Celebrating 30 years of Excellence in Public Administration Education

Chair: Neal Wallace

Contact Information: 503-725-8248 nwallace@pdx.edu

MPA, MPA:HA, and MPH Program Admissions
Public Administration and Policy Ph.D. Program
Division of Public Administration
PA Student Handbook
2007 Public Administration and Policy Ph.D. Program Handbook
Job Opportunities

The Division of Public Administration offers a professionally oriented program that focuses on the study of government, health, and non-profit organizations and their management. Among the components of the scope of this study are knowledge of: (1) How these organizations and the people in them behave, (2) The process by which these organizations formulate, implement, evaluate, and modify policy, (3) The relationship between these organizations and their environments including their constituencies and society, and (4) The theory and practice of managing these organizations, including skills and approaches designed to increase their effectiveness and efficiency.

The mission of the Division of Public Administration is to develop and strengthen the knowledge, practice of delivery, and management of services to the public. The division is dedicated to preparing individuals for the exercise of competent and effective policy and administrative leadership. The division fulfills this mission by facilitating learning, promoting scholarship, improving practice, an engaging in public services.

The kind of students who enroll in Division of Public Administration courses are persons in or aspiring to administrative positions in government, health, and nonprofit management. The Division of Public Administration admits students with a variety of undergraduate degrees in the social sciences, as well as in business, the humanities, and the sciences. It accepts full-time and part-time students throughout the year, including those who have had governmental experience and those who have not. To accommodate students, who are currently working in government and other areas, the department's courses are held during the evenings, late afternoon, or weekends.

The Division offers three master's degree programs: The Master of Public Administration (MPA); the MPA with a health administration specialty (MPA:HA); and, Master of Public Health with a specialty track in health management and policy (MPH:HMP) as part of the Oregon MPH Consortium offered by Portland State University, Oregon State University, and the Oregon Health and Science University.