Master of Public Administration

Graduate Advisors: Gen, Joaquin, Shea, Stowers, Wang

Admission to Program

Apply online through Cal State Apply. Submit the following materials by uploading them to the Cal State Apply online application:

  1. Statement of purpose to the SF State MPA Program. This statement of purpose should describe the following information in a coherent essay (in no more four pages, double-spaced):
    • Life experiences that have led you to an interest in public service (public or nonprofit)
    • Background in public service, including any work or volunteer experience you might have in public or nonprofit agencies
    • Areas of specific interests in the public service, including what has led you to these specific interests
    • Career and professional goals and aspiration
    • How the MPA degree will be helpful and consistent with your career goals and aspirations
    • Why this is the right time in your career to come into an MPA program and seek the degree
    • Why the SF State MPA degree program is a good fit for you and your career / professional goals
  2. Your current resume.
  3. Two (2) letters of recommendation. These should be from individuals who know the candidate well and can address their potential for succeeding in graduate school. The letters do not have to be from faculty members at an academic institution; they can be from supervisors or others familiar with the candidate's work.

Applicants must meet all university admission requirements to be accepted into the MPA program. Applicants are judged on a competitive basis.

Potential applicants who are still completing their undergraduate work should strengthen their preparation for the program with courses in public administration, economics, politics, public policy, and research techniques as well as experience working in either the public or nonprofit sectors.

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Meet challenges of rapidly changing world
  2. Lead and manage in public governance
    1. Apply a wide range of knowledge about the public service
    2. Apply a wide range of knowledge about an elective area within public service
    3. Evidence professional skills necessary for the public service
  3. Participate in and contribute to the public policy process
  4. Analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make decisions
  5. Articulate and apply a public service perspective
  6. Communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry
    1. Write effectively and concisely for an audience of professionals
    2. Present effectively to small and large groups
    3. Word effectively in groups and teams
  7. Communicate and work to ensure social justice, equity and other public service values highlighted by the Program

Written English Proficiency Requirement

The University has a requirement for written English proficiency that is to be assessed at two different levels.

Level One

Satisfactory performance on the Statement of Purpose should be achieved to gain admission to the degree program.

Level Two

Master’s thesis or strategic assessment memo from P A 890 must be written at a level commensurate with professional standards in the field. 

Advancement to Candidacy

Approval of a student’s proposed course of study advances a student to candidacy. Completion of the Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) requirements qualifies the student to apply for the award of the master’s degree. Besides meeting University requirements for advancement to candidacy, students are required to:

  • Complete any other conditions specified by the program.
  • Consult regularly with a program advisor.
  • Complete required core courses, management perspectives courses, and the capstone course with a grade of B- or better. Complete elective courses with a C or better. Maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 overall.

Upon advisement, upper division and graduate courses in other disciplines may be accepted if they contribute to a coherent program related to the student’s educational objectives.

Culminating Experience Requirement

Students in the public administration program can choose between two options for their culminating experience:

Students may choose to take a capstone course (P A 890) and complete a written comprehensive examination, the Strategic Assessment Memorandum (SAM). The capstone course focuses on synthesizing the knowledge, skills, and abilities learned in the program through the analysis of case studies from the field. Students complete their portfolio, analyze case studies, and present their strategic assessment of what managers operating in those cases should do to resolve them. The strategic assessment memo is the written presentation of each student’s analysis and plan for that case.

Students may also choose to undertake a traditional social science research project, the Master’s Thesis (P A 898) option. Working with a faculty committee, students write a prospectus, have it approved the semester before undertaking the research, and write the thesis. After initiating this option, students must maintain continuous enrollment until the thesis is completed.

Public Administration Program Portfolium

San Francisco State University Public Administration students graduate with a portfolio of work products and evaluations of that work, which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired in the public administration program. The required components of the portfolio are core competencies and skills crucial for the success of nonprofit and public administrators. Students publish selected coursework along with explanations of their accomplishments in the degree program on the platform and use it to connect with others in the field.

Willie L. Brown, Jr. Graduate Fellowship

Willie L. Brown, Jr. Graduate Fellowship is a two-year fellowship awarded on a competitive basis to MPA students who have experienced hardships or barriers in their pursuit of higher education. Applications open each fall for fellowships beginning the following January. The Fellowship includes a one-year internship placement at a San Francisco City/County agency and a second year of applied research and professional development in the MPA Program, including near-peer monitoring and supporting undergraduate fellows. Graduate Fellows receive a stipend of $10,000/year plus $3,000 in professional development funding in year 2.

Eugene I. Pearl Memorial Scholarship

The Eugene I. Pearl Memorial Scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis to students specializing in urban administration. 

Cho Public Service Scholarships

Cho Public Service Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis for incoming and continuing students. Students are selected on the basis of outstanding academic achievement, outstanding community service, and potential for excellence in the public and nonprofit sectors.

For more information regarding scholarships, visit AcademicWorks.

