Introduction
In 1992, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education approved the joint M.P.A. degree program to meet the demand for qualified people to fill roles in public service, as well as in public- and private-sector administrative careers. Graduates of the program are awarded a Master of Public Administration degree by Clemson University and the University of South Carolina jointly.
The M.P.A. degree has proven to be very attractive to prospective employers. Recipients of the degree typically pursue administrative careers in government. Others are employed by nonprofit agencies and private sector companies that do business with public agencies. Recently, students have begun to combine the M.P.A. degree with other degrees such as business administration; parks, recreation & tourism management; human resources development; and health administration.
Program of Study
Between 39 and 45 semester hours are required for the M.P.A. degree, depending on the student’s background. Students without a background in American government are required to take a prerequisite course which they can take while completing their degree.
Practical experience is an integral component of a public administration education. Consequently, all M.P.A. students who have not had substantial administrative experience are required to complete an internship encompassing at least three months’ full-time administrative work. Because the internship experience often leads to a job offer, M.P.A. pre-service students (students without public sector or nonprofit experience) are encouraged to consider the internship as the first step in their career development. Students typically serve their internship with a government agency.
The M.P.A. program also offers the only Graduate Certificate in Public Management in South Carolina. The certificate consists of four graduate classes tailored to provide specialized training and education in public management.
Curriculum
The M.P.A. curriculum consists of 21 hours of required courses, three hours of required level government courses, 15 hours of electives, an internship, and a written comprehensive examination or capstone course. The details of these requirements are listed below.
Required Courses (21 hours)
- Perspectives on Public Administration (PO SC 821)
- The Public Policy Process (PO SC 822)
- Administrative Leadership (PO SC 862)
- Personnel Administration (PO SC 827)
- Financial Administration (PO SC 829)
- Methods of Public Administration (PO SC 702)
- Public Data Analysis (PO SC 841)
Level of Government (3 hours)
- American Government* (PO SC 860)
- State Government Administration (PO SC 867)
- Local Government Administration (PO SC 868)
*Students who are required to take American Government as a prerequisite are also required to take State or Local Government to fulfill this requirement.
Elective Courses (15 hours)
- Chosen from M.P.A., Political Science and other graduate level
courses structured as concentration areas.
Capstone (3 hours) or Comprehensive Examination
- Students who choose not to take the comprehensive exam may instead complete a three-hour capstone course.
Description of Required Courses
PO SC 702 Research Methods for Public Administration: Use of social science research methods for addressing issues in public management and policy; research design; measurement; sampling and polling; various aspects of locating, collecting, and processing data, including survey design and archive searches.
PO SC 821 Perspectives on Public Administration: Study and practice of public administration in the United States in the 20th century; historical development of the field of public administration; current approaches to the study and practice of public administration.
PO SC 822 Public Policy Process: Major models of policy making including incrementalism, rationalism, pluralism, and elitism; selected areas of public policy including transportation, poverty, energy, and the environment.
PO SC 827 Public Personnel Administration: Organization, techniques and theories of personnel management; interpersonal relations in organizations; personnel change and development; changing conditions in the public service; educational specializations, unions, collective bargaining, etc.; ethics for the public service.
PO SC 829 Public Financial Management: Organization and techniques of governmental financial management; budgetary theories; intergovernmental financial relations.
PO SC 841 Public Data Analysis: Various aspects of database management, storage, and retrieval; data description; univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis in policy studies and decision-making theory. Preq: EX ST 301, MTH SC 301, or equivalent.
PO SC 862 Administrative Leadership: Foundations of ethical leadership in public organizations; personal and organizational values underlying decision processes in the public service.
Students must take all of the courses listed above, plus one of the courses described below and five electives.
PO SC 860 American Government: In-depth study of the American political system, its institutions and processes.
PO SC 867 State Government Administration: State government problems and policy issues emphasizing the modernization of government institutions and comparative state politics.
PO SC 868 Local Government Administration: Administration of local government from the perspective of the professional administrator; the growth of the manager form of local government; the role of local government administrators with regard to policy making, management, and the delivery of services.
