The JD/MPA is designed for students interested in integrating professional education in law with public administration. Students have a choice of two curriculum tracks to follow and should contact the Assistant Director of the Public Management Department (mpa@suffolk.edu) for assistance selecting the right track to fit their schedule. No matter which track is selected, full-time students may register for a maximum of 15 combined credits per semester.
Admission Requirements
Students applying to this program must meet the admissions requirements for both the MPA and the JD programs.
Curriculum Requirements
The requirements for the JD/MPA program are determined by the respective schools. The JD/MPA degree will be granted upon completion of 110 credit semester hours of work: 80 credit hours are completed in the Law School and a minimum of 30 credit hours are completed in the Sawyer Business School’s MPA curriculum.
All summer credits applied to the final semester of the joint degree program have been determined based on the semester credits of each individual program so as not to permit students to enroll in fewer than two credits in the final semester.
All joint degree candidate are subject to II (G) of the Rules and Regulations limiting credit for ungraded activities to two credits per semester. Any student who is not in good academic standing is disqualified from the joint degree programs. Law School Regulation VII (E) states that a joint degree candidate, who is academically deficient (as defined in the Law School regulations) within the Law School curriculum, shall be disqualified from the joint degree program.
Specific programs and course selections are arranged through the each respective Schools. Curricula requirements are arranged by year according to the following schedule:
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.
3.00
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.
3.00
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.
3.00
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.
PAD 712
3.00
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).
3.00
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.
3.00
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.
3.00
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.
Restricted to students that have completed 30 credits.
3.00
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.
MBA Public Management
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.
0.00
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.
MBA Public Management
