BA in Public Administration and Policy
Degree Program Description
The BA in Public Administration and Policy within the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs is an on-campus, online, or hybrid program. The degree will prepare students to think critically about problems facing public and nonprofit institutions, to develop and implement solutions to these problems, and to communicate effectively as future public servants. The curriculum melds the study of public administration, public policy, and communication to prepare students for careers in professional public service.
Major Program Requirements
Students will need to complete a minimum of 120 credit hours. In addition to University, general education, and College of Arts and Science requirements, students must also meet the following major program requirements. All major requirements in the College of Arts and Science must be completed with grades of C- or higher unless otherwise indicated.
- A grade of C- or higher is required in all major courses.
- A 3000-level or higher Writing Intensive course within the major is required*.
- The major capstone requirement will be met upon successful completion of a 4000-level core course (PUB_AF 4420, POL_SC 4320, POL_SC 4320W, COMMUN 4473, COMMUN 4476, or COMMUN 4478)
| Major Core Curriculum | 15 | |
| PUB_AF 1000 | Principles of Public Policy Administration | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4420 | Program Assessment and Improvement | 3 |
| POL_SC 4320 | Public Policy | 3 |
| or POL_SC 4320W | Public Policy - Writing Intensive | |
| Communication Core Courses (6 credit hours from the following courses) | 6 | |
| COMMUN 3460 | Organizational Advocacy | 3 |
| COMMUN 3572 | Argument and Advocacy | 3 |
| COMMUN 4473 | Political Communication | 3 |
| COMMUN 4476 | Organizational Communication | 3 |
| COMMUN 4478 | Communication Competencies for a Diverse Workplace | 3 |
| Major Elective Courses (15 credit hours minimum; at least 9 credit hours must be PUB_AF courses) ^ | 15 | |
| Any PUB_AF 2000-level or higher (9 credit hours minimum) | 9 | |
| PUB_AF 4001 | Topics in Public Affairs | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4175 | Early Childhood Policy | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4340 | Regional and Economic Development Policy | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4430 | Public Policy Analysis | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4520 | Human Resources Management and Development in Public and Nonprofit Sector | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4540 | Local Government Management | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4700 | Social Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| PUB_AF 4710 | The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector | 3 |
| AGSC_COM 2210 | Communicating Science to the Public | 3 |
| BL_STU 4303 | Black Studies in Race, Class, Gender, and U.S. Policy | 3 |
| COMMUN 3580 | Crisis Communication | 3 |
| COMMUN 4530 | Health Communication | 3 |
| ECONOM 3367 | Law and Economics | 3 |
| or ECONOM 3367W | Law and Economics - Writing Intensive | |
| ECONOM 4311 | Labor Economics | 3 |
| or ECONOM 4311W | Labor Economics - Writing Intensive | |
| ECONOM 4315 | Public Economics | 3 |
| or ECONOM 4315W | Public Economics - Writing Intensive | |
| ECONOM 4316 | State and Local Finance | 3 |
| ECONOM 4317 | Urban Economics | 3 |
| or ECONOM 4317W | Urban Economics - Writing Intensive | |
| ECONOM 4318 | Environmental Economics | 3 |
| or ECONOM 4318W | Environmental Economics - Writing Intensive | |
| ECONOM 4340 | Introduction to Game Theory | 3 |
| ECONOM 4345 | Economics of Education | 3 |
| or ECONOM 4345W | Economics of Education - Writing Intensive | |
| ECONOM 4357 | Health Economics | 3 |
| or ECONOM 4357W | Health Economics - Writing Intensive | |
| ECONOM 4846 | Economics of Discrimination | 3 |
| or ECONOM 4846W | Economics of Discrimination - Writing Intensive | |
| ENV_SC 4400 | Environmental Law, Policy, and Justice | 3 |
| or ENV_SC 4400W | Environmental Law, Policy, and Justice - Writing Intensive | |
| ENV_SC 4600 | Sustainability Science Problem Solving | 3 |
| or ENV_SC 4600W | Sustainability Science Problem Solving - Writing Intensive | |
| GEOG 2289 | Towns in Missouri and the Midwest: Voices and Inequalities | 3 |
| GEOG 4450 | Health, Healthcare Access, and Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 4790 | Geographic Information Systems for the Social Sciences | 3 |
| HLTH_SCI/P_HLTH 3700 | Health Care in the United States | 3 |
| or HLTH_SCI 3700H | Health Care in the United States - Honors | |
| NAT_R 4353 | Natural Resource Policy/Administration | 3 |
| POL_SC 2150 | How Government Affects You | 3 |
| POL_SC 4140 | Congress and Legislative Policy | 3 |
| POL_SC 4370 | Law, Policy, and Regulation | 3 |
| POL_SC 4380 | Politics of Criminal Justice | 3 |
| POL_SC 4390 | United States Health Politics and Policy | 3 |
| POL_SC 4940 | Political Science Internship § | 3 |
| PRST 3230 | Outdoor Recreation Policy | 3 |
| or PRST 3230W | Outdoor Recreation Policys - Writing Intensive | |
| PRST 4340 | Recreation Land Management | 3 |
| SOCIOL 3230 | Education and Social Inequalities | 3 |
| SOCIOL 3330 | Environmental Justice | 3 |
| SOCIOL 3440 | Sociology of Health | 3 |
| SOCIOL 4545 | Sociology of Immigration | 3 |
| SRV_LRN 3028 | Civic Leaders Internship § | 3 |
| WGST 3260 | Gender, Law and Justice | 3 |
- *
The major Writing Intensive (WI) requirement may be fulfilled by a major core WI course, an approved major elective WI course, or as approved by the department.
