Public Administration Institute (Graduate Program)

Program Overview

The MPA program is a 45-hour professional program in public administration. The program consists of 33 hours of core courses and twelve hours of electives in an area of specialization.

Administration

Dual Degree Program in JD/MPA

Click to view the Dual Degree Program in JD/MPA

Admission

While applications for admission are accepted and evaluated by the Institute on an ongoing basis throughout the year, new students are only admitted in the fall semester.

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: LSU Office of Graduate Admissions, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from prior undergraduate coursework, acceptable GRE scores, information on any work experience, listing of outside activities and volunteer efforts, and three letters of recommendation. The PAI examines all aspects of an applicant’s credentials in making decisions to admit an applicant to the MPA program. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE score.

The Public Administration Institute will waive the GRE requirement for MPA applicants who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Provide a GMAT or LSAT score that was taken in the previous five years.
• Successfully completed a minimum of six hours of non-matriculating LSU MPA coursework with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher and no less than a B in any individual course.
• Have a minimum of three years of full-time, management level public service experience or five years full-time non-management experience in either the public, non-profit, or private sectors.

GRE waiver requests will be reviewed and approved by the PAI Director. Following the submission of the LSU Graduate School application, eligible applicants must provide a formal request to PAI at pai@lsu.edu indicating the criteria under which they are requesting a GRE waiver and any relevant documentation to support their request (transcript, test score, resume).

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available to some students. Support may be available through the student’s home department or other units in the form of research or teaching assistantships. A student should contact his or her home department for more information on available assistantship positions. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted in accordance with deadlines established by the LSU Graduate School.

Graduate Faculty

(check current faculty listings by department here)

Suzette Caleo (6A) • Organization Analysis, Research Methods, Human Resource Management
Meghann Dragseth (6A) • Public Policy and Non-Profit Management
Roy Heidelberg (6A) • Public Policy, Public Administration Theory, and Decision Making
Jared Llorens (M) • Human Resource Management, Public Policy, Quantitative Methods, and Research Methods
James A. Richardson (M) • Public Policy, Economic Analysis, Public Finance, and Taxation
Min Su (6A) • Public Budgeting and Financial Management
Richard White (M) • Human Resource Management, Public Ethics, and Public Administration Theory 

Programs

• Public Administration, M.P.A.

• Dual Degree: JD/MPA