Joint MPA/MIS Degree Program

Admission Requirements

Prospective students must apply separately for the MPA/MIS program.  These students must also meet separate admission standards in both the Department of Public Administration and the School of Library and Information Science.  Applicants for this track must complete the GRE examination.

Program Requirements

The MIS degree is granted after completion of a minimum of 24 semester hours of both required and elective MIS courses.  To obtain the MPA, the dual-degree candidate must complete a minimum of 24 semester hours of graduate courses, with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher.  Students must also successfully submit a digital Student Learning Portfolio of developmental experiences as well as successfully present the Student Learning Portfolio to a panel of MPA and MIS faculty members.

MPA students who did not complete an American Government course at the undergraduate level must complete PADG 5050 The American Governmental System /Quantitative Analysis and Program Evaluation.  Otherwise, the MPA program has no prerequisite courses.  Students must have successfully completed an undergraduate course in statistics.  Otherwise, the MPA has no prerequisite courses.

In the first two years of the program, students are required to enroll for one full year (18 credit hours) of study at the School of Library and Information Science and for one full year of study (18 credit hours) in the MPA Program; either can come first.  In the third and fourth years of the program, dual-degree students are enrolled in and take courses at both programs.  Both programs have their own requirements for these upper level years.

Required Courses

MPA/MIS Dual Degree Program of Study

Exit Requirements

Students must satisfy academic requirements in both programs, including the MPA requirement of the Mastery Case Study and Student Learning Portfolio described above.  The dual degree students will take the Information Systems Projects Course LSIS 5610  in lieu of the two capstone courses (PADG 5800  and PADG 5820 ).  Dual degree students are also required to take LSIS 5700 .

Grades earned in courses of one program will not be included in the GPA calculations of the other program.  Students will be expected to complete all MPA and LSIS exams at times they are scheduled; exception are the sole discretion of each school, in accordance with their respective policies.

*PADG 5610  can be substituted with LSIS 5810  for Public Administration students.

**This will be a required course for the Joint degree students.