Bachelor of Public Administration
The Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) is designed to meet the educational and professional needs of individuals in the public sector who are interested in professional or career advancement. The online public administration bachelor’s degree also prepares individuals for challenging and dynamic careers in government at the local, state, and federal levels. Individuals completing the public administration degree requirements are prepared for mid-level positions, teaching, or training assignments, or research in the government and nonprofit organizations.
BPA/MPA Transition Program
Students who are currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Public Administration program and have at least a GPA of 3.0 and are within six courses of graduation, may register for the BPA/MPA transition program by taking two MPA classes as electives during the BPA program. To be eligible, students must apply for and begin the MPA program within six months of completing their BPA program. Students may choose up to two of the graduate-level public administration courses (with the exception of PAD 631 and PAD 644). For students in the BPA/MPA transition program, the University will waive up to two graduate-level public administration courses taken as part of the bachelor’s degree, but these students must still meet the residency requirements for the MPA. Students must complete graduate level coursework taken as part of the BPA degree with a grade of “B” or better.
CAEL Portfolio
In partnership with the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), National University has developed a portfolio-based system of demonstrating that a student has achieved the course outcomes for University undergraduate courses. Credit may apply towards both the lower division and upper division credit requirements of the University's undergraduate degree programs unless specified otherwise in policy or limited by the state or jurisdiction of a student's residence. In our Portfolio program, students demonstrate that what they already know is equivalent to what they would have learned in an equivalent college course. The program is designed to be as flexible as possible to meet students’ needs. Students may have acquired this knowledge through past employment, independent reading and study, training programs or in-service courses, volunteer service, cultural or artistic pursuits, hobbies and recreational pastimes, community or religious activities, organizational memberships, adult education, non-credit courses, study abroad, military training not evaluated for credit by ACE, or other experiences. A portfolio enables students to identify and articulate this knowledge, and potentially earn credit for it. Students learn the process of identifying areas of course-equivalent learning and portfolio development skills through the PRLX2100X course offered through the Division of Extended Learning. The resulting portfolio is submitted for review by Subject Matter Experts for potential award of credit. For further information regarding the Portfolio program, please contact extlearning@nu.edu.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Synthesize the theories of public administration.
- Analyze the operations and procedures of public management and nonprofits.
- Develop skills in managing a public sector or nonprofit organization.
- Apply the theories and practices in program and resource management.
- Apply the theories and practices of accounting and budgeting in government and nonprofits.
- Evaluate the role of community groups in local government.
- Analyze ethical situations in the public sector.
- Utilize research process to address a current problem in public administration.
- Collect data, conduct a literature review, analyze data, write and explain findings, and present results orally and/or in writing.
Requirements
- MNS 205 Intro to Quantitative Methods
- ECO 203 Principles of Microeconomics
- ACC 201 Financial Accounting Funds.
- ODV 420 Intro to Organizational Behavi
- PAD 400 Intro to Public Administration
- PAD 401 Public Policy Development
- PAD 402 Urban Environments
- MGT 400 Ethics in Law, Business & Mgmt
- PAD 403 Government Relations
- MNS 407 Management Science
- PAD 404 Nonprofit Management
- ACC 434 Government and Nonprofit Acct
- MGT 422 Team Bldg, Interpers Dynamics
- LED 420 Adaptive Leadership in Change
- PAD 405 Senior Research Project