Research Facilities
The Department of Political Science, which houses the M.P.A. program at Clemson, is located in Brackett Hall, a recently renovated building that includes an atrium and two public-access computer laboratories that are open 24 hours.
Faculty members and graduate students often collaborate on research projects with colleagues from other departments. Graduate students have conducted research for several campus entities, including the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs and the Robert J. Rutland Center for Ethics.
The primary site for the Joint M.P.A. courses is the University Center at Greenville, a facility specifically designed for the delivery of interinstitutional programs and academic support services. Courses taught at the University Center in the city of Greenville places the M.P.A. program in the heart of the largest urban and cultural center of upstate South Carolina. The Center’s many classrooms feature advanced teaching and computing technology, including special interactive electronic classrooms for distance education. The Center is fully accessible to handicapped persons. In addition to the University Center, students may take courses at Clemson, and a limited number of courses at USC.
Student Group
The program has approximately 45 students. Thirty six percent are women and about 75% participate on a part-time basis. The program was designed to be an in-service program that aims to enrich the pre-service experience by mixing students with real world experience with students who have yet to enter public or nonprofit organizations. Students come from a variety of backgrounds including political science, sociology, English and business.
Student Outcomes
M.P.A. graduates have been highly successful in finding employment and career advancement opportunities. The program is proud to include among its alumni a wide array of public, nonprofit and private agency officials. Some of these include:
- City and county managers
- Nonprofit agency directors
- Emergency Service personnel
- Financial officers
- Federal lobbyists
- Urban planners
- Military officers
- Senatorial aide
- Project and planning directors
- Public Safety personnel
Location
Clemson is a small, beautiful college town near the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lake Hartwell. Plays, concerts, lectures, films and sports events are sponsored by many University and community groups. Outdoor recreational activities abound. Seneca, Greenville and Anderson are only a few minutes away and offer more extensive shopping and entertainment. Atlanta and Charlotte are each a 2-hour drive away.
Applying
Interested students may apply to be admitted for fall and spring semesters. The final deadline for a file to be completed for admission to the fall semester is May 1 and for admission the spring semester is October 1. Students can apply online at www.grad.clemson.edu/ApplyOnline.php. A complete file consists of the application, two letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, transcripts and GRE scores.
Financial Aid
The Department of Political Science offers limited teaching and research assistantships. Graduate assistants work 10-20 hours per week in the department, and stipends are $6,000 per year. Students also have the opportunity to be funded through faculty research projects. In addition, students have obtained assistantships in other departments and centers on campus, including Student Affairs and the Spiro Center. Highly qualified graduate students can receive University fellowships.
Faculty Listing
The faculty of the Departments of Political Science at Clemson and the University of South Carolina have degrees from some of the finest doctoral programs in their fields. They have authored or edited numerous books in the field and have also published widely in professional journals in public administration and political science.
Clemson Faculty
- Jeffrey Fine, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Kentucky
- Laura R. Olson, Professor, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
- Bruce W. Ransom, Professor, Ph.D., University of Virginia
- Robert W. Smith, Associate Professor and Clemson Program Director, Ph.D., University at Albany
- Joseph Stewart, Jr., Professor and Department Chair, Ph.D., University of Houston
- Adam L. Warber, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
- J. David Woodard, Professor, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
USC Faculty
- Anne O’M Bowman, Professor, Ph.D., University of Florida
- Cole Blease Graham, Professor, Ph.D., University of South Carolina
- Steven Hays, Professor, Ph.D., University of Florida
- Robert W. Oldendick, Professor, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati
- Mark Tompkins, Professor, Ph.D., University of Minneapolis
- Charles Tyer, Professor and USC Program Director, Ph.D., University of Tennessee
- Neal D. Woods, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Kentucky
For More Information
Dr. Robert W. Smith, M.P.A. Director
Department of Political Science
230-E Brackett Hall
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-1354
Telephone: 864-656-3550
Fax: 864-656-0690
E-mail: rws@clemson.edu
