UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 27, Page 14
April 13, 1995
MPA Mid-Career Option accepting applications

     What do an emergency room nurse, an IRS manager and a contract
specialist for the Department of Defense have in common? All are part
of the first group of students enrolled in the University's new Master
of Public Administration Mid-Career Option.
     Designed so that busy professionals can earn the MPA in just
three years, the program is now accepting students for a second cohort
that will begin this fall.
      Organized with flexible scheduling and concentrated year-round
courses, the Mid-Career Option is structured so that students who
enroll for September 1995 will be ready to graduate at the end of
1998, with a nationally accredited master's degree.
     The MPA is the terminal professional degree for anyone whose
ambition is a career in public management or, often, non-profit sector
management-much as the MBA is for those aiming for a career in
business.
     Admission is competitive. Students generally need to have a solid
B average as an undergraduate and at least five years of governmental
or administrative experience. Students in the first cohort also
include government officials, administrative assistants and private
sector employees from MBNA and Digital Equipment. Their undergraduate
majors ranged from music education to mechanical engineering.
     The Mid-Career Option curriculum was developed for those with
substantial professional responsibilities.
     Programs can be tailored to meet individual needs, and there are
seven core courses designed to improve students' skills in planning,
decision making, managing people, money and programs.
     Students may pursue one of five formal areas of specialization:
State and Local Management, Human Resource Management, Fiscal and
Resource Management, Environmental and Energy Management and
International Development Policy and Administration, or may, with
faculty assistance, develop their own specialization's in such areas
as non-profit leadership, community development and policy analysis.
There is no thesis requirement.
     "The Mid-Career Option in the MPA program enabled me to do
something that I often thought about before but never quite was able
to undertake-to return to school to pursue an advanced degree in an
area in which I had developed some expertise over the years," Robert
J. Lanham, a member of the first cohort who is chief of the Collection
and Taxpayer Service Division for the Wilmington District of the
Internal Revenue Service, said.
     "Once I got involved in the MPA program I found that the
interaction with my fellow Mid-Career students-most of whom have
experience in state or municipal government-with 'regular' graduate
students and with the faculty was the best learning experience. Issues
discussed in class had often been faced by those in the Mid-Career
program, who were able to offer their perspectives.
     "The 'regular' graduate students, often unburdened by the
practicality that experienced managers develop, were often able to
view the issue from a different perspective and thus offer other
options and scenarios," he said.
     "The faculty, without fail, has been top notch, each with a
slightly different approach to the learning environment. I feel
fortunate that I took the plunge and joined the program. I have come
away with a much better appreciation of the complexity of the job of
any public administrator. "
     Prospective students must apply to the MPA program by July 1.
Some scholarship help is available. Interested individuals should call
Deborah Auger, program coordinator, or Jeffrey Raffel, director of the
MPA program, for more information at 831-8289.
     The program is offered through the College of Urban Affairs and
Public Policy and is co-offered by the Department of Political Science
and International Relations.
                                                          -Beth Thomas