as well as strategies and tactics to mobilized adaptive work, engage multiple government, no-profit, and business stakeholders, and build awareness and momentum for actions at all levels of government and community and in ones organization. It introduces the catalytic model of leadership and applies it to the ethical handling of societal and organizational problems. Students leadership competencies are reviewed and improved. This course is designed for people from diverse backgrounds with varied experienced in the leadership role.

  • P.AD-890 Strategic Management

    Prerequisites:

    Restricted to students that have completed 30 credits.

    Credits:

    3.00

    Description:

    Prerequisite: Students must have completed 30 credit hours. Students will integrate the substance of previous courses in order to develop a capacity for strategic management based on a personal perspective of the role of the professional manager in the policy making process. This holistic perspective is expressed in an extensive research paper that describes the leadership role of the professional manager and defines a basis for ethical action. The course features the review of research articles, the discussion of case studies, and a consideration of future trends in public and non-profit management.

    Type:

    MBA Public Management

  • P.AD-858 Internship

    Prerequisites:

    Instructors signature required 0 credit course for students with no professional experience. Please call the Public Management Office at 617-573-8330 to drop this course.

    Credits:

    0.00

    Description:

    This one-semester internship is for students without professional experience in the public sector or with private organizations that provide services to the public. The internship may also be taken by students who wish to change their careers and for whom the internship experience provides networking opportunities. In addition the work requirement of 300 hours, students will also attend some classes, which are intended to enhance the student work experience and to facilitate movement into the workplace.

    Type:

    MBA Public Management

It is important that joint-degree students work with advisors in both academic programs to insure successful completion of both programs.

How to Apply

Students applying to this program must meet the admissions requirements for both the JD and the MPA programs.

New Students

Submit your JD/MPA application to the Law School only. If accepted to the JD/MPA, the LSAT is substituted for the GMAT or GRE score.

Visit http://www.law.suffolk.edu and www.suffolk.edu/gradadm for more information regarding the admission process.

Current Law Students

Apply to the MPA portion of the JD/MPA joint degree through the Graduate Admission Office, indicating you’re already in the Suffolk Law program

Current MPA Students
Apply to the Law School for the JD/MPA, indicating you’re already in the Suffolk MPA Program