Public Administration (MPA) - 39-42 units

Core: Foundations (12 units)

P A 700Foundations of Governance and Management3
P A 705Design and Consumption of Research3
P A 706Applied Data Analysis3
P A 715Policy Process and Civic Engagement3

Core: Management Perspectives (12 units)

Select 12 units:

P A 720Organization Design and Change Management3
P A 722Performance Management and Planning3
P A 724Economic Perspectives3
P A 725Managing Human Capital3
P A 727Program and Service Delivery3
P A 730Resource Allocation and Management3

Internship Requirement (0 - 3 units)

P A 803Public Affairs Internship3

Internship requirement may be waived upon evidence and approval of previous or concurrent educationally appropriate work experience in public policy or administration.

Electives on Advisement (12 units)

Select 12 units from the lists below.

Culminating Experience Requirement (3 units)

Select one:
P A 890Capstone Course in Public Administration3
P A 898Master's Thesis3

Elective Emphases

Nonprofit Administration

P A 740Public Service Management3
P A 744Nonprofits, Public Policy and Society3
P A 741Emerging Trends in the Public Service3
P A 745Perspectives on Nonprofit Management3
P A 746Application of Organizational Learning in Nonprofits3
P A 750Financial Management in the Public Service3
P A 753Decision Making in the Public Sector3
P A 754Comparative Perspectives in the Public Service3
P A 755Information and Knowledge in the Public Service3
P A 757E-Government3
P A 762Leading Change Across Sectors3
P A 775Program Evaluation3
M S 800Museum Management, Law, and Ethics3
M S 860Fundraising in Museums3

Public Policy

P A 750Financial Management in the Public Service3
P A 753Decision Making in the Public Sector3
P A 770Policy Analysis3
P A 775Program Evaluation3
P A/GEOG 776Environmental Policy3
P A 777Criminal Justice Administration3
P A 783Urban Housing Policy3
USP/GEOG 433Urban Transportation4
USP/PLSI 560Urban Poverty and Policy4
USP/LABR/PLSI 570Urban Health Policy3

Public Service Management

P A 740Public Service Management3
P A 750Financial Management in the Public Service3
P A 753Decision Making in the Public Sector3
P A 754Comparative Perspectives in the Public Service3
P A 755Information and Knowledge in the Public Service3
P A 757E-Government3
P A 762Leading Change Across Sectors3
P A 775Program Evaluation3

Urban Administration

GEOG/USP 433Urban Transportation4
GEOG 666Geography of Garbage: Recycling and Waste Reduction3
GEOG 667/USP 515Environmental Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Environment4
GEOG 668/USP 513/PLSI 513Politics, Law, and the Urban Environment4
P A 741Emerging Trends in the Public Service3
P A 750Financial Management in the Public Service3
P A 755Information and Knowledge in the Public Service3
P A 757E-Government3
P A 762Leading Change Across Sectors3
P A 775Program Evaluation3
P A 780Urban Administration3
P A 781Sustainable Development in Cities3
P A 783Urban Housing Policy3
P A 784Intergovernmental Dynamics3
USP/PLSI 560Urban Poverty and Policy4
USP/LABR/PLSI 570Urban Health Policy3
USP/PLSI 580Housing Policy and Planning3

Environmental Administration

The electives in Environmental Administration are offered jointly by the Public Administration Program (School of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement) and the Department of Geography & Environment. It's recommended that students interested in this area take P A 776, one other course from the list of MPA courses below, and two courses from the list of Geography courses below.

ENVS 470Climate Politics and Policy3
ENVS 570Applied Local Sustainability3
GEOG/USP 433Urban Transportation4
GEOG 435Geography of Global Transportation4
GEOG/ENVS 600Environmental Problems and Solutions3
GEOG 647Geography of Water Resources4
GEOG/USP 651San Francisco Bay Area Environmental Issues4
GEOG/USP 652Environmental Impact Analysis4
GEOG/USP 658Land-Use Planning4
GEOG 751Environmental Management3
GEOG 820Human and Social Geography3
P A/GEOG 776Environmental Policy3
P A 781Sustainable Development in Cities3

Criminal Justice Administration

C J 515Extremism as Crime3
C J 525Global Restorative Justice and Corrections3
C J 530Geographies of Social Control and Urban Diversity3
C J 550School Violence and Discipline3
C J 600Youth Gangs in Community Context3
P A 741Emerging Trends in the Public Service3
P A 750Financial Management in the Public Service3
P A 753Decision Making in the Public Sector3
P A 754Comparative Perspectives in the Public Service3
P A 755Information and Knowledge in the Public Service3
P A 757E-Government3
P A 762Leading Change Across Sectors3
P A 775Program Evaluation3
P A 777Criminal Justice Administration3

Gerontological Administration

GRN 500Aging and Society3
GRN 510Death and Dying in Contemporary Society3
GRN 705Aging in a Multidimensional Context3
GRN 710Aging Processes: Health and Human Services3
GRN 715Age and Social Policy Analysis3
GRN 725Aging and Diversity3
GRN 735Ethical and Legal Issues in Aging and Social Services3
GRN 765Aging and Continuum of Care3

A variety of 1-unit courses can also be taken as electives. A total of three 1-unit courses may count toward the degree requirements.

P A 707Qualitative Data Analysis1
P A 708Qualitative Interviewing1
P A 709Practicum in Statistical Software Applications1
P A 743Collaborative Government1
P A 747Organizational Ethics: Doing Good, Being Good1
P A 748Negotiation and Compromise1
P A 756Data Mining and Visualization1
P A 763Personal Leadership Development1