- ^
Major Elective Coursework (at least 9 credit hours must be from Public Affairs):
Students select elective coursework that fulfills their career goals. The list above is not exhaustive; contact your advisor if you have questions about potential major electives.- §
A maximum of 3 total credit hours of POL_SC 4940 and/or SRV_LRN 3028 are allowed to count towards major electives.
Accelerated BA in Public Administration and Policy to Masters of Public Affairs (MPA) Program
The MPA is a professional degree combining rigorous coursework and experiential learning opportunities to prepare students for ethical leadership in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The Truman School of Government and Public Affairs offers a 4+1 program that allows undergraduate students in Political Science (BA), Public Administration and Policy (BA), and Economics (BS) majors to earn their undergraduate degree and a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) in five total years. Students accepted into the program will begin taking graduate-level coursework during their fourth year of study that counts towards both their undergraduate and graduate program requirements. Any 7000-level or higher PUB_AF course may be used for dual enrollment during fourth year of study.
Undergraduate students must complete 90 credit hours with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and have been accepted into the accelerated program prior to being admitted as provisional graduate students. Upon successful completion of program requirements, the undergraduate degree is conferred at the end of year 4 and the MPA is conferred at the end of year 5.
Total minimum credits for graduation: 141
- Undergraduate credits: 105
- Dual credits: 15 hours of 7000+ PUB_AF courses (taken at the graduate level during fourth year of study for credit toward both undergraduate and MPA degrees)
- Graduate credits: 21
| Fourth Year (Dual Enrollment) | 15 | |
| PUB_AF 8180 | Research Methods and Inquiry in Public Affairs I | 3 |
| PUB_AF 8181 | Research Methods and Inquiry in Public Affairs II | 3 |
| PUB_AF 8280 | Public Affairs Internship | 3 |
| Graduate Electives | 6 | |
| Fifth Year (Full-time Graduate Student) | 21 | |
| PUB_AF 8210 | Public Service and Democracy | 3 |
| PUB_AF 8211 | MPA Capstone (Applied Project) | 3 |
| Graduate Electives | 15 | |
Semester Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PUB_AF 1000 | 3 | MATH 1050, 1100, or STAT 1200 | 3 |
| POL_SC 1100 | 3 | Second Language I | 4-6 |
| ENGLSH 1000 | 3 | Humanities - 2000+ | 3 |
| Humanities | 3 | Social Science (outside of major) | 3 |
| Behavioral Science | 3 | General Elective - A&S Diversity | 3 |
| 15 | 16-18 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| POL_SC 4320 | 3 | PUB_AF 4420 | 3 |
| Second Language II | 4-6 | Second Language III (if needed) | 3-4 |
| Biological/Physical/Mathematical Science | 3 | Behavioral Science - 2000+ | 3 |
| Social Science - 2000+ (outside of major) | 3 | Humanities | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 16-18 | 15-16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Major Elective | 3 | COMMUN 3460, 3572, 4473, 4476, or 4478 | 3 |
| Biological/Physical Science with Lab | 2-5 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Humanities | 3 | Biological/Physical/Mathematical Science | 3 |
| General Elective - 3000+ | 3 | General Elective - Writing Intensive | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 14-17 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| COMMUN 3460, 3572, 4473, 4476, or 4478 | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Credits: 121-129 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.